Jeff McRitchie

The Pros and Cons of the Fellowes Pulsar 300 Plastic Comb Binding Machine

Fellowes makes a number of binding machines of the wire, comb, and thermal varieties. One of their popular comb binders is the Pulsar 300, a device that is good for small offices. Here are the pros and cons of this device.

The pros:

• The Pulsar has a 300-sheet binding capacity so you'll be able to create fairly lengthy documents with it.
• This device can punch up to 15 sheets of paper at a time. The paper is punched vertically which ensures that the holes will be accurately placed and you won't end up with pages that are useless. There's an adjustable rotary edge guide that will help you center the paper as well.
• Selecting the right binding comb can be challenging even if you've been binding with plastic combs for a long time. Luckily, the Pulsar has a comb selector printed on it so you'll have some help choosing the right supplies.
• The Pulsar has a storage tray built right in to it so you'll have a handy place to store your combs.
• This machine won't take up very much room. It has dimensions of 5.125" (height) x 18.125" (width) x 15.375" (depth). It also looks great and it won't be an eyesore in your office.
• The Pulsar comes with a great warranty as Fellowes will cover the product for two years.

The cons:

• Although a 15-page punching capacity isn't bad for this type of machine, it's not stellar either. If you're going to be binding a 300-page book, you'll have to punch about 20 sets of paper just to get to 300 sheets. That could be a bit tedious after a while. Therefore, this machine isn't ideal for high-volume outputs.
• This machine doesn't have disengageable dies, so you'll be pretty much limited to creating letter-sized booklets. It also lacks an adjustable depth of punch margin control. Thus, you won't be able to decide how far away from the edge of the paper the holes will be punched.
• The punching/binding lever is located on the right-hand side of the machine, so left-handed users might have some trouble using the Pulsar.

The verdict:

The Fellowes Pulsar 300 would be a good comb binding machine for smaller offices that only need to use a binder on an occasional basis. It's great that so much time and effort was put into this device to ensure that your pages will be punched accurately. The binding capacity is also terrific, and you'll really appreciate the comb storage tray and the comb selector. However, as mentioned before, due to this machine 15-page punching capacity, this isn't the ideal device for offices that need to produce a lot of books on a frequent basis. Punching a lot of paper will simply be too tedious and take way too much time. Also, the lack of disengageable dies is disappointing, as is the placement of the handle. However, if you just need a binding machine for occasional use, the Pulsar would be a good choice, especially since it comes with a good warranty. If this is the machine you want, get it today and see what it can do for you.

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