The Powis Parker Fastback Scoring machine is the perfect tool to put creases in covers for short run folding or perfect binding in a variety of binding situations. The Fastback scoring machine can create a one-piece wraparound cover with a boxed spine in one easy motion. In addition, the Fastback is aesthetically pleasing, available in a variety of fashionable colors to match your other Powis Parker Fastback binding equipment - a rare feature in binding equipment.
This is the kind of scoring machine that meets the needs of many small to medium-sized operations that need a professional fold and an overall great look for their critical documents and other materials.
Features:
The Powis Parker Fastbreak is a scoring machine that uses compression and will provide a clean, clear score which, unlike many scoring machines, prevents laser printed inks from cracking and flaking. The Fastbreak also includes convenient set-up guides. These guides are excellent for producing covers that have different sized spines. This is an extremely helpful feature for those who are looking for high quality, consistent square creases - every time.
The Fastbreak scoring machine also includes a double scoring knife as part of your order. This great tool allows for front and back covers to easily open for the lay-flat bind you need for your projects. A single scoring knife can also be purchased separately, to help in this capacity, as well.
The Powis Parker Fastbreak scoring machine is very easy to use. It requires only that you place your document on the machine and pull the handle. This creates a neat and tidy score that will improve the look of your document upon folding. Creating documents that are professional-looking and functional is a key goal of most organizations and the Fastbreak gives you the look you need to achieve this goal in a variety of situations.
Limitations:
The Fastbreak scoring machine is a solid product that can be a great help for your scoring needs, but even great products sometimes have limitations and the Fastbreak is no exceptions. Though the machine is great for simple scoring, since it is a manual, rather than electric machine, it has a tendency to be slow for larger volume production jobs. In addition, it can be somewhat difficult to adjust the guides to the correct settings. Using and adjusting the guides does get easier with practice, but it does take time to master the task.
Finally, the sizes and stocks that the machine can work with are somewhat limited. This scoring machine is primarily designed for use with letter-sized documents, which can include a portrait or landscape orientation. It is not a very good selection for books or documents that fall outside of the normal range, including oversized, or undersized documents.
Construction:
The Powis Parker Fastbreak is made with a heavy-duty metal base and guides. This makes the scoring machine strong and durable, and it can withstand a great deal of wear. The Fastbreak's rubber handle is also durable and very convenient and easy to use. In addition, the clear plastic shield included on the machine will allow you to see alignment marks on your documents, while you are scoring, for the most precise score possible
With all of these features and durable, functional parts, the Powis Parker Fastbreak is among the strongest-constructed scoring machines available, particularly at the price point for which it is offered. Powis Parker creates well-constructed equipment and the Fastbreak is no exception.
Recommendation:
The Powis Parker Fastbreak scoring machine is one of the best manual machines on the market and is highly recommended for short run perfect binding. The Fastbreak is not ideal for production environments because of its volume capacity. These types of companies could be better served with a larger, electric machine. That being said, however, the Fastbreak works great for creating your own custom printed thermal binding covers and other specialty tasks.
Don't pass up this great scoring machine if it matches your needs. It's a great machine at an equally great value!
Overview:
The Accucut A425 looks like a traditional rotary style paper trimmer. However, the A425pro has a special four in one blade mechanism that allows you to quickly change cutting styles for all types of projects.
This inexpensive cutter is ideal for use in crafting, scrapbooking for for creating thermal binding covers for your documents.
It is extremely simple to use with a quick blade change system that allows you to switch cutting styles within seconds.
Strengths / Features:
The A425pro allows you to quickly and easily choose between four different cutting styles including straight cutting, wave cutting, perforating and scoring. You can use the straight cutting blade to cut or trim your documents, the wave cutting blade to create decorative edges, the perforating blade to add a perforated section to your forms and brochures and the scoring blade to prepare items for folding or for creating your own thermal binding documents.
The dial-a-blade mechanism on the A425pro allows you to quickly change cutting styles by simply turning a dial on the blade unit. No other cutter makes switching between cutting styles so easy.
The trimmer has a 12 inch long cutting length that can easily handle scrapbooking paper, letter sized documents or other sized items.
Limitations / Weaknesses:
Although it is great to be able to quickly and easily change cutting styles the design of the dial-a-blade unit requires you to replace all four cutting blades at a time if one blade becomes dull. Replacement blades for this unit are somewhat expensive because the entire dial-a-blade unit must be replaced. This is something to keep in mind if you plan on doing any volume of cutting, scoring or perforating with this unit.
The unit is rated for cutting up to ten sheets of paper at a time. However, I had difficulty cutting more than 6-8 sheets of paper. Additionally, it is difficult to cut a single sheet of thin paper with this unit since the paper can bend over during cutting. This is a common problem with rotary trimmers but is something worth noting.
The base of the unit is somewhat small. This means that it is a little bit difficult to use for scoring, perforating or cutting large format documents.
Construction:
The A425pro is built well but is really intended for light volume applications and home use. It should be fine for this type of usage but most likely will not hold up under heavy usage. It comes with a one year warranty from GBC. However, the blades are not covered under this warranty and as I mentioned before, the blades are somewhat expensive to replace. The unit also uses cutting mats that are a consumable part and will eventually need to be replaced.
Recommendation:
The A425pro is really one of the only cutters of its kind. The ability to easily switch cutting styles and the inclusion of a perforating blade and scoring blade make it a great unit for craft projects, scrapbooking or for design applications. However, the A425pro is not a commercial grade rotary trimmer and is thus not recommended for applications where any volume of cutting, perforating or scoring will be involved. Still, it is a great machine and is probably the cheapest scoring device that you will find anywhere.