The Fellowes Star is a low cost introductory plastic comb binding machine designed for home office and small office users.The Fellowes Star binding machine is designed to be extremely economical and offers light volume users an opportunity to bind their own documents without spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. It has a MSRP of about $110.00 and a selling price of around $75. For the features, this machine offers a great price and value.
Overview:
The Fellowes Star is a low cost introductory plastic comb binding machine designed for home office and small office users.
This machine offers a sleek and contemporary design that is easy to use and easy to transport.
The Star is a larger and improved version of the Fellowes Starlet plastic comb binding machine.
Strengths / Features:
The
Fellowes Star binding machine is designed to be extremely economical
and offers light volume users an opportunity to bind their own
documents without spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. It has a
MSRP of about $110.00 and a selling price of around $75. For the
features, this machine offers a great price and value.
The comb
opener on this machine has metal fingers and metal hooks. Many
inexpensive comb binding machines use plastic hooks to save money.
However, plastic hooks frequently break off making the machine useless.
The
Star binding machine includes a single ergonomic handle that stretches
across the front of the machine. This makes it easy for both right
handed and left handed operators to use this machine.
There is
a built in storage tray on the side of the machine to hold a small
supply of plastic combs. This helps to ensure that binding supplies are
always within reach. The storage tray also has a built in guide for
measuring the size of your comb binding supplies and to help determine
the right size of spine for your document.
Weaknesses / Limitations:
The
Star binding machine is only capable of binding documents up to 3/4"
thick. That equates to about 150 sheets of 20lb bond paper. It is
possible to punch documents thicker than this using this machine.
However, the comb opener is not designed to handle larger sized combs.
Users who need to bind documents thicker than this will really need to
consider a different machine.
This machine is designed to bind
documents that are 8.5" x 11". It can also punch oversized covers that
are 8.75" x 11.25" in size. However, it is not capable of punching
legal size, A4 size or custom sized sheets. To bind documents that are
smaller or larger than 11" in length a machine with disengageable dies
and an open throat would be necessary.
This machine is
constructed almost entirely out of plastic. For most occasional users
this should not be a problem. However, the machine is simply not
designed for high volume binding applications. Users who need to bind
more than a few documents per week should really consider a larger more
durable machine.
Recommendation:
The Fellowes Star is
a great choice for organizations that are looking for a low cost
plastic comb binding machine for occasional use in a home office or
small office environment.
The Star offers a sleek ergonomic design, is simple to use and is easy to transport.
Provided
that your organization doesn't need to bind documents larger than 3/4"
thick and doesn't need to do more than occasional binding then this is
a great fit.
Higher volume users will want to consider a heavier duty machine with metal components and an expanded feature set.
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.