The paper will helpto ensure a sharper cleaner punch

When GBC released the new Proclick bindingsystem a few years ago, they offered a handy desktop manual punch foruse with that system. The original name for this machine was the P100however it was updated and renamed the P200 in 2005. The Pro Click P200is a stylish looking machine that is designed to punch your documents,close the Proclick spines and edit bound documents when needed. Thisreview will look at the features and strengths of this machine alongwith its limitations and portable ultrasound equipment construction.

Features:

The Proclick P200 binding machine includes punching mechanism that isdesigned to punch up to sixteen sheets at a time. This punch willproduce a 3:1 pitch 32 hole pattern with oversized round holes. These holes are larger than the standard holes use for wire binding. Thismakes inserting your pages onto the Pro-Click spines easier. Althoughthe machine is technically rated for the punching of sixteen sheets Ifound that punching twelve to fourteen sheets was much morecomfortable.

The P200 also has a built in closing tool on the top of the machinethat is designed to help you hang your pages on the Proclick spines andshould help you to close the loops. To use the closing tool you firstneed to snap your spine into place under the small metal tabs. You thenhang the pages of your document onto the Proclick spine. Finally yousqueeze the two parts of the closing tool together and slide it acrossto close your spines. To my knowledge this is the only machine to havea closing tool like this. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the toolto work very well (but we will talk about that in a few paragraphs).

The machine also has a built in opening tool. This is just a hornshaped attachment that is on the top left side of the machine. In orderto use the opening tool you simply take your document and push the toolthrough the closed spine of your book. This will cause your spine tosnap open so that you can edit your document. The design of the openingtool is similar to the opening tool provided with the Proclick zippertools that come with each package of Pro-Click spines.

One really nice thing about the GBC P200 is that it offers a reallycool contemporary design. Its small footprint and unique styling makeIt really eye catching and impressive. It also offers an ergonomicallydesigned punching handle that stretches across the entire front of themachine. This makes this system ideal for individuals who are both lefthanded and right handed. It also helps to reduce the risk of repetitivemotion injuries with lots of punching.

Limitations:

Perhaps the biggest limitation of the P200 is that the really uniqueclosing tool that is included on the machine doesn't really work. Or ifit does work it is fairly difficult to use. After attempting to bind anumber of documents with the machine I found myself just snapping thespines shut by hand (it was easier). The machine is still functionalwithout the closing tool. It can just be frustrating trying to figureout how to use it.

The other major limitation of this machine is more a limitation of theProclick binding style that a problem with the design of the machine.Currently, spines are only available in four colors (Black, White, NavyBlue and Frost) and in three sizes (small, medium and large). Spinesare not available longer or shorter than 11" in length. Thus, the P200is only a good solution for organizations that need to bind documentsthat are less than 100 sheets thick (approximately 5/8" thick) and are8.5" x 11". For this reason, I often suggest that users look atpurchasing a 3:1 pitch wire binding machine instead of the P200 sincethat type of machine provide the ability to bind documents with Wireand Proclick. I also sometimes recommend the use of 3:1 pitch spiralcoil for individuals who already own the P200 since this type of coilcan be used with the hole pattern that this machine produces. However,if you decide to try this you will need a pair of crimping pliers tofinish the coil.

The only other issue that I discovered when testing the rubber cutter machine P200 is that itdoes not perform well with poly binding covers. I noticed that over aperiod of a few weeks that the dies became dull and the holes weresometimes left hanging off the side. In order to address this problemit is recommended that you punch poly or plastic covers one at a timeon this machine along with a sheet or two of paper. The paper will helpto ensure a sharper cleaner punch and will help to eliminate the flexthat sometimes happens when punching plastic covers.