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Automated Paper Folding vs. Manual Paper Folding

Back in 2^nd grade they promised us that by now we’d by flying around in jetpacks and have tons of fun devices to help us do our jobs and work less. Well, the jetpack thing hasn’t come true yet (sadly), but there are quite a few time and energy saving devices that have cropped up since second grade, like automated paper-folding machines.

Who knew paper folding could be so fun and quick? If you’re thinking about getting an automated paper folding machine for your office, but aren’t sure if they’re worth the money, here are some pros and cons of machine folding vs. manual hand folding.

Manual Paper Folding

Pro: The only positive aspect of manually folding paper is that on the surface it appears to be cheaper. And if you are only going to be folding a couple of letters, maybe you’re right. But if you have a large mailing list or are handing out a myriad of z-fold flyers, maybe it’s time to start looking at automated folding machines.

Con: Manually folding paper takes time and effort that could be spent on a multitude of other projects. Why spend an hour folding and stuffing letters by hand, when you could have 1000 letters folded and ready to stuff in less than a minute with an automatic paper folder? Also, a folding machine will help you avoid minor soreness and paper cuts.

Automated Paper Folding

Pro: It’s super fast. You’ll save time and energy with an automated paper-folding machine, time that could be spent on other more worthwhile activities. Also, automated paper folding creates a uniform fold every time, so you don’t have to worry about throwing away any “mess ups.” Intelli-Zone has created a fabulous line of friction feed paper folders called Intell-Fold.

Con: It will cost a little more money up front than continuing to manually fold, but the time and energy you save will more than make up for the cost in the long run. And automatic paper-folding machines are less expensive than you might think.

All-in-all, automated paper-folding machines will save you time and money in the long run by allowing you to focus on more important tasks instead of rubbing your fingers raw all afternoon.

In A Bind - MachineRunner Has Qualitity Binding Supplies and Equipment

www.machinerunner.com carries a wide selection of binding supplies to enable you to professionally finish presentation documents and projects in-house. MachineRunner is your single source for plastic binding coils, plastic combs, wire binding, tape binding supplies, binding covers, screw posts, and replacement punches. If you’re using a padding press, check out our supply of Lithco Fast Drying Padding Compound and Adhesive. We’ve got the Velobind Strips you’re looking for in your law office or government agency, as well as Unibind spines for thermal tape binding.

Plastic combs and screw posts add ease and flexibility for documents that need to be updated by regularly adding or removing pages. For documents that require security and/or will not be modified, consider Velobind strips, tape binding spines, or staples! Order Die punches to allow different styles of binding with you Rhin-o-Tuff punching machine.

Whether you own an Akiles, Fellowes, Royal Sovereign or Tamerica binding machine, we have the binding supplies you need to complete your next job. Give us a call for quantity discounts and more information. Need supplies you don’t see here? Don’t worry, we can source what you need!

MachineRunner carries a wide selection of binding machines to help you complete binding tasks more easily. Our selection of book binding machines includes popular brand name comb binding machines, coil and spiral machines, wire binding machines and die punch machines. Choose from trusted brands like DocuGem and Akiles.

In-house Shredders vs. Shredding Services

Are you opening an office or outgrowing your current shredding capacity? But you aren't sure if you should hire a mobile shredding service or simply upgrade your current shredder? The decision can be crucial if you are on a budget but also need to ensure that you are protecting sensitive information.

FACTA and HIPAA require that your customer and employee information be completely destroyed, and your business is currently shredding those documents in-house. If you move to a mobile shredding service, you will need to reserve an area of the office to store the documents until the service provider comes to retreive it, so you would not save any space by moving to a mobile shredding service. 

As far as cost is concerned, an in-house commercial shredder will have a one-time cost, plus smaller incidental costs for shredder bags and shredder oil. Office shredders that are used to shred 20-30 sheets at a time can vary in cost from a few hundred to about $2,000 depending on the security level of the shredding, and the horsepower of the shredder's motor. Larger commercial shredders (shredding 30-60 sheets at a time) range in price from $1,000 to about $5,000.  

For mobile shredding services, the cost can range from $25 to $100 or more per visit depending on the amount of shredding you need done each time. The business owner is responsible to keep the data secure until the shredding company arrives to pick it up. The data is then transferred to another facility to be shredded, adding a layer of access for potential security breach. 

If you decide to go with mobile shredding service, get quotes from several providers and be sure that they can meet your needs in terms of capacity and frequency. If you need help finding the right office shredder for your needs, be sure to check these important specs:

Shredding capacity: For one week, keep track of how much paper you shred at a time and how many times throughout the day. Then look for shredders that can handle the higher end of your daily needs to ensure that you always have enough capacity to handle your shredding needs. 

Security Level: Strip-cut shredders cut your paper into strips. Strip cuts are less secure than cross-cut shredders. Cross-cut shredders make confetti pieces out of your documents. Security levels start at 1 for the least secure and go up to 6 for the highest security. Level 6 is usually reserved for government documents and other top secret shredding needs. 

Multimedia Shredding: Decide if it's important that you be able to shred staples, paper clips, credit cards, and CDs. Some models of multimedia shredder will take this like a champ. Others, not so much.