Collators — Freedom of (Much) Choice

The ability to handle single sheets and signatures, plus specialty items like NCR, tabs and envelopes, is a desirable characteristic, according to David Spiel, co-owner of Spiel Associates.

"One should also determine whether it is top load-bottom feed, meaning that it can be fed continuously without having to stop the machine," Spiel says. "No matter how fast a collator runs, stopping to reload will severely affect net output."