Tape binding is a low-maintenance form of thermal binding that's ideally suited to making educational materials, technical manuals, mailers, and single-use publications. Although tape binding is an economical alternative to perfect binding and other methods, there are zero compromises on professional presentation.
A tape binding machine creates a fine finish by applying a high-quality linen cloth binding strip to the spine of your assembled pages. Each strip comes pre-applied with a heat-activated adhesive that creates a strong bind from the first page to the last. The finished pieces lay flat for easy reading, and you can bind up to 350 sheets of paper at a time. These binding systems are workhorse machines that can be run consistently throughout the workday.
Model 20 vs. Coil Binding
Race to the Finish!
It's one thing to say how much faster Fastback is than other punch-and bind options, but it is a whole other thing to actually see the difference!
In this video, we have a friendly little race between the Model 20 Fastback system and a traditional coil punch machine.
Which will win? You will have to watch to find out!
Fastback Binding Machines
The selection of Fastback tape binding machines is small, consisting of just two models, but each one suits a different volume of user, as well as offers different capabilities; so learn more below and choose the one that best fits your individual needs.
• 35-40 Second Cycle Speed
• 8-1/2" - 12" Documents
• 10 - 250 Sheet Maximum
With the Fastback Model 9 tape binding machine, you can create professional tape-bound books quickly and easily, without any special training. There is no hassling with complicated machine settings, punching, or inserting (as with other traditional binding methods); instead, just follow a few simple steps to produce attractive documents that are perfect for impressive presentations, proposals, quotes, and much more. It is so easy to use, that everyone in your office can use it to create strong books using the LX binding strips or easyback hard covers.
• 15-30 Second Cycle Speed
• 5-1/2" - 12" Documents
• 10 - 350 Sheet Maximum
Customers and staff are raving about the Fastback 20 binding machine, one of the simplest, fastest, and most attractive ways to bind books of all kinds, including presentations, manuals, reports, proposals, and so much more. In 3 simple steps, and just a few seconds, you can turn loose pages from 10 to 350 sheets into a professionally bound book that offers lay-flat and fold-over reading options, with a strong hold, and without damaging the spine. The binding is completely automatic, and there is no hassling with punching pages.
Fastback Binding Strips
Binding101 offers a selection of Fastback binding strips to help you create a durable document that looks great. These tape strips are the perfect way to ensure a sturdy construction in the finished document with a clean, flat finish. These top-quality Powis binding strips are very easy to use and create a finished look that is great for presentations, mailers and so much more. The tape binding strip is applied to the spine of your book block creating a fast and beautifully-bound finished book.
Machine: Model 20
Texture: Linen
Options: LF Lay-flat, PS pressure-sensitive, TA temperature-activated
Tip: Use to make lay-flat documents
Machine: Model 20
Texture: Smooth
Tip: Make your own customized document spines with nearly any desktop inkjet printer. Use your company logo, name, contact information, etc.
Other Fastback Supplies
We offer a variety of other Fastback binding supplies, including hardcovers that can be paired with the strips for a premium hardcover solution, foilfast cartridges, and covers. These supplies are more specialized, but still popular for larger print shops and businesses.
These premium hard covers have a linen, composition, or faux suede finish. Treat them as additional pages in your book; just place one on each side of your pages, and place the entire document into your Fastback machine. Then insert the tape strip and let the machine do the work.
FoilFast Cartridges can be paired with your FoilFast P21x cover printer to create virtually any logo or text. It can be used with the FoilFast composition covers, clear polyester and frosted polyester covers, as well as suede and composition title sheets for the Fastback hardcovers.
Pair these foil cartridges with your PowisPrinter P31. They are perfect for printing titles on the spines of your documents, reports, or presentations. The top-quality foil is permanently stamped onto the strip and designed not to flake-off, offering a clean and consistent stamp.
Pair these Foilfast composition covers with your Foilfast Printer for a professional finish. They feature a traditional composition finish, which has a smooth leatherette texture that pairs great with the Fastback Comp strips for a clean and consistent look.
Why Choose Fastback Binding?
Fastback binding strips are the highest quality, on-demand binding products on the market! Fastback strips come in various styles, textures, thicknesses, and colors—so never you and your customers never have to compromise! Fastback’s revolutionary thermal strips create strong, beautiful bindings. Now you can assemble bound books and documents in seconds, saving your company time and money.
Stronger Binding
Fastback bound documents can withstand more than 50 pounds of pull.
Faster Binding
The Fastback 20 binds 3.5x faster than competitive binding systems.
Lay-Flat Binding
Fastback thermal strips deliver true lay-flat binding for easy reading.
