GBC CombBind C110 Plastic Comb Binding Machine Review
In 2007 GBC (General Binding Corporation) replaced the CombBind C100 with a new updated model. That new model was the C110 and it featured new styling and several new features. Today we are going to take a look at the New GBC C110 manual comb binding machine, its features, its limitations and its construction. Let’s take a look…
Features:
The C110 is a manual plastic comb binding machine that is designed to be an introductory model for small to medium sized companies that need to assemble reports, presentations, proposals and training materials. This machine is officially rated for the punching of up to fifteen sheets of 20lb paper at a time. However, realistically you are going to be able to punch 12 or 13 sheets of paper comfortably. This is a significant improvement over some of the smaller machines that punch five to eight sheets at a time. However, it can still be very tedious for punching large reports and documents.
One improvement that GBC made when they replaced the C100 was that they replaced the old slot machine style handle with a bar style handle that stretches across the front of the C110. This new style of handle is not only more comfortable to use, it is also designed to be better ergonomically. This new handle design makes this machine better suited for individuals who are both left and right handed and should help to reduce the risk of repetitive motion injuries.
The C110 comb binding machine also has a convenient paper edge guide that allows you to adjust your machine for punching letter sized documents, oversized covers and A4 sized paper. This paper edge guide is the same type of guide as is found on the C50 and the C75. It is very easy to use and is ideal if these three paper sizes fit your binding needs.
The Combind 110 also comes equipped with a plastic comb opener that is capable of binding documents up to 300 pages in length (approximately 1-1/2″). Although it is not designed for use with 1-3/4″ and 2″ combs, it provides a significantly larger binding capacity than the C75 for not a lot more money. For most users, the ability to bind documents up to 1-1/2″ should be more than adequate.
Limitations:
The Comb Bind C110 is a great binding machine. However, there are some things that it just simply does not include. One of these things is disengageable punching pins. This means that the C110 does not include the ability to stop one of the holes on the machine from punching. This feature is important for binding long documents (such as legal size or 11″ x 17″) or non standard sized documents. If you anticipate the need to bind shorter or longer documents you might want to consider a machine with disengageable pins.
The C110 also does not include a depth of punch margin control. This means that you have no control over the distance of the holes from the edge of the paper. Without this feature the C110 should not be used with 3/16″ plastic combs. This is one of the reasons that this machine is not capable of handling the largest sizes of plastic combs (the other reason has to do with the design of the comb opener). The holes that it produces are too close to the edge of the paper on the C110 and thus they can easily tear out of the binding.
Construction:
The C110 is better built than many other small comb binding machines available on the market. It has a separate handle that operates the comb opener. This handle is metal and is nice since it helps to prolong the life of the comb opener since those components on the machine are not moving during the punching process. However, the body of the machine is still a combination of plastic and metal. It isn’t a bad machine, it just isn’t built with the durability that you will find in larger all metal options such as the C250 or the 210PB. This simply means that if something were to break on the C110 you are more than likely going to need to replace it rather than repair it. This is something that you should be aware of when purchasing this machine.
Recommendation:
The GBC Comb Bind C110 is a solid introductory comb binding machine that will fit well within a small to medium sized office that doesn’t do a lot of binding. It is designed to meet the needs of the majority of users and handle small proposals and larger thicker documents. That being said, it would not be a recommended machine for high volume applications. In fact, if high volume users were to attempt to use this machine there is a good chance that they will end up replacing it within one to two years.
