Paper carts are an important part of daily operations in many different businesses. This may be a printing press, a school or even a copy room. Making paper easy to move, transport and carry can be very important. With several different options out there, how do you know which type of paper cart to get? Here are a few tips that may put you on the right track!

Best Features To Look For In Paper Carts

• Amount Of Trays – Make sure the paper cart you get has enough trays to handle different stacks of paper (if needed) Some paper carts come with multiple trays, where others have a large shelf where you can place multiple stacks of paper. This is a matter of personal preference.
• Size Of Trays – Get the measurements of the tray and make sure it will hold your paper. Most paper cart trays are designed to hold at least an 8 ½” x 11″ sheet of paper where others are designed to hold large sheets of paper.
• Cart Weight Capacity – Make sure your cart can hold the amount of weight required. If you will only be carrying paper, this usually isn’t an issue. Many people, however, also use a paper cart to carry a binding machine, paper folding machine or other piece of office equipment.
• Casters – While all paper carts have casters (wheels), the caster size can vary. I have found that the larger the wheel, the easier it is to move.
• Material Makeup – Paper carts are available in metal and plastic designs. The style you choose depends on preference. The metal carts will be a little heavier, but will hold up well over time.

These are just a few tips that you will want to take into consideration when shopping around for a paper cart. You can find our entire selection of paper carts here.

I have had people ask me if you can laminate folded paper (addressed here), but I recently had someone ask if you can fold laminated paper. I suppose this is the other side of the coin. So can it be done? You bet, but you’re going to need a special tool.

Have you ever heard of a paper scorer? Paper scoring machines are special machines designed to crease paper for folding. These machines are generally reserved for use on thick cardstock or laminated documents.

How does a paper scoring machine work? They use a fine edge (or rolling wheel), along with a lot of pressure, to crease the paper. Once a paper scoring machine has been used on laminated paper, there will be a long creased line along the document. This crease makes it easy to fold the document. The crease, or fold, is clean and non-wrinkled. The end results look great!

So in what kind of a situation would you need to fold a laminated document? An example would be a restaurant menu. Laminated menus look great, but once laminated, often need to be folded. Some restaurants bypass this and simply use a large non-folded laminated menu. If you want to fold that menu, however, you must use a paper scorer.

Traditional paper folding machines cannot handle laminated paper. Not only would the end results look horrible, most paper folding machines have a hard enough time handling glossy and coated paper.

Paper scoring machines come in manual and automatic designs. You can find our entire selection of paper scoring machines and creasers here. Good luck!

Finding the right paper perforating machine or scorer can be difficult. This is because there are so many options out there. If you need something for light-volume perforation and scoring, and don’t need a higher-end electric machine, you may want to consider using the Lassco-Wizer Score II paper perforator and scorer. This is my review.

Lassco-Wizer makes a wide variety of office equipment. This includes numbering machines, perforators, corner rounders, paper drills and more. Their perforator line includes both electric (Count Auto Pro Plus) and manual (Score II) perforators.

The Score II manual paper perforator and scorer is available in two versions. These versions are the W630 and the W635. These both pretty much the same machines, but are slightly different sizes. The W630 perforates and scores up to 19 1/2″ long and the W635 up to 25″ long. I have used both and they feel and operate exactly the same.

The first thing you may notice upon seeing these machines is that they look remarkably similar to a rotary paper trimmer. The truth is, they are mechanically very similar. This is because the perforating and scoring wheels sits in a head that slides along a bar. Sound familiar?

The perforator wheel used by the Score II creates 10 perforations per inch. This is enough to easily tear paper, but is not fine enough to be considered a micro-perf. This style of perforation should be good enough for coupons, tickets and promotional material.

The scoring wheel does a nice job of putting a strait, consistent crease down a sheet of paper. The score looks good and is easy to do.

Using this machine is pretty easy. Place your paper on the base, adjust the guide to where you want the perforation or score and roll the wheel along the paper. After one pass the job should be complete. The Scorre II can perforate and score paper from 16lb up to cover stock.

I have had people ask if multiple sheets can be perforated at a time. To be honest, I have heard mixed results. The machine is designed to perforate one sheet at a time, although I have had customers tell me they have been able to get away with multiple sheets. I cannot, however, guarantee that this will work.

A common problem that many customers experience is that the rail has to be flipped for scoring or perforating. Many people use the perf wheel with the scoring rail and vice versa. The score rail has an “S” on it and the perforating rail has a “P” on it. As long as everything is set up correctly, you should be good to go.