Colorful Spines
Fastback strips are available in a rainbow of colors, offering more than any other competitive brand. Colorful binding strips can help your documents stand-out, more easily batch with branding, and allow for enhanced organization opportunities.
Specialized Adhesives
Each Fastback thermal strip uses several specially formulated adhesives to optimize the strength, durability and hold of the pages, while still allowing the document to open flat. The thermoplastic adhesives actually penetrate between and into each page for the strongest binds possible.
Intelligent Design
Fastback binders recognize the type of strip you insert, and then configure the machine settings to bind the fastest and strongest books possible. No complicated settings, it is ready-to-handle your various kinds of documents at all times.
Binding Strip Width Guide
| Strip Width | Composition | SuperStrip | CP Strip | Perfectback Strip | Image Strip | Image Blank | LX Strip | LX Comp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narrow | Up to 0.5" ~125 Sheets |
Up to 0.5" ~125 Sheets |
Up to 0.3" ~60 Sheets |
Up to 0.5" ~125 Sheets |
Up to 0.7" ~125 Sheets |
Up to 0.7" ~125 Sheets |
||
| Medium | 0.5" to 1" ~125-250 Sheets |
0.5" to 1" ~125-250 Sheets |
03" to 0.5" ~60-125 Sheets |
0.5" to 1" ~125-250 Sheets |
0.7" to 1" ~125-250 Sheets |
0.7" to 1" ~125-250 Sheets |
||
| Wide | 1" to 1.5" ~250-350 Sheets |
1" to 1.5" ~250-350 Sheets |
1" to 1.5" ~250-350 Sheets |
Up to 1.5" ~Up to 350 Sheets |
Up to 1.5" ~Up to 350 Sheets |
Strip Compatibility Guide
| Strip Type | Fastback 20 | Fastback 9 | Fastback 15 | Fastback 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperStrip | X | X | X (Narrow Only) | |
| Composition | X | X | ||
| CP Strip | X | X | ||
| Perfectback TA | X | X | X | |
| Perfectback LF | X | X | ||
| Perfectback PS | X | X | ||
| Image Strip Pro | X | X | ||
| ImageReady | X | |||
| ImageReady LX | X | |||
| LX Strip | X | |||
| LX Comp Strip | X |
Model 20 Fastback Binding Machine
With the Powis Parker Fastback Model 20 binding machine and premium tape binding strips you can create a beautifully finished presentation to leave a great impression. It is truly so easy and fast that anyone in the office can make their own bindings whenever needed.
Tape binding is as easy as 1-2-3:
1 - Place a document in the station.
2 - Press the green "start" button.
3 - Insert the recommended binding strip indicated on the screen.
If you are looking for the easiest and fastest document binding machine, the Model 20 from Fastback will fit the bill. This innovative system not only looks great in the office, but it will drastically speed up the bookbinding process over punch-and-bind alternatives.
It is also much easier to accomplish, requiring no training at all. This ease of use makes it great for spaces where there may be multiple users; so everyone in your office can bind their own presentations as-needed. There is no fumbling with loose coils, trying to figure out which size comb you need, or hassling with a misaligned wire closer; just place your document into the feed, press the green button, and insert the binding strip size indicated on the screen. The Fastback 20 automatically makes adjustments within the machine for your specific kind of strip inserted, tailoring each presentation without any manual setting adjustments.
The finished look is also very professional, offering a clean strip along the spine that slightly overlaps the front and back of your book. You can choose colors to match your brand, or a clean black or white finish. You can also choose a texture, such as linen weave or compositiion/vinyl. And what's more? You can employ the impressive ImageStrips and actually print your own custom branded binding strips with most office printers, and without any specialized equipment.
Still not convinced the Fastback Model 20 is the best binding machine for you? Check out what our customers are saying...
Fastback 20 Customer Reviews
★★★★★ | Review by: Tom
Very good binder
"Very impressed with how easy this is. Our whole office loves it. Thank you!"
★★★★★ | Review by: Justin S.
Really Awesome Tape Binding Machine!
"This tape binder is AWESOME! It was ready to use, pretty much straight out of the box, and is so fast (takes most of us just 10-15 seconds per book) and automated that my whole staff can use it with no problem. I love the flexibility that the tape binding offers, and the fact that they bind really flat, so when salespeople take presentations on the road they are easier to transport and the binding can't be damaged (I use to use twin look wire, so I know the hassle of a bent binding spine). I love how automated it is too, and that there's no heat-up time... when we need to use it, we just get to it and it's ready to work hard for us! The initial investment was high, but I already think it has paid for itself in our case (bought it in January)."
