3 Best Thermal Binding Machines for Large Offices

If you work in a large office with daily binding needs and you're tired of the time-consuming and sometimes tedious traditional punch-and-bind option, then thermal binding is the perfect solution. It is much faster, and much easier, and much less labor-intensive. You can also make the most professional documents with thermal binding; more so than even wire-o, by most peoples' standards (since we know that can be subjective). Wrap-around thermal binding covers are used with these machines, and the covers come in soft and hard cover options. Clear transparent options, linen weave textures, and premium hard covers with and without windows are available. So you can see how so many users would agree that thermal binding makes the most professional bound document, across the board. This versatility also makes them a great choice for large businesses that need to produce all different kinds of documents.

Now onto the machines...let's review the 3 best thermal binding machines for large offices.

1. Coverbind Accel Ultra (and Ultra Plus)

The Accel Ultra and Accel Ultra Plus are a new innovation in the thermal bind industry, as they are the first of their kind...the first thermal binders to offer semi-automated operation, which increases the speed 30-fold. They have a continuously moving conveyor that moves your documents through the binding process while allowing you to continuously load new documents. This unique feature allows you to bind as many as 120 documents per minute (no, that's not a typo...per minute). And when you compare it to punch-and-bind, you will see speed increases 45

We have grouped the Accel Ultra and the Accel Ultra Plus together, as they are the same machine with the same price and just one difference; the Plus model has a wider separation between book separators, which allows for thicker books to be bound. The Ultra binds up to 5/8" thick books while the Ultra Plus binds up to 1 ½". If you're wondering why anyone would choose the Ultra in this case, it is simply that those who don't need to make thick books find it easier to bind smaller batches by having the separating walls closer together. No matter which model you decide on, you receive a free Accel Flex with your purchase; this machine is a manual thermal binder that lets you bind thicker books manually. You also receive a specially-designed stand the keeps the machine at optimum working height.

Coverbind manufactures these machines, and they have been industry leaders for a long time. They even took another step to improve the binding method as a whole by improving their thermal binding covers. The glue that is pre-applied into the covers has been re-shaped to eliminate seeping. It has also been combined with a mesh strip that helps grip your pages more tightly, creating a stronger bind than any other brand. They also have more variety of covers that other alternatives, so you have more versatility in choosing what your finished document looks like.

If you are a large business who binds many books daily or a few times a week, then you may benefit from the the Accel Ultra...by far, the best thermal binding machine for large offices.

Important Specs/Capabilities:

• Document Size: Letter Size, Portrait (8 ½" W x 11" H)
• Capacity: Ultra- Up to a 5/8" Thick Spine, Ultra Plus- Up to a 1 ½" Thick Spine
• Cycle Speed: 1 Minute / Binding Cycle*
• Binding Speed: 120 Documents / Minute
• Approximate Annual Volume: Up to 10,000+ per Year

Accel Ultra and Ultra Plus Thermal Binding Machine Basic Instructions

1. Turn on the Ultra or Ultra Plus thermal binding machine from the screen. Gather all of your sheets together into a stack and place the stack into the spine size selector on the top of the machine. The screen will display which Coverbind cover spine size you should be using based on the document thickness. The Accel Ultra will bind documents using spine sizes from 1/16" up to 5/8", while the Accel Plus will bind documents using spine sizes from 3/4" to 1 ½".
2. Insert your pages into the Coverbind cover of your choice in the indicated spine size, and place the cover into the unit, spine-side down. You can place them one at a time, or in batches. The Ultra will hold up to 5/8" thick books in each section, or if binding smaller books, as many books as will fit into that 5/8" capacity. The Ultra Plus will hold up to 1 ½" between sections, or multiple thinner books that equal that capacity.
3. Press start, and walk away. Or if you have more documents to load, place them just as before into the open sections as the machine rotates the books through, and exposes more open sections. The Drop&Go technology feature means that once your Accel Ultra is loaded, you don't have to stand around or perform any other tasks while it binds. The Accel Ultra will chime and the binding light on the side of the machine will turn red when the binding process is complete (which takes about 1 minute*) so that your operator can remove the finished documents, and load more documents to be bound.

