Do not use metal paper clips. All metal rusts. And over time metal paper clips will leave rust marks on your originals. I can’t say how quickly this will happen in your office. If you have an office overlooking the Pacific, this will happen much more rapidly. But in any office, the humidity level should be relatively high to avoid any static discharges that might harm computer instrumentation.
Therefore, you should have only vinyl-coated paper clips. And, yes, you can have colors if that will make you happy. Once you have a supply, make sure you throw away any metal paper clips you come across. And this might mean raiding your boss’s desk to rid it of the metal versions and replacing them with vinyl versions. I like having consistency throughout the office.
The problem with consistency is that there are different sizes of small paper clips. And the size difference is just noticeable enough that it could slowly drive you mad. I can report as follows:
Type #1, as it is called, is 1 & 9/32 inches long or 1.2813 inches long.
Type #2, as it is called, is 1 & 1/8 inches long or 1.125 inches long.
For Type #3, as it is called, I have found two different sizes: (a) 28mm long or 1.102 inches long, and (b) 15/16 inches long or 0.9375 inches long.
Type #4, as it is called, is 1 & 13/23 inches long or 1.5652 inches long.
This is one area where you are allowed to be fussy: choose whatever preference of small paper clip you wish. But once you choose one, stick to that one.
As far as a recommendation goes, I like Type #2 the best. But putting my logical hat on, I would have to say that the bigger the small paper clip, the more paper it can potentially clip together; and therefore, the more use it should be to your office. With this in mind, I would have to recommend the Type #1 small paper clip.
You should also have large paper clips in your office. These are referred to as “Jumbo” paper clips. But you have to be careful with the term “Jumbo”. I have seen this “Jumbo” refer to paper clips from 1 & 3/8 inches long (or 1.375 inches long), through and including Type #4 size paper clip, all the way up to a 2 inch long paper clip. The “Jumbo” paper clips I have recommended below are 50mm long or 1.969 inches long.
If you are not fussy about your paper clips, then you will be happy simply purchasing whatever is least expensive. If you are fussy, you will want to ensure that the package of paper clips you purchase matches the length of paper clip you expect to receive. As I have already said, the term “Jumbo” is rather non-standardized, but I have found that Type Number can also be used capriciously. I have put in the hours trying to make sure the recommendations listed below will be exactly what you will receive; so I believe you can trust them with reasonable certainty; but I will be the first to point out that I make mistakes. I just wish to caution you to be careful out there when ordering on your own, and not to automatically trust the description written on the page.
My experience with plastic paper clips is that they are flimsy and can break easily. Being in a law office, I could (or I could have my boss) throw down a small stack of case books on top of paper-clipped papers on my desk. Of course the plastic paper clips would break. You don’t want this happening to your boss in any unexpected event; like, maybe s/he would throw his/her briefcase on top of the papers – I can see where that might break the plastic paper clip.
But off the top of my head, I can think of three instances where plastic paper clips would be needed. Not only if you are working in these industries but if you are sending material to people in these industries. In some of these cases, a plastic paper clip would take the place of a staple.
Maximum security prisons. I know all mail is opened by the prison authorities before it goes to the inmates. I expect all metal and vinyl-coated paper clips are confiscated. And depending on the security classification of the inmate, I expect all metal (like staples) is confiscated.
Mental institutions. I expect all metal and vinyl-coated paper clips are confiscated at the entrance to the wards, and maybe all metal objects, depending on the severity of the metal illness, which you won’t know. Err on the side of caution. You don’t want to inadvertently supply the means by which someone harms themselves or others.
Radiology. Hospitals have some very sophisticated equipment that do not like anything metal, like MRI machines. But even the humble x-ray will detect the wayward staple or paper clip.
Also see paperclips.
My thanks to WolframAlpha for providing the metric to inches conversions.