★★★★★ | Review by: Evan
Great machine
"This machine impressively and quickly binds documents to look professional and clean. So much better than the spiral binding we were doing before! It is quick, it is simple to use!"
★★★★★ | Review by: Anita
This machine is so easy to use.
"The Powis Parker FastBack 20 machine is a dream, extremely easy to set up and use. Every book comes out perfect and no jams or miss feeds. We are offering it to all users now. Our previous machine, Accubind Pro made by Standard, was so troublesome and expensive to use, it had feeding issues, jammed a lot and would just start screeching at you. It took forever to complete even the smallest job, we didn't even want anyone to know we had it, because we didn't want to use."
★★★★★ | Review by: S. Long
Professional quality binding solution, fast, easy, awesome!
"This product is AWEsome! It is ready to use quickly, is fully automated, intelligent, flexible (binds different widths), and is build to bind all day long, year after year with nearly no maintenance. Initial investment is high, but it pays for itself in our case. Wide variety of different glue strips available; solids, photos, narrow/medium/wide, even preprinted with an inkjet printable area for the label or preprinted with a company logo. Typically takes about 10 seconds to bind each "book". Beats the heck out of punching and combs or spiral binding."
Real-Time Binding with the Fastback Model 20
In this video we demo a document being bound by the Powis Parker Fastback Model 20 binding system, with the goal of showing you just how fast this powerhouse machine can make professional-bound books. You will also get to hear the machine so you can learn how quiet it is in real life, which makes it easy to place anywhere in the office.
Model 20 Questions & Answers
Q: Can I make hardcover books with the Fastback 20?
A: Yes! Pair your Model 20 with the Easyback hardcovers and a binding strip of choice to create a professional hardbound document. The hardcovers act as additional pages in your book, and the tape strip wraps around to bind everything together.
Q: Is this binding system eco-friendly? I am trying to find something better for the environment than plastic combs.
A: We are happy to share that Powis Parker binding strips are made with partial post-consumer waste and recycled materials. In addition, they are recyclable, so you can just pop your whole presentation (paper, eco-friendly covers of choice, and binding strip) into the recycle bin when it is no longer needed.
Q: What kind of books can I bind with this machine?
A: The Fastback 20 can bind just about any kind of book you need! Anything from about 10 pages to 350 pages, a clean and flat spine, and the flexibility to use your own soft covers or the Easyback hardcovers make this machine quite versatile. Presentations for clients, proposals for potential clients or projects, user manuals for machines, instruction guides for policies and procedures, financial reports, legal documentation, art books for students, or anything in-between.
Model 20 Specifications & Features
Specifications:
• Spine Lengths: Minimum 6", Maximum 12"
• Spine Sizes: Narrow, Medium, & Wide
• Binding Capacity: 10 to 350 Sheets (20 lb. bond)
• Optimal Paper Weights: 20 lb (80gsm) to 32 lb (120gsm)
• Editing Capability: Yes (< 2 Edit Cycles)
• Warm-Up Time: 3 Minutes
• Binding Time: 13 - 20 Seconds
• Manufacturer's Warranty: 1 Year
• Dimensions: 23.5" W x 23" D x 9" H
• Weight: 59 lbs.
• Electrical: 115V, 60 Hz, 7amps
• Certifications: UL, CE, cUL
Features:
• Easy 3-step tape strip binding
• Fast binding; average 3x faster than coil/comb/wire
• Minimultraining needed
• Quick warm-up so you can start binding fast
• Allows for editing documents
• User interface walks you through the process
• No guesswork with spine size; use the size on the screen when you place your pages in the machine
• Lower environmental impact that comb and coil
• Easy to make professional reports and presentations
• Make soft cover tape-bound or hard cover tape-bound books
• Compatible with a huge variety of Fastback strips
Model 20 Compatible Binding Supplies
☑ Super Strip
☑ Comp Strip
☑ CP Strip
☑ Perfectback TA
☑ Perfectback LF
☑ Perfectback PS
☑ Image Strip
☑ Image Ready
☑ Easyback Linen
☑ Easyback Comp
☑ Easyback Suede
Model 9 Fastback Binding Machine
Learn all about the Fastback 9 Powis Multi-binder! This powerful little machine allows you to bind professional documents and presentations in seconds. Hardcover books. Perfect bound books. Whatever you or your customers need, the 9 can do it.
Tape binding is as easy as 1-2-3:
1 - Place a document in the station.
2 - Press the green "start" button.
3 - Insert the recommended binding strip indicated on the screen.
