Fellowes Quasar 500 Plastic Comb Binding Machine Review
By: Jeff McRitchie
Overview:
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The Fellowes Quasar 500 is a full featured manual plastic comb binding machine designed for small and medium offices that are looking to do plastic comb binding.
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The Quasar 500 offers the same contemporary and ergonomic design found in other Fellowes comb binding machines such as the Starlet and the Star. However, this machine includes features that are simply not available in those less expensive models.
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This machine is designed for use with both round and oval shaped plastic comb binding spines and can bind documents up to two inches thick (approximately 500 sheets of 20lb paper).
Strengths / Features:
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The Quasar 500 has contemporary design that sets it apart from many other plastic comb binding machines on the market. The machines folds closed when it is not in operation. The dark grey and silver colored plastic housing provides an elegant and contemporary look that is designed to blend in with other pieces of office equipment. Plus, the machine offers an ergonomic handle that is easy to use by operators who are both left and right handed.
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Unlike the Fellowes Star and Starlett which only punch 7 sheets of paper at a time, the Quasar 500 is designed to punch up to 20 sheets per lift. Even the largest and most powerful manual plastic comb binding machines are only rated for between 20 25 sheets of paper at a time.
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The Quasar is capable of binding documents with plastic combs as small as 1/4 inch and as large as two inches. It includes a heavy duty plastic comb opener with metal fingers and metal hooks. The system can open both round combs (1/4 inch 1 1/8 inch) and oval combs (1 1/4 inch 2 inch).
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This machine has a storage tray that slides out of the side of the machine. The storage tray will hold a selection of binding combs and has a plastic comb size selector. The selector allows you to determine the correct size of comb for use with your document and it also allows you to determine the size of any comb that you have on hand.
Weaknesses / Limitations:
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Although this binding machine can be used with virtually any size of plastic binding comb, it is not designed to bind documents that are shorter or longer than 11 inches in length. It doesn t have disengageable pins or an open throat design. Without any open throat it is impossible to punch documents longer than 11.25 (oversized covers). Without disengageable punching pins, documents less than 11 inches in length will most likely end up with a partial hole on the edge of the page.
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Although the slide out storage tray seems like a good idea, it is not large enough to hold any real quantity of binding combs. The document measuring device is nice, however, this machine would benefit from having a larger chip tray instead of built in comb storage.
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Although this machine has an excellent punching capacity and is capable of binding documents up to 2 inches thick, it is still made primarily out of plastic. Although this machine looks great, it might not be the best choice for heavy duty users or for applications where the machine may be abused (such as schools). These environments will most likely benefit from a machine made from metal components.
Recommendation:
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The Fellowes Galaxy 500 is an excellent choice for users who are looking for a contemporary binding machine that will fit in a small office or medium office environment.
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It has an excellent punch capacity, an ergonomic design and can bind documents that are up to two inches thick.
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However, this machine is not an excellent fit for high volume users or for applications where multiple users may abuse the machine. In those cases it may be best to sacrifice style and settle for an all metal machine such as the Tamerica 210PB.
Author Resource:-> Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for http://www.mybinding.com/ . He has written over 500 articles on binding machine,binding covers, binding supplies,ring binders, index tabs, laminators, laminating supplies, shredders and paper handling equipments.
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