Fellowes Mfg Co. 5006501 Star+ 150 Manual Comb Binding Machine - White

After receiving this, I went thru the directions. I did punch thru 12 easily. I did not have to bind 150 pages, but I did a 24 page report for my office! It did a beautiful job binding it. It looks so professional. I was shocked how easy it is, and did not have to go to the store for supplies as this machine came with a starter pack of everything needed! It is light, adjustable, and easy to use! My boss is going to think I binded this using an office supply company! I won't tell him I did it myself. I give this item 5 Stars!

Out of the box, I really liked the looks of this binding machine. Low profile with nice neutral colors, smooth surfaces and curved corners prevent it from being an eyesore in the home office like some pieces of equipment. I was also impressed with the weight of it. It just feels like a quality item that will last. The cover stands up to act as a document support, but folds down when not in use. It also can be stood up on its side for storing vertically so it takes up even less room on a shelf. The machine comes with clear instructions. I only glanced at them since I had used a binding machine in my job previously and already had a good idea of how they work. I discovered my favorite feature right away—a little pull out tray on the right side that holds the plastic “combs” that you use to hold together your document. There’s a sizer in the tray that allows you to slide in the stack of paper you need to bind so you have an idea of which comb to use as well as a sizer for the comb so you’re sure to pick the right one. Brilliant! I don’t know if other binders have this feature, but they should! Next to it is a plastic door that you remove to empty out the tiny pieces of paper that were punched out. You can tell if the “gutter” is getting full by a convenient little window built into the machine that lets you see whether it’s full or not. I noticed the plastic door fits securely so there’s little chance of “confetti” escaping and getting everywhere. The box states the machine can punch 12 sheets of paper at a time. I was finding it a little tough to get through 12 sheets until I realized the paper I was using is 24 lb. which is around 4 lbs. heavier than regular copy paper which usually runs around 20 lb.. I pulled out a few sheets and we were back in business. Even with the full 12 sheets in there, it did punch the paper, however it was a little harder to pull the handle and the paper tended to want to shift so your holes may not line up or they could be too close to the edge. It took no time to put together a twenty-six page document. It’s nice to have the flip up support at the back that you can lean the document against so it’s not flopping over and it helps to make sure the pages are situated straight. Also there’s a dial adjustable paper guide along with an illustration of where the punches are going to be so you always know the layout. The adjustment is useful if you were adding binding covers which are a little bigger than regular paper. You insert the plastic comb behind the metal teeth and slowly draw down the small handle on the left of the machine. You’ll see the smaller teeth move to the right and capture the rings of the comb opening them up more the further you draw on the handle. You want to open them just enough so that you can feed your document pages onto the comb. I was able to load my document on the comb all at once with no hassle at all. Push the small lever away from you to close the comb, carefully remove your document and you’re done. I designed calendar pages on the computer and printed them on high gloss 10.5 mill. photo paper. I wasn’t sure how punching holes in the pages would go since they are thick and very slippery. I punched just one sheet at a time and it went through it like butter. I probably could have done more sheets at once, but since I really didn’t want to have to reprint a page and use a lot of ink, I took it slow and it did perfect. I used the 5/16” inch comb to take into consideration the thickness of the paper, the pages went on the comb in minutes and I had the calendar on my wall two minutes after that. I was very impressed with how easily and precisely it punched the photo paper especially. Im looking forward to creating other projects with it such as scrapbooks and recipe books. I believe this binding machine has lots of uses beyond just the office.

This personal comb binding machine is simple and easy to use! I have bound some printed recipe sheets I've had laying around the kitchen that I use. Now I have some order and they will stay clean. If you purchase one of these and don't "get" the instructions in the manual, you can go to YouTube and there is a video that explains it. You do need to purchase covers and combs yourself. There are several different sizes of combs depending upon the amount of paper you want to bind. These seem to be fairly inexpensive. The smallest comb binds only about 12 sheets of paper and the front and back covers. There are two drawers on the right hand side. The one in the front is for comb storage and there is a nifty tool so you can measure the comb to let you know what size it is so you'll know how much paper you can bind with this comb. The one in the back is where the paper from the punch falls when you punch the paper. I have old family recipes I want to make into a cookbook with pictures and comments and give to relatives, and this will be perfect for this project! I really don't see any downside to this product at this point. It works wonderfully.

Granted, every desktop doesn't require one of these machines - your typical stapler or three-hole punch will suffice. However, there are times when you need to truck on down to the Copy Center to use something with a little more horsepower or finesse. (When you require the electric stapler, the industrial strength three-hole punch - or this little beauty.) This machine will allow you to create a custom-made handout or brochure that isn't merely stapled, or bull-clipped, or shoved into a glommy three-ring binder. It has a compact binding, a decent backing, a custom (or transparent) cover and, best of all, it still fits into a briefcase or tote. It even has a storage drawer for a variety of plastic binding combs (different sizes for different page counts) and another to hold punched paper confetti. (Punching, by the way, is extremely easy and produces precise, clean holes.) I've only found two "Con's" (neither has anything to do with the actual machine): the instructions, and the plastic combs. The instructions are pretty bad and really don't do justice to the machine. It's not intuitive how it operates - and the instructions don't help at all. You'll need to play with it for a while before achieving success (unless someone has demonstrated it to you in the past). The plastic combs work quite nicely - providing you stretch them out only briefly (like when you bind a document). If you stretch them out and leave them that way while you punch the paper - they tend to lose their elasticity and fail to close completely when released - allowing the pages to fall out. The bottom line... (1) You may, or may not, need this machine for your desk, office, etc. It depends on what kind of paperwork you produce. (2) You may have to play with it a bit to figure out how it works (or ask for assistance from someone who's used it before). (3) Do NOT keep the plastic combs stretched out for any length of time - they simply don't snap back into shape when you do.

