A Review of the All-New Tamerica Eco-21 Comb Binding Machine

Even in this day and age, plastic comb binding remains one of the most popular document finishing methods available. Tamerica, one of the industry's leading manufacturers, recently put out some new comb binders including the Eco-21. Here's a look at this machine's features and specifications, as well as how it rates on a scale of 1 to 10.

• The Eco-21 has reasonably decent punching capacity. It's able to process up to 15 sheets of 20 lb. bond paper at a time. This will be great for when you're working with short and medium-length documents. However, it will take you a while to punch paper if your document is fairly lengthy. (This could be a problem if you have a lot of work to do.)

• This machine has 21 punching dies instead of the usual 19. This will allow you to work with letter-sized paper (8.5" x 11") as well as A4 sheets, which tend to mainly be used abroad, such as in the U.K. The dies are disengageable and there's an opening throat to make it extremely easy to punch different sizes of paper. You can adjust the side margins and punch depth as much as you need to.

• The Eco-21 is compatible with just about every binding cover available as well as all sizes of binding combs. (It can even handle GBC ZipBind supplies.) This means you'll be able to bind books that contain up to 450 pages which makes it very convenient. (They'll look great as well.)

• One of the most appealing things about the Eco-21 is its heavy-duty construction. This machine contains a multitude of metal parts so you'll be able to get years of use out of it. And even though this is a durable device, it's actually pretty compact. Its approximate measurements are 16" (width) x 11" (depth) x 7" (height) and it only weighs 21 pounds.

• The Eco-21 is high-quality but it doesn't come with a high price. Plus, it's backed by a one-year warranty.

Final Rating: 8. Overall, the Eco-21 is one of Tamerica's best comb binding machines yet. This is a very impressive product that would be great for a variety of environments including schools, office, copy shops, and more. There aren't a lot a reasonably priced machines that offer disengageable dies and an open punching throat, so that really makes the Eco-21 stand out in its field. This device is very well-constructed so you'll be able to get a lot of use out of it, making it a terrific investment. The only thing that could be problematic with this device is its punching capacity. As mentioned earlier, the capacity is fine for shorter documents but it's not so great for longer ones, especially if you're going to be putting together a lot of them. This is something you should consider before purchasing the device. If you do decide that the punching capacity is workable, then you're going to be very pleased with the Eco-21. Take a look at it today to decide for yourself.

About the Author: Jeff McRitchie is the Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He regularly writes articles, review and blog posts on topics related to book binding, laminating, paper shredding, and office equipment. More than 2,500 of his articles have been published in thousands of location on the Internet. If you're looking for information about comb binding machines, his articles are a great place to start.