I have access to a few punches, a dremel, and have a stationary fretsaw. But I find that a drill works well- but as noted above, it wants to yank into the work at sizes larger than about 1/8".
In plastic, I find that if you start with a small pilot hole, then go up a couple sizes-re-drill. Go up a couple sizes and re-drill. It takes a bit longer, but the holes come out very clean, and stay on center better than running a much larger bit through the fist time.
In metal, you can go with the small pilot hole, and depending on the ending size, either skip directly to it, or maybe do just one intermediary size.