Best Paper Folding Machine Reviews 2023

Folding a paper into a correct size may sound an easy-to-do chore. But when you'll be given with 6000 papers to fold in an hour, things go a little out of hand.

I know what you're thinking- "It's freaking impossible. After all, I'm not a machine."

That's the point! Here we're talking about real ‘machines' that can do the mammoth task with a whole lot of excellence and accuracy. These are called paper folding machines.

We've crafted this best paper folding machine reviews around 6 of the dominating models of the market. We've broken down the specs, features and the drawbacks as well.

Hope you’ll get what you’re looking for- the right paper folding machine. Let’s glide through-

Our Top 7 Paper Folding Machine Reviews

1. Martin Yale P7200 Rapid Letter/Paper Folder

When it comes to deal with papers to fold, P700 is a true mastermind. It doesn't only folds papers, but also can fold 3 papers at a time. At our utter surprise, it can fold stapled papers as well. This is really impressive when it comes to paper folding machines under 300.

One of the finest and maybe the rarest kind of feature of this machine is, it's operating frequency. It can intake and fold up to 4000 papers per hour, which is an enormous score! And that's the brightest selling points of Martil Yale P7200.

Moving forward, there are a number of folding variation that might come handy for you. You can do four types of fold such as- letter fold, half fold, Z-fold and double parallel four. Based on the paper type, size and your purpose, you can choose among these four right from the control panel.

Once you've put the right size of paper in the right amount, the rest of the process is automatic. It will intake the papers right from the feeder and fold a stack without any manual interpretation.

It's not a rare scenario that us users have to struggle with the feeding capacity of paper folders. But this feeding tray has a capacity to behold up to 50 sheets. Being able to hold that much of paper, it still takes quite a minimum space to the house itself. In small tabletops of your office or mailroom, you can house this 13 x 20 x 10.5 inches machine.

The stacking tray and its design are of state of art design. The way it delivers folder papers on the tray turns to be pretty handy to pick up. On top of that, it's removable when the machine is not in use.

Before the end of this review, we would like to look at the price point. Although, the price tag might seem over the head for a compact machine. But the main reason after the rise in price is its excellence in working. While folding papers of up to 4000 sheets in an hour, we think that's enough to convince you as a potential buyer.

There is one tiny drawback that we want you to acknowledge before making up your mind. And that is, their limit of paperweight is quite confined. To be exact, you can fold papers from 16 lb to 28 lb only with this machine.

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2. Sparco Tabletop Folding Machine

Sparco belongs to the rare species where products come with just the right features for a minimal price.

People who use the paper folding machine often need to accomplish simple tasks, like letter folding. They don’t want any error or jam coming their way. That’s not a big ask, but many of the models on the market fail to deliver even that.

Not Sparco Tabletop Machine. If you maintain and clean it on a regular basis, this machine is likely to give you optimum performance. The machine contains a paper guard which allows you to load paper accurately. The guard helps in manual feeding of papers as well.

Now, this folding machine offers letter folding only. The papers are folded to fit into business envelope neatly. Before you become skeptical about the machine not being versatile, let me tell you there are offices where hundreds of letter folding are done on a daily basis.

The machine can fold up to 5 pages together without messing them up. Although users suggest not to use more than 4 papers. The dimension of the papers should be 8-1/2-Inch x 11-Inch.

The system is automatic and runs of electricity. So all you have to do is shove some pages through the guide. The guide is properly measured, so you don’t have to worry about adjusting it.

The papers will take one second to be aligned by you and then BAM! The folded papers will come out smoothly. Overall, you’ll like the simplicity and straightforward operation facilitated by Sparco SPR 18726 folding machine.

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3. Martin Yale P6200 Automatic Desktop Folder

Martin Yale P6200 is our runners up pick, and one of the best folding machines within budget.

The P6200 is dedicatedly designed for letter folding only. You might raise an eyebrow at this feature first. But let us inform you that, there are hundreds of offices where they need to do this particular kind of folding on a bulk basis.