One thing I wish the Score II had is an alignment grid. There is no grid printed on the base of this machine. There is a guide, that slides along a ruler in inches.

As long as you realize that this perforator & scorer is manual, you should be plenty happy with it. Most complaints I have received are from people who wish it could perforate paper at a faster rate. Remember, this machine is completely manually operated.

I have used the Score II and really like it. The build quality is nice and replacement perforating wheels are available.

You can find the Lassco-Wizer W630 Score II paper perforator & scorer here and the W635 here. You can find our entire selection of paper perforators here.

Paper perforators are useful machines when it comes to making coupons, tickets, promotional and marketing material. The tiny perforated holes make material very easy to tear. The type of perforator you use will depend entirely on what you are perforating, how many items you need to perforate and your budget. Here are a few tips that may help you choose a perforator.

To begin with, there are two main types of paper perforators. These are manual perforators and electric perforators. Here are a few examples of each:

1. Lassco-Wizer Score II Paper Perforator (Manual) – This manual perforator uses a rotary-style bar and wheel to perforate paper. Simply place your document on the work surface, position the paper where you need the perforation and run the perforating head across the paper. The result is  a perforated document. A guide makes it easy to position paper for repeat perforating.
2. Martin Yale 3800AP AutoPerf Perforator (Electric) – This electric perforator uses a series of perforating wheels mounted on a bar to perforate paper. Multiple wheels can be used for multiple perforations. It can use 3, 7, and 10-tooth perforating wheels. Because it is electric, it will automatically pull in one sheet at a time and perforate them. This is fast and efficient.

Manual paper perforators are ideal for low-volume use. This may involve a few dozen to perhaps a few hundred perforations a day. Electric perforators are ideal for medium to high-volume perforating and can create hundreds to thousands of perforations a day.

You can see examples of manual and electric paper perforators here. Keep in mind that your budget will come into play. Manual perforators, by nature, are going to be cheaper. Electric paper perforators will be more of an up-front investment, but can ultimately save a lot of time and money over the long run.

I have personally used both manual and electric paper perforators and find them both be efficient ways to perforate paper. The biggest difference is simply the speed and the effort involved.

You can find our entire selection of paper perforators here. Feel free to call 1-800-658-8788 to speak with one of our paper perforating specialists.

Do you run, operate or own a printing press? Are you looking for a machine that allows press sheets and digital printouts to be air-dried immediately? If so, you may be in need of an air jogger.

Normal paper joggers use vibrations to align paper. Air joggers not only use vibrations to align paper, but also use air to align and separate paper.  This has many benefits. Because air separates the sheets, it keeps them from clumping together and creating double feeds and jams. This is also extremely beneficial because the air helps the ink on press sheets and digital printouts to dry faster.

We currently offer two different models of air joggers:

1. MBM AJ-700 Air Jogger – The MBM AJ-700 air jogger forces air between sheets to reduce jogging time and eliminate powder buildup. Press sheets and digital copies can be air dried immediately to prevent offset. This significantly reduces misfeeds and double feeds in printers, folders, and collators.
2. Formax FD 402A1 Air Jogger – The FD 402A1 High-Capacity Air Jogger is ideal for print shops and production houses as it aligns and dries printed sheets as a single process, while removing static electricity.

These joggers are both considered to be commercial / industrial paper joggers. They can be used all day long and don’t require any special “cool down” period of time.

You can find our entire selection of paper joggers here.

Do you need to burst apart and detach invoices, checks and other documents but can’t find the right machine to handle the paper you are using? It is possible what you may need is a cut sheet burster. One model you may want to look at is the Duplo V-417 cut sheet burster. This is my review.

The most common bursters still available today are known as continuous form bursters and are designed to burst apart continuous form paper. This is the type of paper that has the perforated side margins with tiny holes. This paper was commonly used in the 80s for use in dot matrix printers. This paper is still commonly used by the government.

Many businesses, however, have no need for as continuous form burster as they typically use a laser printer that prints on one sheet at a time (cut sheet). Cut sheet paper is typically 8 ½ x 11-inches in size and includes a few perforations horizontally located on the paper. This is commonly used for printing checks, invoices and other material.

The Duplo V-417 is a cut sheet burster. This means you can take a stack of paper that has come off a laser printer, insert it into the document feeder after which the Duplo V-415 will take each sheet and burst (tear) it apart along the perforation. This saves hours of time versus manually tearing apart the paper.

The document feeder on the V-415 can hold up to 400 sheets of standard paper at a time using a top feeding system. It can handle paper ranging in thickness from 13 lb. bond up to 110 lb. index.