The Fellowes Star+ 150 Manual Comb Binding Machine has far exceeded my expectations. I have had extensive experience with light duty office and home use office equipment. When I ordered this binding machine, I assumed that it would be perfectly functional, but light weight and very limited in the volume of use. The weight of the binding machine is substantial enough that it sits flat when punching the maximum amount of paper. When punching paper, the machine provides an adjustable left side justifying knob that allows the operator set the machine to punch multiple sets of paper in the same manner. While I’m not sure that this unit would hold up under commercial bindery use, it is surprisingly sturdy in the construction for a Home/Office comb binding machine. My initial test was to punch 6 pages of 80lb Bristol vellum paper. The paper punched like a hot knife through butter. I found the punching cross bar handle to be sturdy and smooth in the operation of punching paper. The handle used to spread the binding comb is ample, in size, for easy operation. With the use of a .75” (3/4”) comb, the unit can produce booklet up to 150 sheets. Using the .25” (1/4”) I was able to make several nice looking hobby related information booklets in a matter of minutes. I would highly recommend this machine for small office and home users.

This is a great Fellowes Star+ 150 comb binding machine! The instructions were very clear. The machine is compact and very easy to use. It is very sturdy. Seems to be well made. It is manual. I like the drawer on the bottom that catches the punched paper. You just pull it out and dump it. I also like that it has draw that holds the extra combs. In that same drawer it has measurements that show you what size comb that you need. It is a built-in, mistake-proof measuring tool. It has an adjustable edge guide that helps you center your document. Documents are loaded vertically. It can be stored horizontally or vertically. It can bind 150 sheets. You can punch up to 12 pages at a time. I used the machine to bind an educational book for my girls. The machine is nice looking. It is white and gray in color. The machine is fun to use. This was easy enough for my girls to use. You can use this for presentations, handbooks, proposals, etc... I think that it is well worth it's price. This would be great for home and small office. This will be very handy in homeschooling.

This machine is wonderful. It will bind up to 500 sheets of paper. When receiving this machine that is what you will get. Since I am reviewing this product it came with binding combs, binding covers in clear and black letter size mid weight and 25 sheets each. The combs itself range from 1/4" to 2" which will hold up to 500 sheets of document. It is light weight with a handle. It also has two storage trays, one which holds the combs and one for the paper scraps. It is very easy to use. Depending on how many sheets of paper you use will determine how much pressure to use to punch out the holes. Make sure when putting in your documents that they are facing you when putting the holes in or your sheets will be upside down and the comb will be backwards. The comb is a little tricky to put in just make sure the solid black strip is toward the back of the machine and the comb part (teeth) are facing you. It takes about 20 minutes to learn how to use this machine but worth the effort. Not hard to use. Documents look professional.

The Fellowes Star + 150 Manual Comb Binding Machine is AWESOME! As soon as mine arrived, I could not wait to create a project. I immediately printed some free medical forms on-line and created a bound medical office book for my 3½ year old granddaughter to use in her pretend medical office. The machine is super-easy to use and the instructions couldn’t be more clear and straightforward. The combs come in a variety of sizes (to accommodate the number of pages in your book) and binder covers are available for purchase from the company. You will have to purchase combs and binders, as none are typically included. I did go to the website and the supply prices were very reasonable. I would recommend this amazing machine to everyone-students, homeschoolers, troop leaders, teachers, and grandparents (of course). Imagine the top-notch school projects your child could prepare with this piece of equipment. Truly, it would add some extra-special detailing to their presentations. For my next project, I plan to make a cookbook of all my favourite recipes, so that each one of my grown children will have them in the future. My daughter has some recipes already, but my sons (both single) may want them for their wives one day in the future. The binding machine will be a perfect way to create something really special, with recipes and family photos, to pass down to my children.

When I received this product, I was rather surprised by the weight of it. It's rather heavy! In the box: Machine is fully assembled and includes a 2 page manual. The directions in the manual are somewhat vague. It took me a while to figure out the details of it. The pictures are NOT very descriptive either. I had no real idea how to properly load the comb. I eventually figured it out. The manual does state to use practice scrap paper. I did and it was a success! Then when I was making my projects-- it kept punching incorrectly on the right side. You have to be absolutely meticulous with this machine or the paper will shift and bam! you have junk paper! I suggest only punching 5 sheets at a time if your paper isn't the cheap stuff. The fewer sheets, the cleaner the punch. I'm sure excellence comes with practice , I'm hopeful! Overall it is pretty neat! Ive made books for all of my kids, they think it's the best thing ever! Please note that it DOES NOT come with any supplies!

I have been borrowing one of these from a neighbor and using it to make books for my handicapped child in order to keep his pictures together and even though I read the description and knew what the neighbors was this one is not as long and it is harder to punch with laminated covers on the pictures. it is just barely long enough. It seems to work great through and is easy to use...