The Print Finish Blog » Folders

How Do I Choose the Right Document Inserter for My Office?

Garry Jones — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:00:10 +0000

In this series of posts, “How do I choose?”, we will help you take a little of the guesswork out of selecting the best print finish product for your shop or office. It’s sometimes difficult to find the right machine to fit your needs when there are so many models.

It’s one thing to upgrade the speed and efficiency of your office by choosing the right folding machine, but you can take invoices and other direct mail to a new level of automation with a document inserter. Because you’ll be investing significantly more on an inserter than you would a simple folding machine, it’s important that you weigh the benefits of each tier of functionality.

More than speed, which varies slightly between models, document inserters are primarily distinguished by the number of items that may be inserted into mailing envelopes. When shopping, you may consider that at this time you only ever insert an invoice, a form letter and a return envelope into 90% of your mailings. In that case, the Formax 6202 is a perfect machine for your operation.

However, you must consider growth in your business, change in operating procedures, and things as simple as the two-page invoices that make up only 10% of your mailings take all afternoon for two staff members. What is the opportunity cost there? What’s the phrase about being as strong as your weakest link? Don’t let a little bit of underused functionality get in the way of what could be a fully automated process.

Then, consider what your office could do with an even more advanced inserter. A new strategy with direct mail may add a significant line of revenue to your budget. What value could you add to your customers? To your employees?

Answer these questions and shop Lloyd’s for the best deal on document inserters. The models we carry all have warranties and are virtually maintenance free.

How Do I Choose the Right Folding Machine for My Office?

Garry Jones — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:00:34 +0000

Lloyd’s has 15 paper folding machines to choose from, but which one is right for your office? This is an investment, so there are several things to consider.

A folding machine in your corporate office will save time and money by automating the folding of your invoices, letters and other documents. Tabletop paper folding machines fly through thousands of sheets per hour and quickly become an incredible asset to productivity.

The first question to ask yourself is what are you folding now and what might you be folding in five years? Sort of a silly question I know, but it may be that invoices and contracts are the only thing you’re putting in the mail right now and they only require a typical “z” type fold. But, perhaps next year the company brochure will change and you’ll handle it’s printing in-house. It would be a shame to find out then that your folding machine can’t handle the custom fold required and you have to pay to have it done elsewhere. In this case, application and flexibility are key.

Speed is always an issue as well. The speed in which your machine is cranking out a folded finished product can vary significantly. An economical choice may fold 7,200/hour, but you can more than double that in other models. And you must also consider set-up time. A are easy to set-up, but simply take more time than an automatic programmable tabletop folder like the next level up.

Remember, the idea behind the paper folder is to save staff time (and boredom) in manually folding documents for daily mail, newsletters, and brochures. Find the right folder at Lloyd’s by asking yourself the right questions about its potential application in your office today and in the future.

Why Your Medical Billing Practice Needs a Folding Machine and Inserter

Garry Jones — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:00:34 +0000

It’s a highly specialized office. The medical billing practice handles all billing for doctors’ offices, freeing them up to continue to practice medicine. But the medical billing office ends up doing a lot of folding bills and stuffing envelopes.

For smaller practices, you may only have 100 bills a day, but larger practices can get a few hundred bills a day. And for smaller practices to become bigger practices, they need to be able to grow through increased production.

This is where automating your mailing process can really help. With a small folder, like the 87M Manual Tabletop Folder or the 207M Manual Tabletop Folder, or even the Formax FD 320 Automatic Tabletop Folder. These folders can take your bills and fold them into C-folds, Z-folds, or any other kind of letter fold. And with the bigger folders, you can hit speeds of 11,000 pieces per hour.

Or you can even take a step up and try the Formax FD 6100 Inserter, which will fold and insert your bills into their envelopes.

Now, by upgrading to an automated solution, you’ve opened up the possibility to take on new clients, and grow as you can handle new and bigger practices.

MBM Creasematic Auto 50 – Automatic Programmable Air Suction Creaser

Garry Jones — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:00:46 +0000

It’s designed for continuous high volume operation, and it’s looking for a home. Won’t you give shelter to the Creasematic Auto 50 – Automatic Programmable Air Suction Creaser? They’re cute and cuddly!

Add to cart

How is it Used?

Well, maybe cuddly is stretching it a bit, but the Creasematic Auto 50 is quite lovable when you consider its capacity for sheets 5 3/4″ x 8 1/4″ to 19 1/2″ x 27 1/2″ on stock up to 130 lbs. It can crease up to 5,500 sheets per hour and makes up to 28 creases per sheet. You’ll choose those 28 creases from the 99 in its memory. Yep, this one’s a keeper – cute and smart!

And How Much Does it Cost

The Creasematic Auto 50 Automatic Programmable Air Suction Creaser is $15,499 at Lloyd’s. We’ll throw in free shipping and a gift with your purchase.

For more information on the MBM Creasematic Auto 50 creaser or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.

MBM Creasematic 150 Programmable Creaser

Garry Jones — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:00:18 +0000

You need a Creasematic 150 Programmable Creaser to prevent toner cracking. I’d hate to see the look on your customers’ face if you go straight to a folder and allow this mistake to slip through. This model is ideal for digital printing applications and creases up to 2,000 sheets per hour. No toner cracking! No problem!

Add to cart

How is it Used?

The Creasematic 150 makes up to 9 creases per sheet (11″ x 17″); accommodates sheet sizes up to 39 inches. There are 5 memory settings and tools that allow the setting of 4 different crease widths to accommodate a wide variety of paper stock. It’s set up to connect with an in-line perforating system, mounted on casters for easy shop rearranging and its got a nice quiet operation.

