A lot of small or home based businesses often find that, in order to keep costs down, they might need to start looking into doing their own document binding. If you are in the market for a spiral coil binding machine that will see relatively light use, you may want to take a look at the Akiles Rubicoil. It s a fine entry level machine that can see a lot of projects through. Here is a close look at this machine s pluses and minuses, along with a final recommendation.
Pros:
1. The price. At less than two hundred dollars this is one of the most affordable coil binders on the market. If you are just getting started binding your own documents, the Rubicoil is a great place to start, allowing you to get your feet wet without getting soaked.
2. This machine is hand neutral meaning that it is as easy for left handers to use as it is for righties. Believe it or not, most coil binding machines handles are located on the right side of the machine, making it pretty difficult for lefties to comfortably use them.
3. The steel dies that the Rubicoil uses are pretty hardy, and pack a pretty good punch, as it were. Able to punch up to ten sheets of normal 20lb paper, or up to two clear cover sheets. This is pretty good capacity for the price.
4. If you judge by the product photos you see in catalogs or the web, you might get the idea that the Rubicoil is of plastic construction. You will be pleasantly surprised, however, to find out that it is made of metal and more durable than it might appear. We re not saying that you are going to be finding it on any major production floors, but for light duty, it should fit the bill just fine.
Cons:
1. The Rubicoil has a punch, but no motorized rollers, which are helpful when you are trying to insert the coils. For just a very few documents, this is not a huge problem, but any more than that and you are looking at some serious tedium.
2. Because there are no disengageable dies, you will be stuck using letter sized paper only, for the most part. If you try any other size, you will end up with incomplete holes on the ends. A4 is possible, however, with the purchase of a few extra pins.
3. On account of this machine being designed to bind only thinner documents, Akiles did not include a depth of margin control on the Rubicoil. For most people this won t be a problem. However, it is something that you may want to note.
4. You will have to buy your own crimping pliers, as they are not included.
Recommendation:
As a well put together machine at a very reasonable price, the Rubicoil would make a nice choice for a person or small business that is looking to get into spiral coil binding. There is not a lot of flexibility involved with this machine, and the process will be on the slow side, but as an entry into very low volume spiral coil binding, you can t really go wrong with this machine.
Author Resource:
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for http://www.mybinding.com .He has written over 500 articles on binding machines,binding covers,binders,laminators,binding supplies,laminating supplies,paper handling equipments,index tabs, and shredders.
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