Overview: The Fellowes Star is a low cost introductory plastic comb binding machine designed for home office and small office users.This machine offers a sleek and contemporary design that is easy to use and easy to transport.The Star is a larger and improved version of the Fellowes Starlet plastic comb binding machine.Strengths / Features: The Fellowes Star binding machine is designed to be extremely economical and offers light volume users an opportunity to bind their own documents without spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. It has a MSRP of about $110.00 and a selling price of around $75. For the features, this machine offers a great price and value.The comb opener on this machine has metal fingers and metal hooks. Many inexpensive comb binding machines use plastic hooks to save money. However, plastic hooks frequently break off making the machine useless.The Star binding machine includes a single ergonomic handle that stretches across the front of the machine. This makes it easy for both right handed and left handed operators to use this machine.There is a built in storage tray on the side of the machine to hold a small supply of plastic combs.
This helps to ensure that binding supplies are always within reach. The storage tray also has a built in guide for measuring the size of your comb binding supplies and to help determine the right size of spine for your document.Weaknesses / Limitations: The Star binding machine is only capable of binding documents up to 3/4" thick. That equates to about 150 sheets of 20lb bond paper. It is possible to punch documents thicker than this using this machine. However, the comb opener is not designed to handle larger sized combs. Users who need to bind documents thicker than this will really need to consider a different machine.This machine is designed to bind documents that are 8.5" x 11". It can also punch oversized covers that are 8.75" x 11.25" sock making machine Factory in size. However, it is not capable of punching legal size, A4 size or custom sized sheets. To bind documents that are smaller or larger than 11" in length a machine with disengageable dies and an open throat would be necessary.This machine is constructed almost entirely out of plastic.
For most occasional users this should not be a problem. However, the machine is simply not designed for high volume binding applications. Users who need to bind more than a few documents per week should really consider a larger more durable machine.Recommendation: The Fellowes Star is a great choice for organizations that are looking for a low cost plastic comb binding machine for occasional use in a home office or small office environment.The Star offers a sleek ergonomic design, is simple to use and is easy to transport.Provided that your organization doesn't need to bind documents larger than 3/4" thick and doesn't need to do more than occasional binding then this is a great fit.Higher volume users will want to consider a heavier duty machine with metal components and an expanded feature set.