Just like the 20, the Fastback 9 binding machine is one of the easiest and fastest systems on the market. It is innovative in manufacturing to automatically detect the proper spine size you need when you place your pages into the machine, completely eliminating guesswork and hassle. With a tape-bound book, you will never again have to fuss with tangled wires, flimsy combs, or rolling in coils through nearly 50 holes. Instead, the incredibly strong binding glue on Fastback strips can hold your pages together and, when paired with the Model 9, can bind books as quickly as about 35 seconds.
The gray and purple design is sleek and the binding process is fairly quiet, so you can easily place the system anywhere in your office, including the salesroom, without affecting the staff. Simple push-button operation and no complicated settings make the Fastback 9 one of the best binding machines on the market for businesses who may have multiple users. Just place your document into the feed, press the green button, and insert the binding strip size indicated on the screen; it is as easy as that!
The finished look is also very professional, offering a clean strip along the spine that slightly overlaps the front and back of your book. You can choose colors to match your brand, or a clean black or white finish. With the Model 9 you can make strip bound books, image bound books, softback books, easyback hard covers, and more.
Still not convinced the Fastback Model 9 is the ideal binding machine for you? Check out what our customers are saying...
Model 9 Fastback Customer Reviews
★★★★★ | Review by: David
Very good
"We really like this machine better than bigger version."
★★★★★ | Review by: David
Easy to use and efficient
"This machine has seriously cut down on our time with binding proposals and presentations. It also gives the final product a much more polished look than the comb binding machines we've used in the past"
★★★★★ | Review by: David
Professional - neat - functional!
"I have been using the comb binding for years. I tried a demo of this product and was sold. I've been using for a few weeks now and LOVE IT. It binds books very trim and neat, easy to use and functional in being able to use your own choice of covers (or no cover). The books I make file away easier than the comb binding, and are easier to mail out."
Model 9 Questions & Answers
Q: Can I use custom printed binding spines?
A: Yes! The printable strips are called ImageStrips and are compatible with the Model 9 and most desktop printers.
Q: Is this binding system eco-friendly? I am trying to find something better for the environment than plastic combs.
A: We are happy to share that Powis Parker binding strips are made with partial post-consumer waste and recycled materials. In addition, they are recyclable, so you can just pop your whole presentation (paper, eco-friendly covers of choice, and binding strip) into the recycle bin when it is no longer needed.
Q: What kind of books can I bind with this machine?
A: The Fastback 9 can bind just about any kind of book you need! Anything from about 10 pages to 250 pages that could benefit from a clean and flat spine. Presentations for customers, proposals for potential clients or projects, user manuals for machines, instruction guides for policies and procedures, financial reports, legal documentation, art books for students, or anything in-between.
Q: Can I use glossy paper with this machine?
A: Unfortunately, glossy paper is not porous enough to allow for real penetration of the glue using the Model 9. The big sister machine (Model 20) can handle glossy paper when using the specialty CP strips with are specially made for coated papers.
Q: Can I edit a book after it is bound?
A: Yes, Fastback binding does allow for editing once or twice. Anything more than that affects the integrity of the glue strip, so a new strip would be needed.
Model 9 Specifications & Features
Specifications:
• Spine Lengths: Letter Size, 8/5" or 11" Edge
• Spine Sizes: Narrow &Medium
• Binding Capacity: 10 to 250 Sheets (20 lb. bond)
• Optimal Paper Weights: 20 lb (80gsm) to 32 lb (120gsm)
• Editing Capability: Yes (< 2 Edit Cycles)
• Warm-Up Time: None
• Binding Time: 35-45 Seconds
• Manufacturer's Warranty: 1 Year
• Dimensions: 19.5" W x 13" D x 11" H
• Weight: 17 lbs.
• Electrical: 115V, 60 Hz, 8.4amps
• Certifications: UL, CE, cUL, MITI, FCC Class B
Features:
• Easy 3-step tape strip binding
• Fast binding; average 2x faster than coil/comb/wire
• Minimal training needed
• Quick warm-up so you can start binding fast
• Allows for editing documents
• User interface walks you through the process
• No guesswork with spine size; use the size on the screen when you place your pages in the machine
• Lower environmental impact that comb and coil
• Easy to make professional reports and presentations
• Weight: 59 lbs.
• Make soft cover tape-bound or hard cover tape-bound books
Model 9 Compatible Binding Supplies
From our Blog: Binding University
Browse our industry-savvy blog for educational articles, FAQs, special insights, & more! These top fastback binding posts can help educate you on all of the ins and outs of thermal tape binding.
