Formax ReadyCombE — Electric Comb Binding Machine for School Workbooks and Records

Formax's electric comb binder: foot-pedal punching, books up to 480 sheets, and every book reopens.

Formax ReadyCombE

The Formax ReadyCombE is an all-in-one plastic comb binding machine with an electric, foot-pedal punch and a manual lever closer. It closes books up to 480 sheets, takes paper up to 14" wide, punches up to 16,000 sheets an hour and closes up to 200 booklets an hour.

Formax rates it for 150 to 300 books a day, the highest daily range of any machine in this Formax lineup.

The electric part is the punch, and only the punch. The comb opens and closes by lever, and the manual ReadyCombM+ closes at the same 200 an hour.

What are the Formax ReadyCombE specs?

The ReadyCombE closes comb-bound books up to 480 sheets, handles paper up to 14" wide, and is rated at 16,000 sheets an hour of punching and 200 booklets an hour of closing. It's 20" wide, 14" deep and 10" tall, the shortest of the nine Formax Ready models we carry.

• Binding — plastic comb
• Punch — electric, foot pedal, gravity-assisted vertical punching
• Punching speed — up to 16,000 sheets per hour
• Max book — up to 480 sheets
• Closing speed — up to 200 booklets per hour
• Max paper width — 14"
• Formax best fit — 150–300 books per day
• Size — 20" W × 14" D × 10" H

Formax doesn't publish a per-pass punch capacity for the ReadyCombE. I've asked our rep.

Is the electric ReadyCombE worth it over the manual ReadyCombM+?

Only if punching is your bottleneck. The ReadyCombE punches up to 16,000 sheets an hour against 12,000 for the manual ReadyCombM+, about a third more. Both close up to 480 sheets at the same 200 booklets an hour, with the same 14" paper width.

I'd only buy the electric model for a print center punching thick workbooks all day. A teacher workroom binding a class set at a time won't feel the difference. The CombE also frees both hands on the stack, and it's 3" shorter (10" vs 13").

Why pick comb binding for a school?

Comb is the binding to pick when the document changes. A comb opens back up on the machine, so you can add a unit to a workbook or swap pages in a record without rebinding, and Formax notes the bindings can be reused. Comb also holds the thickest books here: 480 sheets, against 340 for Formax's 2:1 wire.

Formax calls comb "cost effective with an office-ready finish." Wire looks sharper and lies flat; comb is the one you can edit. Formax's own application list for the ReadyCombE starts with health records and school workbooks, which tells you where it fits.

How does the ReadyCombE work?

The ReadyCombE closes in four steps: set the comb in the slots and pull the lever toward you to open it, punch the paper with the foot pedal, place the punched sheets on the open comb, then push the lever away to close. Formax says punched sets are "immediately ready to bind in one fluid motion."

• Vertical, drop-in punch that squares the stack before punching
• Punch edge adjustment for hole placement
• Disengageable punch pins, "without tools or greasy set up"
• Paper width guide for consistent stacks

How does the ReadyCombE compare to the ReadyCombM+?

The ReadyCombE and ReadyCombM+ are the same Premium comb binder with a different punch. The CombE punches by foot pedal at up to 16,000 sheets an hour; the CombM+ punches by hand at up to 12,000. Book size, paper width and closing speed match.

• Print center or central office, 150–300 books a day? → ReadyCombE
• Teacher workroom or school office, under ~200 a day? → ReadyCombM+
• Need the books to lie flat and look sharper, and never edit them? → ReadyWire2E

Who should buy the ReadyCombE — and who shouldn't

Buy it for a district print center or a large school producing workbooks, student records and volunteer handouts in volume. Formax lists schools, small offices, churches, non-profits and healthcare facilities. For K-12 districts outfitting a print center, I'd quote the CombE alongside a ReadyWire2E.

Skip it if your volume is a class set at a time; the manual ReadyCombM+ closes just as fast. Skip comb entirely if the finished book needs to fold back on itself or look presentation-grade. That's wire, or coil on the ReadyCoilM.

All nine Formax binders are compared in our guide to Formax binding machines for schools, or browse Formax equipment in our store.

Questions we get from districts

Is the Formax ReadyCombE fully electric?

No. The ReadyCombE punches with an electric foot pedal, but opening and closing the comb is manual, by lever. Formax calls it an "All-in-One Electric Comb Punch & Manual Bind System." Its closing speed, 200 booklets an hour, matches the manual ReadyCombM+.

How thick a book can the ReadyCombE bind?

Up to 480 sheets, per Formax. That's the thickest book of any of the nine Formax Ready models we carry: 2:1 wire tops out at 340 sheets, 3:1 wire at 135 and coil at 155. Formax doesn't publish how many sheets the ReadyCombE punches per pass, so I'm confirming that.

Can you add pages to a comb-bound book?

Yes, and that's the main reason to buy comb. Put the book back on the ReadyCombE, pull the lever to open the comb, add or remove pages, and close it again. Formax notes the combs can be reused, which wire can't do.

How fast does the ReadyCombE punch?

Up to 16,000 sheets an hour, according to Formax, against 12,000 for the manual ReadyCombM+. Closing is rated at 200 booklets an hour on both models, so the electric punch only pays off when punching is the slow step in your process.

What is the ReadyCombE best used for in a school?

Student workbooks, health and student records, and volunteer or parent handouts, which are the jobs Formax lists. Anything that gets pages added during the year belongs on comb. Formax rates the ReadyCombE for 150 to 300 books a day, so it suits a print center more than a classroom.

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