The stapler, a necessity for any office, is credited to Charles H. Gouldin 1868. There is little difference between Gould's stapler and the desk model we use today. Both have U-shaped wires fed in a channel (raceway) and forced into paper by a blade that breaks off individual wires from the strip. A small metal anvil under the papers bends the wire flat.

Due to high-volume office and industrial needs, more precise automatic versions of the stapler have been developed. The basic principle remains the same, but each new incarnation is able to complete tasks in a different manner. For example, industrial staplers are used in furniture making, upholstering, packaging, and magazine binding. Some stapling machines, called tackers, use the power of compressed air to drive staples into material without bending them. A related variation is the hog ring machine, a device that bends staple legs into a tight ring around the twisted neck of a bag. This is used to secure filled sacks and bags without piercing the material in the container.An upright stapler, designed to be used with one hand, is also available. Staples are used in some medical procedures, some types being absorbed by the body, making it unnecessary for a surgeon to remove them.