Akiles WireMac 3:1 Manual Double Loop Wire Binding Machine

Staff Review

Akiles WireMac M Manual Double Loop Wire Binding Machine Review

Overview:

• The Akiles Wiremac M is one of the most popular double loop wire binding machines available on the market.
• This machine is available with either a 2:1 pitch punching pattern or a 3:1 pitch punching pattern. You will need to choose the model that best fits your binding needs.
• Both models include a number of great features including a heavy duty wire closer, sturdy metal construction, a wire holder to help you hang your documents, and fully disengageable dies.
• These features make the Wiremac M perfect for the small to medium sized company that wants to bind their own documents using

Strengths / Features:

• The Akiles Wiremac M is available with your choice of either a 2:1 pitch (2 holes per inch) or 3:1 pitch (3 holes per inch) punching pattern. The 3:1 pitch hole pattern is designed for use with twin loop wire spines from 3/16″ up to 9/16″ and can also be used with GBC Proclick and 3:1 pitch spiral coil spines. The 2:1 pitch punch can be used with wires from 5/8″ up to 1-1/4″ and can also be used with special 2:1 pitch small sized wire. Depending on the size of your documents that you want to bind, you will need to select the hole pattern that best fits your need when you purchase the Wiremac M.
• The WireMac M includes a legal sized punching throat and fully disengageable dies. This means that this machine can be used to punch letter size, legal size, half letter, A4 and any custom sized documents less than fourteen inches in length. It also has an open throat for punching longer documents using a two step punch process.
• Both versions of the Wiremac M have a heavy duty wire closer that is designed to take the “C” shaped wire spines and close them so that they are round. The wire closer on the Akiles Wiremac is controlled by a convenient knob located on the top of the machine and is made from heavy duty steel components. This helps to ensure that the wire closer will close documents consistently even after years of use.
• The WireMac has a clamp style wire holder on the front of the machine. This is designed to hold the binding spine in place while you hang the pages on it.
• The Akiles Wiremac has a manual punching mechanism that is capable of punching up to 20 sheets of 20lb paper per lift. This is a fairly good punching capacity for a machine of this type and price range.

Weaknesses / Limitations:

• Although the WireMac has a decent punching capacity, it is still a manual punch. Users who need to bind large volumes of documents or need to bind large documents quickly should really consider an electric punch to improve productivity and efficiency.
• Although the wire holder on the front of this machine is better than having no holding device, wire binding machines with hooks to hang the wires on tend to be easier to use. The hooks help to prevent the wire from becoming deformed during the inserting process. Learning how to use the clamp style Wiremac can be a little bit tricky.
• As was mentioned above, you need to choose either a 2:1 or a 3:1 pitch hole pattern when you buy this machine. The choice that you make will limit the supplies that you are able to use. Many organizations can settle on one machine or the other. However, users who need the flexibility to bind multiple sized presentations and reports may want to look at a machine that can produce both hole patterns such as the Wiremac Duo Combo.

Recommendation:

• The Akiles Wiremac manual combo is an ideal choice for small and medium sized organizations that need to bind a few documents on a daily basis.
• It offers a high quality manual punch, heavy duty metal construction, a durable wire closer and fully disengageable dies. All of these are features that are essential in a high quality wire binding system.
• However, users who need to bind large numbers of documents or who need to bind a wide variety of document thicknesses may want to consider either an electric binding machine or a machine that can punch both 2:1 and 3:1 pitch hole patterns.

This review was written by Jeff McRitchie who is the director of marketing for Mybinding.com Jeff has written more than three hundred articles and more than two hundred reviews on Binding Machines, Binding Supplies, Report Covers, 3-Ring Binders, Index Tabs, Laminators, Laminating Supplies, Paper Shredders and Paper Handling Equipment.