Does My Copier Need a Booklet Finisher?

This blog was updated on Tuesday, December 15th, 2020.

It’s the week before your annual company-wide meeting, and you and three co-workers are stuck in a board room, manually stapling, punching, and sorting documents to create packets for attendees. It’s day two, and you and your crack team of booklet-makers have what amounts to probably another seven hours of work.

If this horror story is bringing up unpleasant memories of wasted days spent trying to separate pieces of paper that just seem to stick together no matter what, and an abundance of paper cuts, there is a question you should ask yourself: Do I need a Booklet Finisher?

WHAT BOOKLET FINISHERS CAN DO FOR YOU

Essentially, booklet finishers are an add-on to your MFP (Multi-Function Printer) or copier that automates four tasks:

1. Stapling
2. Hole Punching
3. Tri-Folding
4. Booklet Folding and saddle stitching

Simply put, if your business or organization makes use of printed materials made of multiple pages, or that require additional steps to prepare, a booklet finisher can provide a significant increase in efficiency.

The extra cost of a machine that folds, punches holes, and staples paper automatically may not seem worth it, especially for businesses that have always completed these tasks manually; but consider how much time it takes to accurately punch holes in eighty pieces of paper, and then multiply those eight pieces of paper by two hundred.

Could you and your previously-mentioned crack team of booklet-makers be doing something more productive with you time? Accounting for the speed of business today, most definitely.  Yes, a booklet finisher can staple, fold, and saddle stitch — but what it really does is save you time, frustration, and money.

BOOKLET FINISHERS AND YOUR BUDGET

Not only do booklet finishers save you money on labor costs, they are also much more affordable when compared to outsourcing your print jobs. Most booklet finishers will add between $20 and $40 to your copiers’ lease per month — meaning that if your organization sends out print jobs that cost $15 every week, a booklet finisher will save you money.

Considering most print jobs cost upwards of $100, the additional $20 - $40 per month attributed to a booklet finisher is downright cheap.

Not only are booklet finishers affordable, they are also relatively easy to use — you can actually print booklets right from your print driver, and set finishing parameters from your print driver’s user interface.

WHEN IS A BOOKLET FINISHER RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

If your operations rely on outsourcing print jobs due because your business lacks the ability to finish documents at scale, a booklet finisher will be the right choice for you.

Many businesses operate under the assumption that booklet finishers are an expensive feature relegated to production print machines, but this isn’t the case. While a booklet finisher is an option for production printers, it doesn’t need to be.

If your business’ main revenue stream stems from printing materials, however, it may be time to upgrade your production print machine. With new, faster-than-ever-before printing speeds and low operating costs, there has never been a better time to lease a production printer.

If you’d like to learn more about production print, visit our blog, How Can I Save Money by Automating My Production Print Process?