The V-415 can burst paper apart at a speed of up to 140 sheets per minute and keep the documents in sequential order. The variable speed motor lets you run the V-415 at 42, 64,
89, 114 or 140 sheets per minute.

The Duplo V-415 is extremely easy to set up. It has an easy-to-use control interface that allows the operator to adjust the distance between bursts, the speed of the burster and much more.

Duplo is known for making high-quality paper handling machines. As far as cut sheet bursting is concerned, you aren’t going to find many machines that compare to the Duplo V-415. The build quality is excellent and it is designed to continuously run every day without any maintenance issues.

You can find the Duplo V-417 cut sheet burster here. You can find our entire selection of bursters here. Do you still have questions about the Duplo V-417 or about bursting paper? Contact one of our specialists at 1-800-658-8788.

Do you run a printing press or have the need to count thousands of sheets of paper every day? Do you need high-speed batch counting and tabbing capabilities? If these questions apply to you, you may need a paper counting machine. One of our most popular machines is the Max-Bantam paper counter. We have one of these machines on our showroom floor and I have used it on several occasions. This is my review.

Quantity control and cost justification are huge concerns in the printing business. The ability to separate print jobs into individual stacks is also a huge issue in the printing business. You don’t want to end up printing too much or short changing someone.

The Max-Bantam paper counter, made by U.S. Paper Counters, is extremely easy to set up, is extremely accurate and gets the job done in seconds. This machine can do up to 2,000 counts per minute (CPM) on 25-250 gsm paper. The counting speed is adjustable. Not only is the Max-Bantam fast, it is also accurate.

Unlike many machines out there that count paper based on the weight, the Max-Bantam provides an exact number by literally counting each sheet. I have had customers ask if it is accurate every time. I have placed the same stack in this machine, counting it multiple times, and it always provides the exact same number of sheets. It is EXTREMELY accurate.

Why Use The Max-Bantam Paper Counter?

1. Exact count deliveries
2. Provide competitive quotes
3. Eliminate re-runs & miscounts
4. Improve quantity control
5. Verify quantities of stock deliveries
6. Improve customer satisfaction

The Max-Bantam is packed with features. Besides counting paper, it also has tab insertion and batch counting capabilities. You can tell the Max-Bantam to place a tab into every 5 to 999 sheets. The tab insertion depth can even be adjusted. The tabs are fed from a tab roll. An indicator light will let you know when the tab roll is running low.

Access to the machine is simple. There is a door in the back that allows easy access to the tape roll and mechanical components. The front of the machine also has an access panel, making maintenance on this machine a breeze. The front panel requires a key to access.

The counting surface on the front of the Max-Bantam is 15” x 18” in size. The Max-Bantam can handle sheet sizes as small as 2 1/4″ x 4″.

I do recommend using a paper jogger prior to counting the paper. This helps square up the edges and makes it easier for the Max-Bantam to count paper. You can find our paper joggers here.

The build quality on the Max-Bantam is top notch. I have opened up this machine and have used it and can tell you that it is solid. You can view my video demonstration of the Max-Bantam by going here.

I highly recommend the Max-Bantam paper counter. This particular model is a customer favorite. If you need even higher capacity and faster counting speeds, U.S. Paper Counters does make even larger and heavier-duty paper counters.

You can find the Max-Bantam paper counter here. You can find our entire selection of paper counting machines here. Feel free to speak with one of our specialists with your questions by calling 1-800-658-8788. Not only can they help answer your questions, they can even offer you an interactive live video demo over the Web.

Tearing apart and bursting paper into separate sheets is an important part of many businesses operations. If you are in the market for a forms burster or detacher, you should seriously consider using the Martin Yale 970A tabletop continuous form burster. I have had a chance to use this machine and this is my review.

Bursters are available in two formats. One type is a continuous forms burster and the other is a cut sheet burster. The Martin Yale 970A is an electric-powered continuous forms burster. This means it is designed to be used with continuous carbonless, carbon interleaved and computer form paper.

Continuous form paper is paper that has the perforated side margins, tine holes along the side with sheets attached in an accordion-like fashion. This paper is commonly used for printing bank statements, checks and invoices and is commonly found in government offices, military offices and banks.

The Martin Yale 970A takes this paper, tears it apart into individual sheets and cuts off the side margins (1/2″ to 3/4″ wide) using high-carbon steel blades. The entire process is done very quickly. A stack of continuous form paper can be fed into the 970A and be completely bursted apart in just a few minutes thanks to a tough motor. The entire process is very interesting to watch.

