Fellowes Thermal Binding Machine, Helios 60, Platinum/Graphite (5219501)

OK, review time...I have only been using this binder off-and-on for a few short weeks now. And I have only used it to bind about 10 or 12 projects so far. But I have learned a few things while using it that I think are important. 1. The machine is only as good as the materials you use in it. 2. That burning smell goes away after a few uses...or maybe your nose just adapts to it. 3. Reading the directions every time you use the device will cut down on mistakes. There are only 5 steps. Pay attention to them. 4. Go back and re-read #1. That is the most important thing I can tell you. This machine is great. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. It is simple to use. Follow the steps each time and it will work. Having said that, pay close attention to what you use in it. Does this impact the review for this machine? Absolutely not. But I think you should know about it when purchasing this equipment. I use the Fellowes binding supplies as well as others that work for this sort of machine. Regardless of supplies, I recommend purchasing a good stapler that will staple through the amount of paper you are binding. I staple AND bind using the machine and that makes all the difference in the world. Otherwise I personally feel that the glue might not hold as well as I would like - and that is NOT a failing of this machine by any means. The binding machine does exactly what it is supposed to do, and does it well. But if you make a cake using subpar ingredients and then bake it, do you blame the oven when it comes out bad?

I'm going to save tons of money since now I don't have to take my small books to be bound at the store and can do it from home. I tried it out and it works just as advertised and was easy to set up and operate.

For the price, this is excellent. Works better than expected and feels well-made. Only minor complaint is that it could come in more color options. Just being honest.

Machine is very easy to use and very compact for desktop use. I made books and many people commented on how nice they looked. The binding really works great. I kept flipping through the pages to ensure that the glue from the presentation covers stuck to the sheets. They did! For a small, inexpensive machine, it truly does produce. I personally heated each book twice (my ocd), just to make sure it would hold.

Bought thermal binding glue strips for binding my own paperback volumes. My books are only about 40/50 pages, so it only takes 1/4 of one of these strips (cut long-ways with a utility knife) to bind a book. In fact, they are a tiny bit longer than my books are tall, so I can put together the ends I trim off to make a 5th book out of a single strip. That ends up being about $0.20/book for glue. Not bad! I am using 11x17 cover stock parchment (printed on an Epson WF7610) to print the covers, and this Fellowes thermal binder to bind them. Don't make the mistake of trying to print covers for an 8x10 book on a smaller printer, and make sure the printer can print on thick stock. Make sure the glue strips don't leak out the ends of the book spine, or it will mess up your thermal binder. I use the top of a butter knife (you can buy a folding bone if you want to spend money) to score the edges of the spine to get a sharp, straight edge. Finally, use a stack paper cutter to trim the edges of the books so they have that clean-cut, professional look.

This was a waste buy. 50% of the pages did not seal and within a few days of use, the next 50% came apart.

If you have already used these machines, than you know what you are getting. I liked it, but for my purposes, I went back to the spiral wire bound instead. The pages did separate later and at least 1/2" to 3/4" from the edge are used to secure the glue. If all your pages are 1" margin from the edge, no problem, but less than that, you might have issues reading the pages.

I've been searching for something like this for a long time. I have one of those "comb bind" binders and I really hate that thing but had figured there was just nothing else. Those would "bind" up and mess the pages up and I was just sick of them. I finally found this and was a bit skeptical, but it worked great for me. I had even considered spending several thousands of dollars as I need professional looking results for my clients. Well, this did it and for less than 200 bucks. Looks professional and so far my 80 page sample bind has held together for a couple of months and I've used it like a study manual quite a bit. So, it may not "be" professional or quite as good as some of them but its great for my high dollar clients.