For such purposes where you need letter folded papers in bulk amount, this one can be the go-to pick. And those letters are perfectly sized to fit inside business envelopes.

Talking about letter folds, there is a tiny but important fact that we would like to show you. The machine folds letter sized papers in such a way that, there is a ¼ inches gap on the top. This helps the receiver of the letter to unfold it pretty conveniently.

We literally loved the way how Martil Yale had focused on the details. What do you think?

The P6200 is completely hands-free when it comes to operation. All you have to do is, put the papers on position(top of the folder), and it will return you the folder paper.

In this manner, it can operate on up to 3 sheets per second. Seriously, it's saving some super valuable time of yours while in the office.

As it's a compact design that works within a limited space, the folding frequency isn't that much impressive. With 30 papers/minute intake rate, it can give you maximum 1800 sheets of paper folding per hour. But when you're looking for a super compact paper folder within budget, you should not be expecting better than that.

Although, it's a pretty familiar feature in Martil Yale paper folder machines, but this one is also capable of dealing with stapled papers. So, if you've got multiple papers to fold in together, it won't mind operating on it.

If you're new to such compact folding machines, we would recommend you to go through the user's manual first. Because if you're blindfolded without the instructions, operating this machine might be full of flaws for you.

Finally, it’s the price. Well, we are happy to say that this product is extremely under the budget. If you want not to break the bank for just folding papers into letter size, Martil Yale P6200 is the best letter folding machine for you.

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4. Martin Yale 1611 AutoFolder

Martin Yale 1611 Autofolder is an auto paper folder that provides a fancy and complicated paper folding but in a simple way. To save up your bucks and valuable time, Martin Yale 1611 is definitely a better options overs those fancy, complicated machines.

The first significant feature that we'd like to bring under limelight is it's improved feed system. The removable fold tables are there to let you adjust the machine in a tiny space. The rollers are pretty accessible from any angle. So you can input papers into it pretty easily.

Often, there are issues with the paper guide into such kind of machines. But this one is self-adjusting. So, you can put papers into it into any arbitrary position, and it will operate on it immediately.

While dealing with paper folder machines, noise is a major problem that many of the models come with. Before heading up to the details of this machine, we also kept that in mind. But at our utter surprises, we found it completely silent. Even if you fold 100 papers a day with it, it will maintain that silence in operation for years.

Moving forward from operation to set up, Martin Yale will provide you a setup instruction manual. And the good news is, these instructions will be as clear as they could be. Even if you're setting up a paper folding machine for the first time, you'll find no hardship at all.

No matter it's your office or home, you don't deal with only one fixed size of papers, right?

There are letters of different paper sizes and sometimes, this size variation becomes hard to fold with conventional machines.

The Martin Yale 1611 is a pretty good exception in this regard. It automatically takes and folds the paper up to a size of 8-1/2 x 14 Inches. At the lower end, it takes papers of 3-1/2 x 5 Inches in size. In terms of bond weight, it's compatible with papers from 16 lb bond to 70 lb bond.

To fold even the largest size of papers, you don't need any kind of fanning. As we've mentioned before, the retarder is self-adjusting.

Another major complaint that most of the paper folder machines receive is- the jam issue. We can't deny that a machine can not jam at all. But sudden occurrences of jamming should be avoided as much as possible.

So, this Machine should be well maintained and cleaned on a regular basis. If done well, it's less likely to get jammed.

From every point of view, this Martin Yale 1611 AutoFolder is meant to save important working hours of yours and your team. In terms of budget, it lies within a comfortable range. Hopefully, you might keep it at your buying shortlist.

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5. MBM 98M FO0600 Manual Tabletop Paper Folder

98M is one of the highly applauded paper folder machines from the inventory of MBM. It had been there in the market for a long time, and still, we can count it as one of the top-rated picks.

We will disclose the features and benefits of MBM 98M paper folder below-

The best part of this tabletop paper folder is, it has a programmable counter. The function of a programmable counter is, it makes the whole operation by it's set of programmable batch and total function.

In each of the project, you've to manually set the parameters and configure. On the other hand, this programmable counter will save up quit of your burden and save your time as well.

