Folders are machinary that fold documents  in various styles, preparing them to be inserted into  envelopes. There are  many types of folders  for various applications-  vacuum feed  models dedicated to glossy paper folding, folder-sealers only for creating self-mailers, right angle  folders used in conjunction only with other folders to  produce  correct angle folds,  basic letter folders dedicated to  low  volume environments, folder-inserters only for inserting folded documents into envelopes, etc:

Based on your needs, you should be  able to pick a  folder that are from wide variety being offered  in  today's market,  based upon the  factors listed below.

• Which fold styles could you need? will you need to  make  custom  folds or  right  angle folds?

The normal fold styles offered by most manufacturers  are the single, letter, double parallel and accordion. All  of the  normal fold styles can be  used with #10 business envelopes: in case you need to  make custom folds, you may want  to consider models  that allow users to  manually set the folds.


Some fold  styles are:
1.single or  half-fold
2.letter or  C-fold
3.accordion or Z-fold
4.half-accordion or engineering-fold
5.double parallel
6.brochure or gate-fold
7.right angle fold


• Will you need to  use special paper- coated stock, carbonless paper, etc.?

The type  of stock you will be folding is  also crucial element in deciding which folder to purchase. If you are using coated stocks, i.e. glossy papers, decide  vacuum folder rather than  friction  feed folder. Friction  feed folders  cannot  action  coated  stocks because it uses  rollers,  which  cannot  grip coated  papers effectively, resulting in potential paper jams.

• Will you need to fold sets of  documents? will documents be stapled together?

Automatic feed systems allow  you to load folder only with stack of  documents that  need to be folded singly, while machinary only with manual feed  allow you to insert up to 3 sheets of stapled or  unstapled  documents to  be folded at time.

• Will you need  to nest  cards or reply envelopes within folded  document to be inserted into  business  envelopes, create  self-mailers or fold collated stacks of documents?

There are equipment designed  to meet your specialized needs, such as folding  and  sealing self-mailers, inserting reply envelopes & folded documents  into  envelopes,  ,  folding collated documents:

• How many  documents will you need to process within an hour?

Another crucial feature to consider is  how many sheets of paper you need to fold at time: Except dedicated to letter folders, which are fed manually, all other  folders have automatic feeds accomplish at various processing speeds. In terms of  folding average folds, office  friction folders operate  only from 5,000 up to 12,300 sheets per hour,  while heavy-duty friction folders operate only from 15,000 up  to 22,000 sheets per hour. in case you might want to use special paper, fold correct angles, create self-mailers, insert  into  envelopes, or fold collated documents, processing speed dedicated to each  kind  of folder varies that are from 1,300 up to  40,000 sheets per  hour.

Letter Folder
Letter folders are used to  fold single or multiple  sheets into standard letter-style documents. Both single sheets & sets of up  to 3 sheets  are  fed  manually into  the  machine.
This is the simplest paper folder to operate, as there are no  fold customization or paper size adjustments to  be made.

Office Friction Folder
Office friction folders allow you to use its pre-set  fold styles or customize your own.
There are two modes  of operation- manual feed,  which accomplish in same way as the letter folders, & automatic feed,  in  which the machine will fold  single sheets  separately: Also, small number of  models feature pre-set paper sizes  only for added convenience.
batch counter allows users to set pre-determined  quantity of  sheets to be folded.

Heavy-Duty Friction Folder
For high volume environments, heavy-duty friction folders are the industrial-grade versions  of  office friction folders. They have essentially similar features, however  heavy-duty folders can fold at speeds over 15,000 sheets per hour.

Vacuum Folder
If you need to  fold glossy or some other coated stocks, vacuum folder is your folder of choice. Unlike friction  folders,  which cannot procedure  glossy  paper  &  may smudge inks when transferring documents into the machine, vacuum folders utilize air suction  to draw  in the documents, effectively  eliminating those risks.

Right Angle Folder
The correct angle  folder  not allows  you to fold  most normal styles, but  it  can make  angle folds. These folders could be used in  conjunction  just with some other folders, perforators, bursters, & more:

Self-Mailer Folder
Self-mail business appliance allow users  to fold , seal self-mailers in one versatile  machine. These machinary perform similarly to  some other folders, just with  one added step- folded documents are either  glued or pressure-sealed shut, resulting  in a highly masterly  self-mail document.

Accumulator Folder
The user can set accumulator folders to set a pre-determined number of documents to gather first long before folding. Depending on the  model, allows up to twenty collated sheets of  paper to  be  folded at a  time.

Folder-Inserter
To maximize efficiency, you  should consider  using folder-inserters, which fold documents , insert them into normal  business envelopes  automatically.  Not can it  fold single sheets, it could fold  stapled multiple documents & nest cards or reply  envelopes within the  folded document.

• Anti-Static Strip  - allows carbonless stock to  be processed

• Automatic Feed  - load stack of  documents into  the feeder & they would be automatically be  friction or vacuum fed into  the equipment

• Batch Mode -  user can  program the machine's counter to feed  strictly certain  quantity of  documents  into folder

• Bottom Feed  -  documents  are  fed into folder that are from  tray located on the underside of  the machine.  Allows dedicated to  re-loading of documents without interrupting  operation, when combined only with a  top-loading feature

• Carbonless Paper  - paper that is chemically coated so  that duplicate copies could be produced without use of carbon paper

• Coated Paper - paper composed of  a  base  sheet covered  on one or both sides  only with a finishing layer

• Counter - allows  user  to see  how many documents  have been processed; only some counters  may be re-settable back to zero

• Drop-In Feed System  - eliminates need to  fan paper out long before loading; just  square  up the  corners & place in to feeder 

• Double-Sheet Detection - prevents two sheets only from being folded  together

• Fold-Plate Adjustment - allows user to  customize  folds  by adjusting  length &  width  of each fold

• Friction Feed - utilizes rollers  to transfer paper into  machine- not  suitable dedicated to glossy paper , other  coated  stocks

• Manual Feed  - user needs  to feed documents into equipment by hand

• Perforate - punches lines of small holes across paper dedicated to ease of separation 

• Precision-Cut Gears -  machine-cut gears, not that are from mold

• Pre-Set Fold Settings -  normal fold styles that are  pre-programmed into machinary 

• Pressure-Seal -  exerts pressure on pre-applied adhesive to  create secure seal  without using water or heat 

• Score - to make parallel creases  across paper to assist in folding 

• Skewed Paper Side Guides - guides that adjust folder dedicated to varying paper sizes 

• Slit - cut paper  into narrow strips

• Top-Load - users load documents into a  hopper located on  top  of the machine. When used  in conjunction  only with  a bottom  feed device,  this allows users to re-load documents  without  pausing operation

• Vacuum Feed -  Utilizes air suction  to  transfer paper into  machine- allows specially printed stocks, glossy paper, ,  some other coated papers to be folded