2. Coverbind Accel Cube

Just like the Ultra models, the Accel Cube is a semi-automated thermal binding machine that reaches speeds that are only surpassed by the Ultra itself. It has the same 60 second binding cycle, but because of the rotating conveyor, the binding speed can reach up to 60 books per minute. I don't want to talk your ear off with the same "how it works" spiel as above, so please refer to the details above as far as how Coverbind has innovated their machinery and thermal binding cover supplies.

Important Specs/Capabilities:

• Document Size: Letter Size, Portrait (8 ½" W x 11" H)
• Capacity: Up to a 5/8" Thick Spine
• Cycle Speed: 1 Minute / Binding Cycle*
• Binding Speed: 60 Documents / Minute
• Approximate Annual Volume: Up to 5,000 per Year

Accel Cube Thermal Binding Machine Basic Instructions

1. Turn on the thermal binding machine from the LCD screen. Gather your pages together into a stack and place the stack into the spine size selector on the top of the Accel Cube. The screen will display which size of Coverbind cover you should be using based on the document thickness, eliminating any guesswork. It will bind documents using spine sizes from 1/16" up to 5/8".
2. Insert your page stack into the cover size recommended, and place the cover into the machine. You can place them one at a time, or in batches with several books. The slot will hold up to a 5/8" thick spine, so you can place as many documents into it at once as will fit into that capacity.
3. Drop&Go technology will move the documents through the machine, completing the binding process automatically. This means you don't have to stand around and wait once all documents are loaded into the machine; you can walk away and perform other tasks while it runs. When the process is complete, a light on the screen will turn red, letting your operator know they can remove the books from the exit tray. This light will also turn red when the exit tray is full, and needs to be emptied before the bind can be completed. The entire binding process takes only about 1 minute* per cycle.

3. Unibind UniBinder 8.2

The UniBinder 8.2 is different from the Accel models above in that is it a 100% manual machine. That doesn't affect the ease of this thermal binding machine, however; just the manual requirement and speed of binding. That being said, it is quite a bit more affordable for those with a smaller budget, or possibly even lower volume needs that wouldn't warrant the automatic Accel machines above.

Because this is a Unibind brand machine, it also uses a different form of thermal binding covers. Offially these are called UniCovers and they have actual steel spines. The steel spine is required for the machine to activate, so know that the Unibind thermal binding supplies are only compatible with the Unibind thermal binding machines, and vice versa. The unique thermal adhesive resin is pre-applied into the Unibind binding spines, which removes the hassle of having to apply glue yourself. This unique resin is extremely strong and ensures a quality bind that will last. It can also be re-heated to allow for editing your books, which makes it easy to fix mistakes, add to your presentation, or remove information that may no longer be needed.

The three-compartment binding system is simple, and requires no prep or maintenance to keep it running at full-potential. The first compartment is the heating element, which is separated into two sections. Both sections perform the same way; the separation simply helps keep your books as straight as possible, and is especially helpful when only binding a few books at a time. The second compartment is the crimper, and this is a single-book crimping machine that activates automatically when the spine is placed inside. Lastly, the third compartment is for cooling, and is separated just like the heating compartment into two sections to help keep your books upright.

Important Specs/Capabilities:

• Document Size: Letter Size, Portrait (8 ½" W x 11" H)
• Capacity: Up to a 1 ⅜" Thick Spine
• Cycle Speed: 2 Minutes / Binding Cycle*
• Binding Speed: 4 Documents / Minute
• Approximate Annual Volume: Less than 1,000 per Year

UniBinder 8.2 Thermal Binding Machine Basic Instructions

1. Place your pages in the UniCover thermal binding cover of your choice, and place the spine into one of the heating compartments. These compartments are large enough to handle as many as 8 books at one time, depending on how thick your books are.
2. In just 90 seconds, move the books into the crimping compartment to finish the spine. If you are binding multiple books at one time, be sure to just place one book into the crimper at a time.
3. Lastly, move the books into one of the cooling compartments until the spine is no longer warm.

For more information or a quote, call us at (800) 944-4573

About the Author • Mallory Morsa has been the product expert at Binding101 since 2008, and has grown up in the industry. Every day she pushes herself to learn new information, incorporating real-life experiences to create solutions to the most common problems in the industry, and then present those solutions in a way that is easy to understand for everyone, from novices to experts.