Peach Star Binder Pro - PB200-30

I wanted to like this binding machine, but I'm not very happy with it. I've used a more expensive machine in my office previously and knew beforehand this wouldn't be as good but it is poor and I would not recommend for the following reasons.1) It is VERY hard to align your pages so that the hole punching is straight. Many of my pages had the holes on the edge so I had to reprint countless pages. The problem is you can't see or feel if the pages are aligned.Note: After doing about 100 pages I figured out the tricks for punching holes nicely. If you punch maximum 2-3 pages at once, you can sort of feel if it is aligned or not by jiggling the paper around and feel if it is pushed up against a smooth surface inside the machine. If it feels like a rough surface, then it is not aligned. Anything more than 2-3 pages and it just does not align inside the machine for some reason. It DOES have the capacity to punch more pages, but the holes will not be in the right place.2) After punching holes, you cannot pull the paper out easily. I had to jiggle the pages around for 5 seconds each time. Very frustrating.3) The comb spreading function is fine.4) The machine is heavy/solid and feels well built. Just not well designed.

I have had several similar binders over the years and this is the second time I have purchased this particular model. Lets not beat about the bush - this is a cheap item and the quality reflects that. It is not suitable for anything other than ocassional light home use - Anyone who buys this for use in their business will soon be disappointed. Unusually for an item marketed from Germany this is a fragile piece of kit and goes out of adjustment very quickly. The first time I purchased this model from a famous high street office stationary supplier I had to return it after just a couple of days - the hook mechanism was badly aligned and it was not possible to insert and remove the combs without damaging them. However in other ways it was a remarkable price for a binder and I could not afford to be paying £85 - £250 for one of the alternatives. I purchased another second identical unit from Amazon at a saving of over £15 on the high street price. This one appears to be better aligned but reading other reviews I agree that the quality is still suspect. As I only need to print out the odd single copy of software manuals for my own use I believe it is fit for that purpose, particularly at the price ( I paid around £34) . My only advice to potential purchasers is to ignore the "12 sheets at a time" claim and stick to 3-5 sheets maximum. Also you will find difficulties binding more than about 50 sheets until you become very experienced at the technique for fitting them onto unevenly aligned combs. The largest size combs which I have been able to use on this device is 32mm (which is smaller than they claim) and about 80 sheets of 100gm paper is the realistic limit (they claim 280sheets of 80gm paper). Take your time aligning before punching and be prepared to reprint some pages when the do not get punched perfectly. I have no problem punching 250 micron PVC binding covers.

So you get a good binder up to 38mm Combs (350 Pages=175 sheets). It comes with 5 combs (1 each of 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 24mm), 5 plastic covers and 5 card covers. It is solid, looks professional, has good heft and non slip feet which make it easy to use with 2 hands. No needing to stop it slipping about. It has a travel catch to hold the arm down, and it is well designed and ergonomically straight forward.I found no problem up to 9-10 sheets but you do need to take care to get them, well seated or the perforations will be too close to the edge so a cautious binder might use half that many.The combs and covers are reasonably priced and widely available. the Max limit of 175 sheets/ 350 pages with the 36mm comb is worth bearing in mind, as for very little extra you can buy a binder that will take 450 pages/ 225 sheets. It does starts to get tricky to threat paper onto the comb after 150 sheets. If needed you may need more specialist (flat back with locking teeth) combs for bigger work. Pages can need to be carefully slipped into the comb 20-30 at a time. I've not found the few more expensive binders I've played with much better than this one. With care it is still quick and straight forward.RECOMMENDED

Let me start by saying I've been using a manual binding machine at my old office for 6 years and never had this kind of problem. If I could rate this one zero stars I would. My first order came faulty. The mechanism to spread the comb on top was not aligned properly, so it spread the comb at an angle where one side is either completely closed while the other side is opened, or one side is opened and the other side is spread open way too much. I ended up having to put the comb in by hand.I requested a replacement, the new one came with torn packaging. This was obviously ripped open and repackaged. The metal bit on the top were bent and required straightening by hand. The metal was so flimsy and easily bent. I checked and this second one is also having the same exact alignment issue with the comb spreader at the top. I've realised it must be a common fault with them, as how would I have the same problem with two separate units.I now have two faulty units waiting to be picked up, and if it weren't for the lovely gentleman at Amazon's customer services team, I'd be pulling my hair out by now.

This is one of the best and easy to use Binders I have used. It is a sturdy construction and the bar for cutting the holes is ridged and firm. The holes cut very easy (5 sheets) and when the leaver is moved the opposite way fits the combs very well. The only very slight problem the holes sometime come right to the end of the paper, it could do with adjusting very slightly in manufacture.Overall I very pleased and delighted with this product, and look forward to using it for many years.