As the only hardcover crimper currently
available on the market, this Pro-Bind unit enjoy a clear advantage.
For that reason, this review should probably be seen as more of an
evaluation of whether a crimping machine is a necessary part of the
process of hardbound book binding.
As the only hardcover crimper currently
available on the market, this Pro-Bind unit enjoys a clear advantage.
For that reason, this review should probably be seen as more of an
evaluation of whether a crimping machine is a necessary part of the
process of hardbound book binding. In our opinion, the answer is a
definite "yes." In the following report, we will tell you what we
consider to be some of the strengths and weaknesses of this particular
machine as well as the advantages of the having your hardbound books
run through a crimper.
Strengths:
The Pro Bind Hard
Cover Crimper is a great tool to have around during the finishing
process of thermal hardcover binding projects. What this machine does
is to force the hot glue that the binding machine uses into the edges
of the pages and up inside the spine. This helps to make sure that
every page is in contact with the binding glue and will thus remain
securely fastened into the book. If you don't use a crimper, there is
always the increased danger that some of the pages will not be securely
glued and will thus work themselves out of the document over time.
Another thing this crimper does a great job of is helping to shape the
book's spine. This particular crimper utilizes a couple of rods that
run along the spine of the books you are binding, giving the look of a
professionally bound, library ready book. This is the best and most
permanent kind of binding you can hope for, and really gives your
documents and elegant look and feel.
This crimper
also doubles as a cooling rack. At the end of the binding process,
after the spine has been crimped, all you need to do is to leave the
book right where it is and simply let the glue cool while you are
binding the next book.
Weaknesses:
Though
this machine does a great job, it is somewhat limited in that it can
only crimp and cool one book at a time. What this does is limit the
productivity of the crimper to somewhere around one book per minute. If
you are just binding a few documents, you will find that fairly
adequate. However, if you are in a situation where you want to bind and
crimp large numbers of books, depending on your budget and time
constraints, you may want to purchase a second machine to work
alongside this one, essentially doubling your productivity.
This crimper will do a great job with most of the available paper
stocks out there, but it shares the inherent limitations of thermal
binding with the rest of the industry. In particular, this means that a
lot of the glossier and thicker stocks have a difficult time remaining
bound inside their books. One solution has always been to put two or
three staples on the edges of the sheets you intend to bind. This seems
to work well, remaining out of the sight of the end user, and virtually
ensuring that the pages stay in the book, where they belong.
If you are interested in more information about the Pro-Bind Hard Cover Crimper you might want to visit MyBinding.com. They offer a great price on this machine and they even offer Free Shipping. Plus, they carry a great selection of Thermal Binding Machines for binding both hard cover and soft cover documents. Check them out today!