And How Much Does it Cost

The Creasematic 150 Programmable Creaser is $7,999 at Lloyd’s. We’ll throw in free shipping and a gift with your purchase.

For more information on the MBM Creasematic 150 Programmable Creaser or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.

MBM Creasefold On-Line Folder

ErikBackup — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:00:57 +0000

Add this folder to your line and get a fast accurate fold on creased stock. The MBM Creasefold On-Line Folder has a high speed knife fold system that will not mark digitally printed stock – an attribute that puts this machine in high-demand.

Add to cart

How is it Used?

The MBM Creasefold won’t add to the noise in your shop, it’s got a quiet operation. The feed takes a single sheet, 4 1/2″ x 9 1/4″ to 12 1/2″ x 18 1/2″, and will accomodate 30 to 130# stock. Best of all, MBM developed “flat-fold” technology which eliminates curling with the finished product that you’ll unload from the fold-away exit conveyor.

And How Much Does it Cost

The Creasefold On-Line Folder is $6,299 at Lloyd’s. We’ll throw in free shipping and a gift with your purchase.

For more information on the MBM Creasefold on-line folder or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.

MBM 87M Manual Tabletop Folder

Garry Jones — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:00:54 +0000

Don’t worry, the MBM 87M Manual Tabletop Folder won’t wear you out. It’s a nice little machine that will save your office time and money. And, despite its low cost, it will still crank out up to 7,200 sheets per hour.

Add to cart

How is it Used?

The 87M Manual Tabletop folder will accept 150 sheets at a time up to 8 1/2″ x 14″ and as small as 4″ x 5″ in size. Four standard folds are marked by color coded fold plates and their setup is the only thing manual about this machine. Otherwise, it will run through your sheets on two speeds and will stop automatically after the last sheet is folded. I like the auto-stop feature because that way I don’t have to babysit it.

And How Much Does it Cost

The 87M Manual Tabletop Folder is $409 at Lloyd’s. We’ll throw in free shipping and a gift with your purchase.

For more information on the 87M manual tabletop folder or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.

MBM 407A Automatic Programmable Tabletop Folder

Garry Jones — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:00:50 +0000

If you’re looking for an extremely versatile tabletop folder, you’re looking for the 407A Automatic Programmable model from MBM. This model has six standard folds pre-programmed, but allows for 27 custom folds to be stored in its memory, ready to recall at any time.

Add to cart

How is it Used?

Other than its robust memory, the 407A is very similar to the 307A. It accepts 450 sheets at a time at up to 11″ x 17″ in size. It folds more than 11,000 per hour, and it features an automatic feed table ensures optimum feed pressure, so there are very few jams or adjustments for paper stock. The self-setting exit rollers ensure smooth ejection of folded paper and keep everything in neat sequential order. Check out the 407A Automatic Programmable Tabletop Folder for easy maintenance, durable all-metal construction, and the availability of an optional perforator or scorer.

And How Much Does it Cost

The 407A Automatic Programmable Tabletop Folder is $3,959 at Lloyd’s. We’ll throw in free shipping and a gift with your purchase.

For more information on the MBM 407A Automatic Programmable Tabletop Folder or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.

Why Your Small Utility Company Needs a Folding Machine and Inserter

Garry Jones — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:00:31 +0000

Off to the east of Indianapolis (our hometown) is a small utility provider. A friend told me he went in there once and found the administrative staff sitting at their desks, folding bills and stuffing envelopes. It turns out they all took one day a month — about 5 hours — to fold and stuff all the bills for the day.

“Why don’t you have a machine that does that?” my friend asked one of the women folding away.

“They cost too much money,” said the woman. “We have to watch our costs.”

My friend was stunned. It’s this short of short-term bureaucratic thinking that ends up wasting money, instead of saving it. Somehow, managers get it in their heads that it’s somehow cost effective to pay employees $12 per hour to fold letters or bills, put them into envelopes, and run them through the postal machine.

Let’s break it down and see why this is just plain wrong.

If you pay 6 staffers $12 per hour to fold bills, that’s $72 per staff hour. And if it takes those staffers 5 hours to fold and stuff all those bills — keeping them in ZIP code order, no less — that’s $360 per month.

But look at the for $10,395. Sure that seems like a lot, but consider this:

The 6202 can fold and insert up to 2,200 pieces per hour, or do all the inserting that six people did in five hours. If one person ran the machine once a month, it would cost that utility $60 per day to run bills.

And save them $300 per month, or $3,600 per year. In three years, they will have paid for the machine. Every year after that, they’re going to save $3,600 per year.

This will end up making their entire office more efficient, freeing up the stuffers to work on other projects around the office.

MBM 352S Professional Series Air Suction Folder

Garry Jones — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:00:11 +0000

This is not a wimpy tabletop folder. This is the Popeye of professional folding machines after a can of spinach. Take a closer look at the 352S Professional Series Air Suction Folder as it punches through 30,000 sheets per hour and you might see a little anchor tattooed heavy-duty, non-flexing side frames.

Add to cart

How is it Used?

The 352S is a top feeder allowing for the continuous feeding of your sheets. Because it’s an air suction feed system, it will have no problem with coated stocks, and it adjusts in seconds for standard and custom folds. Unlike some air suction feed folders the 352S Professional Series Folder is extremely quiet.

And How Much Does it Cost

The 352S Professional Series Air Suction Folder is $7,199 at Lloyd’s. We’ll throw in free shipping and a gift with your purchase.

For more information on this air suction folder or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.

Related Posts from The Print Finish Blog

MBM 87M Manual Tabletop Folder

MBM 407A Automatic Programmable Tabletop Folder

MBM 352F Professional Series Tabletop Folder