Renz WBS 340 Modular Manual Wire Closer

Staff Review

Renz WBS 340 Manual Double Loop Wire Closer Product Review

Overview:

• The Renz WBS 340 is a manual double loop wire closing device that is designed to work in conjunction with a Renz modular binding punch or any other piece of modular wire punching equipment.
• Capable of being used as a standalone machine or being mounted to the front of a Renz DTP punch, this wire closer has several features not found on other pieces of twin loop wire closing equipment.
• The WBS-340 is capable of closing almost any size of wire binding spine and can be used for handling documents up to fourteen inches in length.

Strengths / Features:

• The WBS340 is incredibly versatile in the types of binding spines that it can accept. Whether you need to close 3:1 pitch, 2:1 pitch or 19 loop wire combs, this machine can do it. In fact, this machine can handle incredibly small 3/16″ double loop wires and massive 1-1/2″ wire-o spines. Plus it can close all of the sizes in between. This is one of the only wire closers on the market that can be used to bind documents with such a wide assortment of sizes.
• This machine has a maximum closing width of fourteen inches. This means that it can be used for finishing a huge variety of standard and custom length documents. It can easily bind documents with a letter, legal, A4, A6, half letter or smaller binding edge.
• The WBS-340 is specifically designed to hang on the front of a Renz modular punch. With this application in mind, it has a wire hanger built into the front of the closer to allow you to hang your pages onto the spine before you complete the closing process. Considering the fact that many Rhino Tuff and GBC modular binding punches do not include a wire hanging device, the Renz WBS340 is an excellent choice for increasing productivity with almost any modular punch.

Weaknesses / Limitations:

• As was mentioned above, the Renz WBS-340 is designed to hang on the front of a DTP modular binding punch. If you have a DTP punch, then you will not need any accessories to use this machine. However, if you want to use the 340 as a standalone wire closer, you will need to purchase a special module holding stand. The module holder costs about $45 and provides stability to the machine so that it does not tip or move during the closing process.
• The WBS340 uses a knob along the top of the machine that slides back and forth to set the closing distance of the unit. This adjustment should provide enough control to ensure precise closing. However, the mechanism is not as heavy duty as the dual metal knobs included on the Rhin-O-Tuff HD8000 or the GBC MC12. I don’t think that this should be a huge issue but it is worth mentioning.
• If you include the module holder, the WBS-340 is slightly more expensive than some of the other wire closers available on the market. However, it has several features that other wire closers do not include. The price difference is minimal but for organizations on a really tight budget it might make a difference.

Recommendation:

• With the ability to bind all of the different sizes and pitches of wire that are available on the market, the WBS-340 is an excellent choice for any organization looking for a manual wire closing machine.
• It is the only wire modular wire closer available on the market with a document hanger included which makes it an ideal companion to a Renz, GBC or Rhino Tuff modular binding punch.
• However, if you plan on purchasing this machine for standalone use, don’t forget that you will need a module holder.

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.