Of Value

Overview:

The WireMac Combo is one of the only options that bind both twin loop wire and plastic combs with the same machine. This versatile binder comes in your choice of either a 2:1 pitch wire binding punch for larger sized documents, or a 3:1 pitch wire binding punch for thinner documents. In addition to the high-quality wire binding that Akiles is known for, the WireMac Combo also has the ability to bind documents with plastic combs. With all of this flexibility, the WireMac Combo can be an excellent choice if you are seeking a highly versatile biding option.

Features:

The WireMac Combo has a variety of excellent binding features. These great features include two 14″ long legal sized punching slots. One of these slots is used to create rectangular holes for plastic comb binding and the other slot is used for either a 2:1 or a 3:1 pitch hole pattern for wire binding (depending on your model). This makes the WireMac Combo an efficient and flexible binding machine.

Both models include a full-featured wire closer capable of handling wires from 3/16″ up to 1-1/4″. If you need a 2:1 pitch wire punch, you can use corresponding 2:1 pitch wire for the full spectrum of sizes. If you need a 3:1 pitch wire punch, however, you can still bind larger sized documents with wire by using a larger-sized spiral-o wire.

The features don’t end with wire binding, however. The machine includes a high-quality plastic comb opener, capable of handling plastic combs from 3/16″ up to 2″ in diameter, and other great features, Including a depth of punch margin control, fully disengageable punching pins and measurement guides for both plastic comb binding and wire binding.

Limitations:

As mentioned, the WireMac Combo is extremely versatile, but it’s no “beauty queen.” With all of the features combined into one machine, the WirMac combo is a fairly large style and it does look somewhat awkward. If you can see beyond its less-than-beautiful looks and oversized footprint, however, the WireMac Combo can be an excellent choice for your binding requirements, for a variety of volume applications.

If you are looking for a wide array of binding options for small or large documents, you may be a little disappointed, as these choices are somewhat limited without buying special supplies. These supplies can be quite a bit more difficult to find than standard twin-loop wire sizes. In addition, manual punching is not ideal for high volume applications, so if you work in larger quantities, this may not be the binding machine that will work best for you.

Construction:

The WireMac Combo is made with a heavy-duty metal construction that durable and built to last. This tough construction is part of the Akiles heritage and can be found in other wire and spiral coil binding machines made by the company. As a matter of fact, the machine comes with a one-year warranty, but is rarely needed due to its predictably consistent performance.

Recommendation:

The Akiles WireMac Combo is a great choice and highly-recommended for a small to mid sized company. This machine has the ability to bind documents in more than one way. With both plastic comb binding and twin loop wire binding. The only drawback may be that the WireMac Combo is somewhat large and possibly awkward to use.

A larger organization might want to consider a modular system with all of the “bells and whistles” like; a modular punch mechanism, a wire closer, or even a comb-bind opener. This type of system is a good deal more expensive, but it does offer a measurably-higher productivity factor . However, if you bind a wide-range of documents, this is the right binding machine for the job, handling almost any length or thickness of document that you can imagine.



By: Jeff McRitchie

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