The 970A is one of the most affordable continuous form bursters in its class and is currently the most affordable bursting machine we offer. It can be used with paper 5.5 to 17-inches wide and 3 to12-inches long. Not only will it burst apart individual sheets of paper, but can also burst up to 5-part carbonless and 3-part carbon interleaved documents.

The setup process is really easy and once set doesn’t require any special babysitting. The registry stays dead on. The motor runs at a speed of 6,000 8 ½ x 11 forms per hour or 15,000 3 ½ inch long checks per hour. This is very fast for a machine at this price level.

We actually have one of these bursters on our showroom floor right now. You’re more than welcome to send in samples to have them tested on the 970A and we can even set up a live video demonstration of this machine over the Internet. Just call us at 1-800-658-8788 to set up an appointment.

Overall I really like the Martin Yale 970A tabletop form burster. If you have to burst apart continuous form paper, you should really consider using it. The build quality is great and I’m not aware of any quality issues. This burster has been around for well over 10+ years.

You can find the Martin Yale 970A tabletop continuous form burster here. You can find our entire selection of automatic bursters and detachers here.

Are you looking for simplicity and affordability in a typewriter? If so, the TA Adler-Royal Satellite 40 electronic typewriter may be just what you need. This is my review.

TA Alder-Royal has been making typewriters for years now and have developed a reputation for making solid, reliable typewriters. They currently manufacture about four different models, ranging from simple to digital.

One question I hear from a lot of people is, “People still use typewriters?” The quick and simple answer is an emphatic yes. Many people use typewriters, including many businesses, military and government. These aren’t your parent’s typewriters either. TA Adler-Royal typewriters feature the latest in modern-day technology.

The Satellite 40 is one of the most affordable typewriters from TA Adler-Royal. It features a 15-inch carriage and can handle paper up to 11.5-inches long. These are pretty impressive specifications and means the Satellite 40 can use most standard paper sizes.

Unlike typewriters of old, the Satellite 40 features:

• 10, 12, 15, PS Pitch Selection
• 700 Character Correction Memory
• Line/Word/Character Erase
• Battery Back-Up
• Optional Spell Check

The build quality on the Satellite 40 is exceptional high and it weighs in at 25 pounds (shipped). The Satellite 40 can easily be used on a desk, table or countertop and is light enough to be moved from one place to another.

With a 20 character per second type speed (CPS), the Satellite 40 will have no problem keeping up with you. The text quality is clear, crisp and affordable. Unlike many other typewriters out there, supplies for the Satellite 4 are easy to come by.

I highly recommend the TA Adler-Royal Satellite 40 and consider it to be a great fit for just about any office that has typewriting needs.

You can find the TA Adler-Royal Satellite 40 electronic typewriter here. You can find our entire selection of typewriters here. Do you still have questions about typewriters? Speak with one of our typewriter specialists by calling 1-800-658-8788.

Are you in need of a paper collator, but don’t have the funds or needs of a high-end automatic collating machine? One model you may want to consider is the Martin Yale CL6 6-Station manual collator. I have used this collator and this is my review.

Collating paper manually takes time. I still have vivid memories of my teacher placing six pages of a test out on a table and asking each of us to pull one sheet off the top and staple it. If you have a workforce of 25-30 students, this goes by pretty fast, but manually collating and stapling paper takes some time.

The CL6 collator gets the job done much faster. While still manually operated, the CL6 is built to increase collating speeds by six fold. Setup and operation are very easy.

The CL6 has a total of six bins. Simply place your six separate stacks of paper in these six bins. Once loaded with paper, you can pull the collating lever on the side of the machine. This causes the CL6 to grab a sheet off the top of each pile, creating a nicely collated stack that can then be stapled.

The concept is remarkably simple, especially when you inspect the machine, yet it is a huge time saver. I like the fact that it is lightweight, portable and can be used on a desk. The price is certainly affordable, especially compared to an electric paper collator.

I do wish the CL6 were made out of metal for durability. While the build quality is nice, it is made out of plastic. I’m not the biggest fan of plastic office equipment. Aside from that, the CL6 should still hold up well.

The CL6 is not designed for use in a printing press. It is designed for light to moderate use. It is certainly more than enough for a classroom and can also be used in a church or business without any problems. Each bin holds up to 100 sheets of standard or legal-size paper.

Overall I like the Martin Yale CL6 manual collator. The price is reasonable and the time savings are invaluable.

You can find the Martin Yale CL6 6-Station manual collator here. You can find our entire selection of paper collators here.