Fellowes Mfg Co. 5006501 Star+ 150 Manual Comb Binding Machine - White

Granted, every desktop doesn't require one of these machines - your typical stapler or three-hole punch will suffice. However, there are times when you need to truck on down to the Copy Center to use something with a little more horsepower or finesse. (When you require the electric stapler, the industrial strength three-hole punch - or this little beauty.) This machine will allow you to create a custom-made handout or brochure that isn't merely stapled, or bull-clipped, or shoved into a glommy three-ring binder. It has a compact binding, a decent backing, a custom (or transparent) cover and, best of all, it still fits into a briefcase or tote. It even has a storage drawer for a variety of plastic binding combs (different sizes for different page counts) and another to hold punched paper confetti. (Punching, by the way, is extremely easy and produces precise, clean holes.) I've only found two "Con's" (neither has anything to do with the actual machine): the instructions, and the plastic combs. The instructions are pretty bad and really don't do justice to the machine. It's not intuitive how it operates - and the instructions don't help at all. You'll need to play with it for a while before achieving success (unless someone has demonstrated it to you in the past). The plastic combs work quite nicely - providing you stretch them out only briefly (like when you bind a document). If you stretch them out and leave them that way while you punch the paper - they tend to lose their elasticity and fail to close completely when released - allowing the pages to fall out. The bottom line... (1) You may, or may not, need this machine for your desk, office, etc. It depends on what kind of paperwork you produce. (2) You may have to play with it a bit to figure out how it works (or ask for assistance from someone who's used it before). (3) Do NOT keep the plastic combs stretched out for any length of time - they simply don't snap back into shape when you do.

Out of the box, I really liked the looks of this binding machine. Low profile with nice neutral colors, smooth surfaces and curved corners prevent it from being an eyesore in the home office like some pieces of equipment. I was also impressed with the weight of it. It just feels like a quality item that will last. The cover stands up to act as a document support, but folds down when not in use. It also can be stood up on its side for storing vertically so it takes up even less room on a shelf. The machine comes with clear instructions. I only glanced at them since I had used a binding machine in my job previously and already had a good idea of how they work. I discovered my favorite feature right away—a little pull out tray on the right side that holds the plastic “combs” that you use to hold together your document. There’s a sizer in the tray that allows you to slide in the stack of paper you need to bind so you have an idea of which comb to use as well as a sizer for the comb so you’re sure to pick the right one. Brilliant! I don’t know if other binders have this feature, but they should! Next to it is a plastic door that you remove to empty out the tiny pieces of paper that were punched out. You can tell if the “gutter” is getting full by a convenient little window built into the machine that lets you see whether it’s full or not. I noticed the plastic door fits securely so there’s little chance of “confetti” escaping and getting everywhere. The box states the machine can punch 12 sheets of paper at a time. I was finding it a little tough to get through 12 sheets until I realized the paper I was using is 24 lb. which is around 4 lbs. heavier than regular copy paper which usually runs around 20 lb.. I pulled out a few sheets and we were back in business. Even with the full 12 sheets in there, it did punch the paper, however it was a little harder to pull the handle and the paper tended to want to shift so your holes may not line up or they could be too close to the edge. It took no time to put together a twenty-six page document. It’s nice to have the flip up support at the back that you can lean the document against so it’s not flopping over and it helps to make sure the pages are situated straight. Also there’s a dial adjustable paper guide along with an illustration of where the punches are going to be so you always know the layout. The adjustment is useful if you were adding binding covers which are a little bigger than regular paper. You insert the plastic comb behind the metal teeth and slowly draw down the small handle on the left of the machine. You’ll see the smaller teeth move to the right and capture the rings of the comb opening them up more the further you draw on the handle. You want to open them just enough so that you can feed your document pages onto the comb. I was able to load my document on the comb all at once with no hassle at all. Push the small lever away from you to close the comb, carefully remove your document and you’re done. I designed calendar pages on the computer and printed them on high gloss 10.5 mill. photo paper. I wasn’t sure how punching holes in the pages would go since they are thick and very slippery. I punched just one sheet at a time and it went through it like butter. I probably could have done more sheets at once, but since I really didn’t want to have to reprint a page and use a lot of ink, I took it slow and it did perfect. I used the 5/16” inch comb to take into consideration the thickness of the paper, the pages went on the comb in minutes and I had the calendar on my wall two minutes after that. I was very impressed with how easily and precisely it punched the photo paper especially. Im looking forward to creating other projects with it such as scrapbooks and recipe books. I believe this binding machine has lots of uses beyond just the office.