Review of Amazon Basics 3 Hole Punch, Semi-Adjustable, 30 Sheet Capacity, Black
For reasons I don’t want to get into now, I need a 3 hole punch for A5 sized paper. The Amazon Basics 3 Hole Punch, Semi-Adjustable, 30 Sheet Capacity, Black seemed to fit the requirements. With the appealing advertised capacity and the amount of adjustment available for the holes and alignment guide, I thought this would be just right. But, I was wrong. It’s being returned.
Not too bad looking
My first impressions after getting it out of the box were positive. It has some weight to it and feels solid.
However, the first hole punch was disappointing.
What even is that?
It left some dark residue. One white paper, it’s really noticeable. Maybe this will clear up after more use, but not a great first experience.
The next thing I noticed was the alignment guide.
Alignment guides
You can’t tell from the picture, but the alignment guide has notches, so it kinda locks into place when you get to one of the presets. It has notches for if your paper is 8 inches, 8 ½ inches, or 220mm, and so on. The problem? A5 paper is 210mm. Which is right in the middle of the 8 inch and 8 ½ inch notches. It’s a bit difficult to keep at 210mm. It can easily be knocked into another notch and you alignment is now off.
Not the end of the world. I could live if the holes weren’t perfectly centered and aligned. I could make the 8 ½ inch notch work if I had to.
Then I noticed that the holes are inset quite a bit more than my other hole punch. It’s about ⅛” difference. That’s quite a bit when you’re dealing with a small A5 sized sheet. This was the biggest down side for me.
The holes are just inset too far
So all these things combined, this hole punch is going back in the box and being returned. The search continues.