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The wire binder I'd default to for a school or district office that doesn't want a cord.
Formax ReadyWire2M
The Formax ReadyWire2M is a manual, all-in-one 2:1 pitch double-loop wire binding machine that punches 25 sheets per pass, binds books up to 340 sheets on wire up to 1½" diameter, and takes paper up to 14" wide. It's in Formax's Premium Office line, and Formax marks it "Recommended — For the Most Versatile Binding!"
It's rated for up to 200 booklets an hour and 100 to 200 books a day.
It's not the electric one. Punch and close are both hand-crank. If you want the punch on a foot pedal, that's the ReadyWire2E.
The ReadyWire2M punches up to 25 sheets at a time, makes books up to 340 sheets, and handles paper up to 14" wide, so legal-size binds on the long edge. Formax rates it at up to 200 booklets an hour. It measures 18" wide, 13" deep and 18" tall to the highest handle.
The ReadyWire2M adds 3" of paper width (14" vs 11"), 5 more sheets per punch (25 vs 20) and 60 more sheets of book thickness (340 vs 280). It also adds Formax's Premium punching features: a vertical drop-in punch, toolless punch-pin disengagement and an adjustable closure control. Both are manual and rated at 200 books an hour.
The pin disengagement matters more than it sounds. Pull the pins that would land off the edge of a non-standard sheet and you don't get a half-hole at the end of the spine. Formax's line is "without tools or greasy set up."
Other Premium details on the 2M:
Buy the ReadyWire2M unless punching is your bottleneck. Both are Premium 2:1 machines with 14" paper width and 340-sheet books. The ReadyWire2E adds a foot-pedal electric punch and a 250-an-hour rating against the 2M's 200, and it's shorter at 11" tall. The close is manual on both.
So the electric model buys you about 50 books an hour and two free hands on the stack. That's worth it in a district print center running 150+ books a day. For a single school's office, the 2M does the job without needing an outlet.
Formax ships ReadyWire in patented packaging so the wire never tangles, stretches or gets wasted. Formax's own warning is blunt: "When wire arrives without Formax ReadyWire packaging, it's not just tangled, as soon as you pull on it, it's wasted." Formax also says ReadyWire is 10% thicker than industry standard and comes in several colors.
Wire is what you'll keep buying. I quote it with the machine.
The ReadyWire2M sits between the Basic ReadyWire2B and the electric ReadyWire2E. It has the 2E's 14" width, 25-sheet punch and 340-sheet books, but the 2B's all-manual operation and 200-an-hour rating.
Buy it for a high school front office, a district office, a curriculum department or any building that binds compliance documents, reports and presentations, including legal-size. Formax lists legal firms, educational institutions, government agencies, healthcare and corporate print shops.
Skip it if you'll never pass 50 books a day on letter paper; the ReadyWire2B covers that for less. Skip it if your documents change mid-year, too. Wire doesn't reopen, and comb does.
And if every book you make stays under 135 sheets, the ReadyWire3M is the same Premium manual setup in 3:1.
Formax has run show-floor and open-box specials before, so ask me whether any are available — see our Formax open box specials. The full lineup is in our guide to Formax binding machines for schools, and you can browse Formax equipment in our store.
Is the Formax ReadyWire2M manual or electric?
Fully manual. The ReadyWire2M punches and closes by hand crank, with no motor and no cord. Formax's electric version of the same Premium 2:1 machine is the ReadyWire2E, which moves the punch to a foot pedal and is rated at 250 booklets an hour instead of 200.
How thick a book can the ReadyWire2M bind?
Up to 340 sheets on 2:1 wire up to 1½" diameter, per Formax. It punches up to 25 sheets per pass, so a full 340-sheet book takes about 14 punches. That's 60 sheets more than the Basic ReadyWire2B and well past the 135-sheet limit of Formax's 3:1 models.
Can the ReadyWire2M bind legal-size documents?
Yes. The ReadyWire2M takes paper up to 14" wide, so legal-size binds along its long edge. Formax's Basic Office models, the ReadyWire2B and ReadyWire3B, stop at 11", which is why I point any district binding legal-size stock to the 2M or the 2E.
How many books a day is the ReadyWire2M built for?
Formax puts it at 100 to 200 books a day, with a rated output of up to 200 booklets an hour. Above roughly 150 a day, the electric ReadyWire2E is worth a look, since Formax rates it at 150 to 250 a day and 250 an hour.
What support and warranty come with the ReadyWire2M?
Support comes from Formax Connect, Formax's own factory support team, which advertises "Year Round, Same or Next Business Day Response." I don't have the warranty term in Formax's material yet. I'm getting it from our rep and will add it to this post.
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