Let’s talk about the papers that it can handle now.

It can intake papers as small as 4 inches x 5 inches, and large papers of up to 8-½ inches x 14 inches. The paperweight limit is set from 16 lbs to 80 lbs. We would like you to take special note here because a higher paper limit of 80 lbs is hardly found in paper folders of such price range.

Although, we don't have to deal with glossy kind of paper in the office, but we think it's worth mentioning. The MBM 98M is not compatible to fold any glossy paper sheets.

To store and place papers temporarily, there is a stacking tray. And for pre-feeding, there is a feed tray as well. For better service, the feeding tray is made to be retractable.

Now, let's come to the point of how it folds paper sheets. Well, you might expect it to be a completely manual one, but MBM MBM98M has a pre-defined selector knob sets. All you have to do is to decide the folding measurements and press the knob.

In case of many similar machines, untrained and beginner users get in trouble to read the buttons and their operations. To help you out with this problem, this model has got a color-coded fold plate marks. It will be effective for new users to get used to with the folder machine.

Although it can intake 100+ of sheets, but we would call it still a low volume paper folder.  If you need a higher volume of paper folding done, you should look forward to models with higher capacity.

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6. Formax FD 300 Document Folder

After a number of top rared Martin Yale products, we’ve got a paper folder from the inventory of Formax. It’s also a famous brand for office accessories and machines. The product we’ve hand-picked for this slot is- Formax FD 300 Document Folder.

First thing first, it's about the folding speed. Among most of the top listed paper folding machines, you can't see higher than 4000 or 5000 papers to be folded in one hour. But this beautiful piece of innovation is able to the intake 7400 papers per hours. And it's almost double of the many top rated products in the market.

And that’s the best selling point of this Formax FD 300 Document Folder.

The next question popping up in your mind is, how many kinds of folds this machine is able to create? To be specific, it can create four of the most familiar and popular paper folds.

The four kinds of folds that it can create are- the C-fold, the Z fold, the half fold, and the double parallel fold. All of these folds are able to be created in two size variations- 11 inches and 14 inches.

Touch control panel is the new cool when it comes to office machineries like the paper folder. On that note, the Formax FD 300 comes with an LCD control panel that works on touch.

On the control panel, there is resettable counter input that can let you custom the folding papers as per your requirement. From the control panel, you can also switch between different types of folds. No matter it's the C fold, Z fold, half fold or double parallel fold, it's just a matter of touch to decide.

Apart from the display, the output conveying system of this machine is also handy and neat.

There will be sequential stacking when you'll assign a bulk amount of papers to this machine. Well, it has to be in this way to handle such a high frequency of folding, right? 

To drop papers and feed it into the machine, you don't need to go through such complicated steps. All you need to do is square the paper into the loader, and put it into the feed tray. If you're done with setting the folding type up, it's just wait-n-see for you as the user.

As a smart customer, it’s good to be informed of both pros and cons of the Formax FD 300 Document Folder. The price point of this product is pretty high. As the product is newly launched in the market, we can expect it to fall down in price very soon.

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7. Dynafold DE-380 Commercial Grade Digital Paper Folder

We're just at the last pick of our paper folding machine reviews. At this point, we would like to showcase something that's solely made for heavy duty commercial usage. It's called the Dynafold DE-380 Commercial Grade High Performance Digital Paper Folder, and it's pretty new in the market.

The reason we’ve picked up this model is not it’s size or functionality. Because there is nothing so special in that. But the ability to handle large workloads at a stretch is the real reason.

Let us explain how-

The first benefit of such a bulky paper folder is, it can intake an enormous amount of workload at a time. The stacking holder is able to load up to 500 papers at a time. All you have to do is to put the chunk of papers on the machine, and the automatic system will adjust the paper thickness automatically.

To let you stay up to date about what's going on in the machine, there are several sensors. There is a digital jam detector to alert you on any jam. Also, there is another couple of sensors which indicated the ejection and error. 

