Staplers, Staples and Paper Clips: The Unsung Heroes of Every Kenyan Office

Ask any office manager in Nairobi what their most-used desk tool is, and many will mention their stapler before their pen. Staplers, staples, paper clips and binder clips are used dozens of times a day across Kenyan offices to keep documents organised, reports together, and paperwork from scattering. They are so familiar that most people give them no thought until something goes wrong the stapler jams mid-meeting, the paper clips are missing, or the wrong staple size is loaded.

This guide covers everything you need to know about these essential fastening tools so your office is always stocked with the right products in working order.

Types of Staplers for Kenyan Offices

Desktop staplers

The standard desktop stapler handles everyday document fastening binding reports, securing multi-page handouts, and keeping correspondence together. Quality matters significantly here. Cheap staplers jam frequently, require excessive force, and produce inconsistent staples that bend rather than penetrate cleanly. A quality desktop stapler from a reliable brand costs only marginally more and delivers years of trouble-free use.

For standard office use, a full-strip desktop stapler accommodating 26/6 or 24/6 staples is the correct choice. These are the most common staple sizes in Kenya and are stocked by Bienville Supplies in both standard boxes and bulk quantities.

Heavy-duty staplers

Heavy-duty staplers handle thicker document stacks typically 50 to 200 pages depending on the model. They are essential in legal offices, accounting departments, government offices, and any environment where thick document bundles need to be bound together. Standard desktop staplers jam and break when forced to handle thick stacks they are not designed for.

Long-reach staplers

Long-reach staplers have an extended arm that allows stapling further from the edge of a document, useful for creating booklets by stapling in the centre of folded pages, or for binding materials where the staple must be placed away from the document edge.

Choosing the Right Staples

Staples are sized by the wire gauge and leg length, expressed as two numbers separated by a slash. The most common sizes in Kenyan offices are:

• 26/6: standard for most desktop staplers, suitable for up to 20 pages
• 24/6: similar to 26/6, used by some stapler brands as their standard size
• 26/8 and 24/8: longer legs for slightly thicker document stacks up to 40 pages
• 23/13 and 23/17: heavy-duty sizes for thick stacks used in heavy-duty staplers

Always check your stapler model before buying staples. Using the wrong size is the most common cause of stapler jams and misfeeds.

Paper Clips and Binder Clips

Paper clips and binder clips serve a different purpose from staplers. Where a stapler permanently fastens pages, clips hold them together temporarily and allow easy removal without damaging the paper.

• Standard paper clips in silver or coloured finishes are suitable for holding small document bundles together for filing, review or distribution
• Jumbo paper clips handle larger document stacks where a standard clip would be too small
• Binder clips provide a strong, secure hold for larger bundles and are the go-to fastener when pages need to stay together without a stapler. They come in small, medium and large sizes
• Butterfly clips are a larger, heavy-duty version of the binder clip suitable for very thick document stacks

Maintaining Your Stapler

A stapler that is properly maintained rarely jams. The most common causes of staple jams are using the wrong staple size, overloading the magazine beyond the recommended capacity, and using low-quality staples that are inconsistently formed. When a jam occurs, open the stapler fully, remove the jammed staple with a staple remover, and reload correctly. Never force a jammed stapler closed.

Stocking Fastening Supplies for Your Office

Bienville Supplies stocks staplers, staples in all standard sizes, paper clips, binder clips and staple removers for Kenyan offices. We offer bulk pricing for offices that want to keep a healthy reserve of these consumable items on hand. Visit www.bienvillesupplies.co.ke to order or contact our Nairobi team today.