MyBinding Knowledge Base
What are the features on a Paper Folder?
Owning paper folder is a great idea if you send out a lot of correspondence. These deviceswill fold your documents for you so you can spend your time doing something more important. If you have one of these machines (or are thinking of getting one), it can be helpful to know what parts it has. This can make it easier to use and maintain the device, as well as educate you on which features you should look for. That said, let’s take a quick look at the various parts of your paper folder.
- The trays. Your machine will have two trays. One is the input tray. You place the paper that needs to be folded here. Depending on the device you have, you may be able only to place a few sheets in the tray. The other tray is the output tray. This is where your documents will end up once they’ve been folded. There are a couple of different kinds of output trays including bins and conveyor belts. These kinds are typically found on larger machines and each has its advantages and disadvantages. (For one thing, a unit with a conveyor belt is going to be pretty large. A bin will take up less room but your items will get bunched up in it.) If you don’t already have your folder, be sure to give some thought as to which kind of output tray will be best for your needs.
- The rollers. Paper folders are equipped with two different kinds of rollers. The first kind is the pickup rollers. These parts will feed your documents into the machine so they can be move on to the fold rollers. Once the documents make it to the fold rollers, they’ll be on their way to the place in the machine where the folding occurs. Both pickup and fold rollers are usually made out of rubber and it really helps to keep them free of dust. Cleaning them is easy: just unplug the machine and wipe them down with a damp cloth. If you use your device a lot, you may need to replace the fold rollers at some point, so keep that in mind.
- The fold plates. Finally, there are the fold plates. These are the metal parts that actually fold your paper and a folder will usually have between 1 and 3 of them. Many devices can fold documents either in half or in thirds, although some of the higher-end machines can do fancier folds. It’s usually pretty easy to adjust the positioning of the plates – with most machines, you can often just turn a knob. You should do some adjusting if your documents aren’t coming out the way you’d like them to. It will give you better results.
< Over the years, a number of customers have asked me whether they can use twin loop wire with their plastic comb binding machine. These customers often don’t want to have to buy a brand new machine but like the look and feel of twin loop wire binding. However, the answer to their question isn’t as simple as it seems. You see, they actually do make twin loop wire that is designed to work with the plastic comb binding hole pattern. With that said, if you want to use these wires you are going to need a way to close the wires. What is Spiral-O Wire? Let me explain a little bit more…There is a product that we carry called Spiral-O Wire. This wire has 19 loops and is designed to work with the hole pattern from a plastic comb binding machine. Spiral-O Wire is sometimes called Wire Combs or Ibico Wire and was originally designed for use with some of the older Ibico binding machines. A number of the older Ibico plastic comb binding machines also included a twin loop wire closer on the front of them to allow users to use both plastic combs and wire. This 19 loop wire was designed for this purpose. What Equipment is Needed? As the Ibico brand has been phased out by GBC and all of the older Ibico plastic binding machines have been replaced with new models, they no longer have the twin loop wire closer on the front of them. This presents a problem in trying to use these spiral-o wires since you can’t use the wires without a way to close them. One of the only options left is to purchase a Twin Loop wire closer. However, since twin loop wire closers are not incredibly cheap this option usually only appeals to users who have larger electric plastic comb binding machines. Otherwise, it is often advisable to simply buy a low end 3:1 pitch twin loop wire binding machine (the supplies are cheaper). This being said, if you have one of the older Ibico binding machines that has a wire closer included you are in luck. The Spiral-O binding supplies that we carry will work perfectly with your machine and you will be able to use both plastic combs and wire depending on your needs. These Spiral-O binding supplies are available in Black, Silver, White, Blue and Red and in sizes up to 1″ in diameter. If you aren’t sure what type of wire binding supplies that you need to work with your machine simply give us a call. Our trained sales representatives will be glad to help you find the correct supplies for use with your machine.(Read More)
