Are you looking for a good all-round comb binding machine to use at home or in the office? If you need something that can comb bind booklets, reports and presentations, you may want to consider using the Tahsin 210PB comb binding machine. I have used this comb binder and this is my review.

To begin with, the Tahsin 210PB (from Tamerica) is a lot of value for the dollar. I will go into more detail, but many of the features found in the 210PB typically cost a lot more. One nice thing that you may have already noticed is the fact that the 210PB is made out of metal rather than plastic. This is always a good thing.

The punching dies on the 210PB are designed to bind books using a 19-ring hole pattern. While it is primarily designed to bind 8 ½ x 11-inch books, it can be used to bind smaller books as well. It can safely punch up to 12 sheets of paper at a time and can bind books up to two-inches thick.

Selectable punching pins (disengaging dies) make it possible to punch and bind smaller books without those annoying half-punched holes. Simply pull out lever that activates the pin to disengage it. Most entry-level comb binding machines don’t have this feature. The Tahsin 210PB does, which is pretty cool.

The binding punch and the comb opener / closer are activated by using the same handle. This is done for convenience. Pull down on the handle to punch paper and push up on the handle to open combs.

Another nice feature about the punching die is that it features an adjustable margin depth. This means you can select how far into the paper the holes are punched. This is especially nice when binding books of different thicknesses. You typically want to punch farther into the paper the thicker the book is. This helps cut down on pages accidentally ripping out.

In conclusion I have to say that I really like this binding machine. It works really well, feels well built and is really nice for the money. It is easily comparable to the old metal-build Ibico machines and beats just about anything from GBC in the same price range.

You can find the Tahsin 210PB comb binding machine here. You can find our entire selection of manual comb binding machines here.

In need of a quality paper folder that can create all the folds you need all in one compact machine? There are a lot of folding machines out there. So which model should you go with? One model you may want to consider is the Tamerica TPF-42 paper folding machine. I have set up and used this folding machine and this is my review.

To begin with, the Tamerica TPF-42 is clone or twin of the MBM 207M. I won’t say evil twin, because it is pretty “good” to use. I suspect they both come out of the same factory, although I can’t confirm this with 100% certainty. They are the only two paper folding machines that I am aware of that use a manually sliding folding plate. Even the batch counting and start buttons look the same. The folding plates even have the same stickers on them. Need I say more?

OK, now back to the Tamerica TPF-42. As previously mentioned, it uses a sliding folding plate. You essentially pinch a clip on the plate and slide it up or down, selecting the fold you want. I REALLY like this folding plate setup. It takes about ¼ the time of a normal folding plate and the registry (fold alignment) is dead on.

The TPF-42 can handle all common folds such as a letter fold (C fold), accordion fold (Z fold) and the single fold. It can also do uncommon folds such as a double parallel and a gate fold. I have even seen people do a cross fold on this machine. Due to the nature of the folding plates, it can also easily handle custom folds.

It is designed to fold standard copy paper, but can also easily handle card stock up to 60#. The only problem you will have with the TPF-42 is folding glossy paper. While it may be able to handle some types of glossy paper, this can’t be guaranteed. This is because friction folding machines, like the TPF-42, use rubber wheels to pull in paper. These wheels can potentially slip on glossy paper, causing a jam.

The hopper tray can hold up to 500 sheets of paper. While I don’t like to recommend leaving machines unattended, you can probably set 500 sheets in and leave it without any problems. The exit tray uses a conveyor system that keeps paper aligned and in order as it exits the machine. This is pretty nice to have, especially if you are folding invoices and alphabetized material.

The TPF-42 has a built-in paper counter and can do batch counting (if so desired). It also includes a test button, which will only pull in a few sheets. This is especially nice if you are setting up custom folds. Once you are ready, hit the start button and the machine will do the rest.

I have to say that I am VERY impressed with the Tamerica TPF-42. It gets the job done and seems to be a high-quality machine. So far I haven’t heard any complaints from customers. The price is certainly right.

You can find the Tamerica TPF-42 paper folding machine here. You can find our entire selection of paper folding machines here.

We just put a Tamerica TPF-42 paper folder out in our showroom last week and I got a chance to play around with it. Taking this paper folder from the box, assembling it and getting it to work is pretty easy. There are a couple of rubber rollers that have to be inserted prior to using the machine, but they aren’t too difficult to install.

One thing I immediately noticed, while assembling and using the machine, was how similar it was to the MBM 207M. The installation of the rubber rollers, the folding plates and the user interface are almost identical, if not the same. The folding plates even utilize a sliding method for setup that is the same as the MBM 207M. The case, digital readout and colors are a little different.

Having used both the Tamerica TPF-42 and the MBM 207M, I would have to say they are equally comparable in both quality and functionality. Along with the Dynafold paper folders we sell, the TPF-42 and 207M are both in my top 10 list of paper folders.

As far as the manual setup of a paper folder is concerned, the pinch-and-slide method the MBM and Tamerica folders use is probably the easiest on the market. Simply press a bracket on the fold plate and the plate slides back and forth. The skew ends up being very precise and the fold looks great.

You may view and compare both the Tamerica and MBM folders here:

Tamerica TPF-42 Paper Folder
MBM 207M Paper Folder