Jeff McRitchie

Reviewing The Akiles DuoMac C51 Plastic Comb and 5:1 Pitch Spiral Coil Binding Machine

The Akiles DuoMac line of binding machines allows you to combine two different binding styles quickly and easily into one machine.This machine offers options for binding documents with plastic combs and 5:1 pitch spiral coil.Using this machine you can get three completely different looks for your documents. This is impressive since most machines only offer one binding style.

• Sometimes just one binding style isn't enough. Organizations may want one look for internal documents and another for client presentations. Or perhaps two different departments are looking for different looks for their bound materials.
• The Akiles DuoMac line of binding machines allows you to combine two different binding styles quickly and easily into one machine.
• This machine offers options for binding documents with plastic combs and 5:1 pitch spiral coil.

Features / Strengths:

• This is the only plastic comb / 5:1 pitch spiral coil combination machine available on the market. It includes a punch for the plastic comb pattern. A punch for the 5:1 pitch spiral coil pattern and a comb opener to open combs for inserting pages. It also includes a wire closer (this machine is built on the same template as the Duomac wire binding machines). This means that you can also use it for binding documents with 19 loop spiral-O wire.
• Using this machine you can get three completely different looks for your documents. This is impressive since most machines only offer one binding style.
• Plastic comb binding is one of the cheapest and easiest to use binding methods available on the market. This machine can handle combs from 3/16" up to 2" in diameter.
• This machine can also handle 5:1 pitch spiral coil binding (5 holes per inch). This is a special variety of spiral coil that is more tightly wound than standard 4:1 pitch coil. Some users prefer this style for its tightly wound professional look.
• This machine also includes the same great features as are found in other Akiles binding machines such as depth of punch margin controls, continuous punching guides and multiple handle operation.

Weaknesses / Limitations:

• There was only so many things that Akiles could add to one machine and although this machine has almost everything else it is noticeably missing an electric spiral coil inserter. For users that do very much spiral coil binding the addition of a stand alone inserter such as the Roll-A-Coil would be highly suggested.
• With so many things added to one machine, it sort of takes on the appearance of an octopus. This machine actually has four arms (not 8) but you get the idea. It has a fairly large footprint and it can be a little bit confusing to operate.
• The supplies for spiral-o wire binding and 5:1 pitch coil binding are not nearly as common as some other binding systems. This can sometimes result in increased lead times especially for non standard colors or odd sizes.

Construction:

• The Akiles Duomac C51 is extremely well built. It is made almost entirely of metal and is designed to stand up in a professional environment. In fact these machines are often chosen by print shops, binderies, copy centers and corporate offices.
• The Duomac C51 includes a free pair of coil crimpers for finishing your 5:1 pitch coil bound documents.
• As mentioned above it is not the prettiest combination but it has features not found in any other binding machine on the market.

Recommendation:

• For users who are looking for a high quality 5:1 pitch coil binding machine or a comb binding machine this is a great option. It includes all of the features that you need to bind with Combs, Coil and Wire at a great price point.
• If you plan on using this machine a lot for coil binding you are going to want to get a stand alone coil inserter.
• This is a great choice if you want options. However, unless you are looking specifically for the 5:1 pitch coil you might want to consider the Duomac C41 which offers the same features with a 4:1 pitch coil punch instead of the 5:1.

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