| To start 2010 on a great note, Fellowes has put out a | | | | overheating. |
| new line of thermal binding machines: the Helios series. | | | | - Since thermal binding can lead to burns, Fellowes |
| The star of this new group is the Helios 60, a truly | | | | equipped the Helios 60 with a HeatGuard to help keep |
| remarkable device that's easy to use and offers a lot | | | | hands and fingers away from the heating element. |
| of wonderful features. Lets take an in-depth look at | | | | There is also a pull-out cooling rack for your finished |
| this product's strengths (and weaknesses). | | | | documents. |
| Strengths: | | | | - All of the controls you need to operate the machine |
| - The Helios 60 has a super fast warm-up time of just | | | | are right up front, including an LED control panel. The |
| 4 minutes. It is able to bind a book in 30-second | | | | machine will also flash lights and make noise to let you |
| intervals, depending on the thickness of the document. | | | | know when it's warmed up and when the binding cycle |
| The thickest document will take about 3 minutes to be | | | | is complete. |
| fully processed. | | | | - This machine comes with a 2-year warranty for |
| - The maximum length of a book bound with this | | | | added protection. |
| device is 600 pages. The Helios 60 can bind a single | | | | Weaknesses: |
| document of this length in a single cycle. It can also | | | | - Due to the design of the machine, it will not be |
| bind several smaller documents at the same time. | | | | possible to bind documents that are longer than the |
| - This is a rather sleek and thin device with dimensions | | | | 11-inch side of a piece of letter-sized paper. |
| of 3.94" (height) x 20.88" (width) x 9.44" (depth). The | | | | - You can only use thermal binding covers when |
| top part also folds down so the machine is easy to | | | | putting your books together. |
| store. | | | | - Some of the Helios 60's components are made out |
| - Since determining which supplies you should use can | | | | of plastic, so this machine might break down at some |
| be challenging, Fellowes has put a binding element | | | | point and either need to be repaired or replaced. |
| selector on the front of the machine. There is also a | | | | - If you need to bind a lot of booklets containing 600 |
| chart that tells you how long your document will need | | | | pages, it will take you a while because you can only |
| to sit in the machine to be fully bound. | | | | bind one document of this thickness at a time. |
| - Each unit has a thickness detector that will | | | | Overall, the Fellowes Helios 60 is a revolutionary |
| automatically select the machine's binding settings for | | | | thermal binding machine that's safe and easy to use. |
| your document depending on its length. | | | | Although it does have a couple of limitations, they pale |
| - If you haven't used it in a while, the device will shut | | | | in comparison to the wonderful features this product |
| itself off. This will help keep your energy costs under | | | | has to offer. If you need a thermal binder, check out |
| control, as well as prevent the machine from | | | | the Helios 60. |