Although there is no digital touch controlled control panel display, but what we have here is not bad at all. It’s a push button by pressing which, you can watch the machine folding paper for you. No setup or training needed at all.

One impressive quality of this folder machine is its self adjustability. It adjusts the position and placement of the paper automatically, even if you place it in the wrong way. No need for fanning at all.

After having a look at the size of the machine, you might think it as a serious noise producer. But the reality is completely a different scenario. It's quiet and adjusts to any official environment.

There are 18 standard presets which come in different sizes of papers like- 8-1/2 x 11 inches 8-1/2 x 14 inches and 11 x 17 inches. Each of these paper sizes has 6 standard presets.

Apart from the variation in size, it's okay with a wide variety in paperweight as well. The exact range is up to 169 gsm. Within an hour, the machine is able to fold 9000 paper sheets, as long as the claim of the company is considered. In a real situation, the range can deviate a bit.

When you're dealing with such a paper load of 8000 to 9000 papers per hour, it's pretty likely to create a jam on the machine. But it won't keep going with the jam and waste up your important paper. Instead, the digital jam detector will detect the jam and wait for a manual interruption and fix.

As it's not supposed to be home or small offices, there is no option to power up the machine in 240V electric power. It works only with a power voltage of 120V. You can call it a tiny drawback if you want.

Also, the machine weighs about 32 kgs, which is pretty heavy for merely a paper folder machine.

Apart from these couple of drawbacks, we found this folding machine as a pretty good one.

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Thing to Consider Before Buying A Folding Machine For Letter and Paper

So, you're done with going through 6 of our best paper folding machine reviews. Now it's time to hone up your buying decision and filter out the best pick for your budget.

Here are the buying factors that might help you out with that-

The Time-efficiency

When it comes to folding a good number of papers within a short timespan, a fast folding speed is what you would look for. On that note, there are models that can take 1800 papers in an hour. And there are some higher and more capable models that can intake 8000+ papers in an hour.

Based on the size, power, and types of foldings you need, you should go for the right folding speed.

The Folding Ability

There are machines that can give you up to 6 different types of foldings. And the list includes C-fold, Z-fold, Double parallel fold and so on.

Also, there are some other models which are solely made for one particular types of fold. If you're very selective about the folding type, you can go for special folding machines.

The Size and Dimension

Most of the offices have a different space or table for machines like paper folders. On those scenarios, the size won't matter and the functionality will.

But when you're limited with space you can allocate for the folding machine, that becomes quite an important factor.

So be space-efficient, many models provide adjustable and removable stacks, trays etc.

The Paper Size and Weight

There are a lot of variations of paper sizes, type, and thickness. Also the weight of the paper matters in many cases. Starting from as small as 8" x 5", the size can go up to double the size of that. And the GSM count of the papers can be of up to 170-180 gsm.

For almost every kind of regular papers you use in the office, there are folding machines for sure. All you have to chose the right features in the machine.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

Question: How easy / hard it is to control the folding machines?

Answer: In these days, the provide some convenience with this matter. There are one-push buttons to let you control it easily. Also, there is touch-enabled display control for making things easier.

Question: What can a programmable paper folder do?

Answer: The major benefit of a programmable paper folding machine is, you can set your own folding dimensions.

Question: Can a folding machine deal with all kind of papers?

Answer: If we talk about papers, letters that are used in offices, that's true. But for thicker papers, it becomes hard sometimes.

Question: How many papers I can put in the stack tray at a time?

Answer: The answer depends on brands and models. Usually, you can put 50-500 papers at a time.

Question: How to get used to a folding machine for the first time?

Answer: With every model from every brand, there is an instruction manual provided. We'd recommend you to go through that in the first place. If you read our paper folding machine reviews article properly then you will get a basic idea about using guideline.

Bottom Line

You still reading, right? Great!

So, this is the dead end of the best letter folding machine reviews. We've discussed 6 machines and their features from top to bottom. Although these models vary from each other from many perspectives, but these 6 are the most loved ones by uses. Now it's up to you to check which one of them meets both ends of your budget and requirements.

Good luck!