Office products.

OFFICE PRODUCTS

Fast binding of reports

Bound presentation reports give documents a solid, professional appearance. However, most of the inhouse "instant" binding methods on the market either are not truly instant or require complex heating equipment or document preparation.

ChannelBind Corp., a Xerox subsidiary, has developed ChannelBind System 20, a mechanical device that binds documents instantly, without glue or heat, and the final product looks professionally bound.

ChannelBind squeezes metal spines, which are built into its special covers, with the push of a lever. It handles either hard or soft covers.

The mechanical binding device costs $980. The special ChannelBind soft covers cost $1.48 each; its hard covers cost $3.91 each.

For more details, write to ChannelBind Corp., 3 Townline Circle, Rochester, New York 14623, or call 800-562-7188. FAX: [phone].

BANKING

Do-it-yourself checks

Until now, do-it-yourself check printing hasn't been possible because the identifying code at the bottom of the check must be printed in special magnetic ink for computer processing by banks.

MICR Tech Group has solved that problem. It is marketing a package of supplies that prepares most laser printers to produce personalized checks. The package also includes font software that permits the user to customize the checks.

A kit for first-time users, which includes toner and software, costs $895 for most printers.

For more details, write to MICR Tech, 12 Bartal Court, Atco, New Jersey 08004, or call 609-753-8502. FAX [phone].

SOFTWARE

Writing macros as easy as

1,2,3

As any Lotus 1-2-3 user knows, sub-routines, called macros, make spreadsheet software more effective and convenient. Macros are step-by-step orders for accomplishing spreadsheet tasks, saving the user the need to go through each step manually. Writing macros, however, is time-consuming, even for experts.

AmpliTech, Inc., has introduced a product, Macro Magic!, that not only provides a large library of useful macros but also helps the user to create custom macros with a menu-driven program.

Some of the more popular macros in its library include depreciation and loan payment functions, conversion of monthly data to quarterly data, database sorting and switching and replacement of data.

The cost of the program is $59.95.

For more details, write to AmpliTech, Inc., 1900 Clemson Drive, Richardson, Texas 75081, or call 214-231-8149. FAX: [phone].