One of the many fun and interesting things we get to do here at MyBinding is take a behind-the-scenes look at our vendors. Recently, Max Pupino from Formax visited our office. Max, a native Italian who migrated here in the 90s, has 20 years experience in sales and service. He was kind enough to sit down with a few of our marketing specialists to talk about the history of Formax as well as go over a few machines, including the all-new ColorMax.

Formax started in the 1980s as a direct sales company featuring paper processing products. These machines were constructed with all metal, making them heavier and longer lasting than others on the market. The company grew and today they are an international manufacturer. Formax machines are sold through dealers across the world, with MyBinding being one of these. With headquarters in New Hampshire and a manufacturing plant in California, Formax remains a solid leader in paper handling products.

Formax machines are used by a range of small to large businesses. They are a very hands-on manufacturer, working in tandem with both their dealers as well as their customers. Formax often helps with installation, training, and warranty information. They also offer performance guarantee, completely setting up the machine for the customer, including jobs pre-programmed into the device specifically for the end user. This extra sales support is what sets them apart. Formax has been known to have a conference call with the end user, provide samples for approval prior to shipping, as well as pre-setup the machine.

While Formax offers a variety of bursters, paper folders, and pressure sealers, their latest device is the ColorMax 7. The ColorMax 7 is a full-bleed inkjet printer, the only one like it in this industry. This high-speed digital printer offers full CMYK color, full bleed of 8.5″ x 17″ paper, high capacity ink tanks, and more. With the ColorMax 7, you can print up to 7,500 envelopes and 3,600 full pages per hour, as well as a variety of other paper sizes and stocks. With full CMYK color range, this printer delivers 16.8 million colors, ensuring that your materials are printed with the exact shade you want. The innovative Memjet print head has no moving parts and uses 70,400 color ink nozzles, allowing for more precise printing with less ink.

While the ColorMax 7 is the latest and greatest from Formax, they also have a full line of paper handling equipment.  This includes shredders, paper folders, bursters, inserters, pressure sealers, printers, and more. We asked Max if he had seen the inventory change as a result of the recession. According to Max, Formax has kept their core machines but changed applications. They’ve brought in a few more machines to appeal to a broader market and kept their marketing in-house to reduce costs. As we would say here at MyBinding, they’ve learned to “work smarter, not harder,” something most businesses have had to learn in order to stay profitable in today’s economy.

Where will we see Formax in the next five years and beyond? Still selling pressure sealers, as they have from the start. However, on their horizon are more digital printing and cutting solutions, standing firm in their successes and moving forward where it makes the most sense. With good business sense and US-made machines, Formax is a company we will see around for a long time to come.