Helios 60 Thermal Binding Machine, 600 Sheets, 20.88 x 9.44 x 3.94, Platinum/Graphite

I bought this machine to bind my own Novel I wrote and printed, and have also used it to bind some smaller documents. I have used the pre-made vinyl thermal binders of various thicknesses for documents from 1/16 to 1 inch thicknesses and I am very pleased with the results. My novel is over an inch thick so I have had to make my own binders to hold all those pages. I make a trough of aluminium foil to wrap around the spine and hold the glue strip in place. I usually cannot completely remove the foil, but a strip of wide tape (book binding tape or Duck Tape) hides the foil and protects it. On the thicker documents I have found it advantageous to also sew the binding in addition to the glue... I drill 1/16th-inch diameter holes about every 1/2-inch along the spine 1/8th-inch from the edge and wend linen thread through them. Due to a printing mistake (my fault) I have had occasion to test the bindings to destruction. The sewn spine is near impossible to destroy without a lot of work. Thinner books without the sewing are also a lot of work to destroy. Pages have not fallen out (unlike some commercial paperback books I have had with this sort of binding!). I have had some problem getting the first and/or last couple of pages to seat fully into the vinyl binders if I am near (or beyond) the upper limit of how many pages the binder is designed to handle, but there is a simple trick to overcome that... wrap the pages with a sheet of paper to hold the pages tightly together, slip it into the vinyl binder and then pull the sheet of paper out from the end... works a treat! I am glad I purchased this binding machine... lots easier than trying to clamp the pages together and slop glue on the edge... and I think it makes a better binding!

First time used, the instructions with the machine are very sketchy, and on-line no better. No mechanism for holding pages together and ensuring they are all in contact with the binding adhesive. Result is a document that spills pages when you open it to read it. and while i am at it the systel for logging reviews is not very user friendly