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Letter folding machines

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Since most letters and brochures are folded to fit into an envelope, it only makes sense to have a letter-folding machine on hand. Folding equipment automates a tedious process, eliminating the productivity-stealing manual folding methods. Before computers and printers, the proper way to fold a letter was a common item in an English teacher’s lesson plan. Letters of all sizes and for all occasions all had different folds and that is still true today. The difference for associates in modern offices is that there are machines that can create those crisp lines and exact measurements in a microsecond, without a mistake.

Many letter-folding machines can also stuff envelopes and stack them neatly in a basket. An office that sends mass mailings or that handles bulk mail items will save hours of folding time for a single mailing when using a letter-folding machine.

As with any type of equipment, there are lower end products with few features and there are the space-age “gee whiz” prototypes that look as though they can do anything short of flying to the moon. The difference in price between the two extremes is a consideration, as is the speed with which they can accomplish a task. Manually fed machines can fold hand-fed sheets about as fast a person can pick them up and stuff them in their respective envelopes. Automated folders are friction fed, and each piece of paper is pulled into the mechanism by a set of rollers. Vacuum fed models pull each piece of paper into the folding slot by circulating air.

As with all equipment purchases, it pays to know what features you need before you shop. When shopping for a folding machine, make sure the fold(s) used in your office are part of the machine’s functionality. Most are designed to handle standard letters (the c-fold), accordion folds, brochures, single and double folds. Some models offer counters, others offer memory features that will “remember” certain types of folds and their setup. If a machine’s ability to insert the folded paper into an envelope isn’t a must for your company, why pay for that feature? Choose the machine that can do the jobs you need done, and your cost will be lower.

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