We have all seen documents held together using plastic comb binding. This type of binding is also called Combbind, Cerlox, Ibico or GBC Binding and has been used for many years in business and education. It is a popular choice for reports and proposals, training manuals and employee handbooks, cookbooks, and reference materials. If you're thinking about using plastic combs for your project, this article can help answer some of the questions that you might have. Here is some information on how comb binding works and how you can customize it to meet your needs.
Typically, plastic comb binding relies on 19 rectangular holes along the side of an 11" piece of paper. However, combs may be purchased in a variety of lengths for binding different types of documents. There are 15 ring lengths which may be used to bind books using a landscape orientation or for half letter size books. For A4 documents, you will need 21 ring lengths and for legal documents you will need 24 ring spines. You can also special order other lengths of plastic combs in select colors. Remember that if you need to bind a document with plastic combs that are not a standard size (or that aren't the normal size for your binding machine), you'll want to ensure your machine has disengageable dies to make sure the holes line up appropriately on your paper.
Comb binding supplies come in diameters for binding documents from 3/16" to 2" thick. Smaller combs from 3/16" - 1-1/8" are generally round. Combs from 1-1/4" to 2" are usually oval and are crafted to prevent documents from separating. Although 3/16" plastic combs are manufactured, they are very hard to use and are not generally recommended. Most people find it's better to use spines that are at least ?".
You can further customize your document by choosing colored combs or imprinted combs to give your document a little visual boost. Black is the most popular plastic comb color, but you can also find them in brown, white, yellow, clear, maroon, gray, kelly green, forest green, royal blue, navy blue, and red. Specialty styles are also available from time to time, such as GBC Gel Combs (in steel blue) and Matte Combs (in black and frost). In addition to choosing colored combs to enhance your documents, you can also use combs imprinted with a logo or name. Combs are imprinted using foil stamp or silkscreening methods.
To bind documents using plastic combs, you will need a comb opener. Comb-openers are often included with Combbind machines, but some larger punches may need a separate comb opener. Using a comb opener is pretty simple. Begin by placing the comb on the comb opener, then open the comb by pulling the handle. Insert your hole-punched document and close the comb by releasing the handle.
Another way plastic comb binding machines allow for customization is through their adjustable margins. You can choose the distance between the edge of the paper and the holes. This is critical when using smaller combs to allow the pages to turn properly and retain their polished and neat look.
Plastic comb binding is a simple and effective means of giving your documents an added edge. With all of the variety available, your projects can be customized and professional without regard to size or distribution.
* The Galaxy E is the largest and most heavy duty electric plastic comb binding machine offered by Fellowes. It is designed for frequent use in medium to large office environments.
* This machine offers a sleek, ergonomic design that is intended to blend in with other equipment inside of your office.
* This machine is the electric version of the Fellowes Galaxy manual plastic comb binding machine. It includes a high quality button activated electric punch and a heavy duty modular plastic comb opener.
Strengths / Features:
* The Fellowes Galaxy-E offers an electric punch that can punch up to twenty five sheets of 20lb paper per lift. The electric punching mechanism is activated by a push button control on the right side of the machine and is exceptionally easy to use. With a punching capacity of 25 sheets, this machine is comparable to far more expensive electric binding punches on the market.
* Like the entire line of Fellowes plastic comb binding machines, this machine offers a sleek ergonomic design. It is designed to fold closed when not in use providing a neat and tidy appearance for your office. Most other electric plastic comb binding machines on the market have an industrial look that tends to stick out in a contemporary office environment.
* The plastic comb opener included on this machine is modular. You can use the comb opener while it is attached to the machine. Alternatively, the comb opener can be removed and used by a second operator to help increase productivity. One user can punch documents while another uses the comb opener to insert the pages onto the combs.
* The Galaxy-E is designed primarily for users who are looking to bind letter sized (8.5" x 11") documents. However, it also includes three disengageable punching pins for binding custom length sheets. The Galaxy-E can be used to punch half letter sized documents, letter sized documents, oversized covers and A4 length sheets.
* This machine also has a slide out storage tray on the right hand side of the machine. The storage tray provides room to store a variety of plastic comb binding spines. However, it also provides a document sizing guide that allows users to select the correct size of spine for their documents.
Weaknesses / Limitations:
* Although the Galaxy E has a great punching capacity and an electric punch it is not an industrial grade machine. This machine is designed for use within an office environment. Users who need a production quality machine should consider a larger all metal machine such as the GBC CombBind C800pro, Akiles CombMac 24E or DFG E Titan Comb. The larger alternatives offer metal construction, foot pedal operation and industrial grade punching pins.
* Although this machine has three disengageable punching pins, it is still limited in its ability to punch custom length documents and legal sized sheets. Users who need to bind document sizes other than 8.5" x 5.5", 8.5" x 11" or A4 size should really consider a machine with fully disengageable punching pins.
* Although the storage feature on this machine seems like it should be incredibly useful, it is actually far too small. The document sizing feature included on the slide out tray is useful. However, most users will probably find that they will not use the storage tray since it is only large enough to hold a handful of combs. Considering the capacity of this machine, it would probably have been better for Fellowes to simply leave this feature off when they designed this machine.
Recommendation:
* The Fellowes Galaxy E electric comb binding machine is an excellent choice for organizations that are looking for a high quality electric comb binding machine for their office.
* This machine has a selling price of around $500 and includes a competitive set of features that make it an appealing choice in its class.
* Extremely large offices, print shops, mail rooms and schools who do a lot of binding will probably find that this machine is too small for their needs. Instead, they should really consider a heavy duty, all metal, commercial grade comb binding machine. However, these machines come with a pricetag starting at about $1400 and are obviously a big step up in terms of cost.
* Still, this is one of our favorite electric desktop comb binding machines for the money and is definitely a good choice for many users.
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