RD297 Folding Machine

The RD297 is a desktop manual folding machine listed on the company website. Manual folders suit small offices and mailrooms that fold letters and leaflets in modest runs, where an automatic machine would be more capacity than the job needs and a larger purchase than the budget allows.

A naming note belongs at the top of this page. The company website's product page is titled RD297, but the specification list on the same page lists the model as SG-RD297 A3. Both names are shown here, exactly as published, rather than merged into one.

Specifications

Transcribed from the numbered specification list in the description of the company website's product page. The page title says RD297 and the list says SG-RD297 A3; both are shown.

Reading the Specifications

Manual type is the key distinction for this machine. The operator feeds sheets and works the folding mechanism by hand, which keeps the machine simple and inexpensive but limits the run length that is practical. For a small office folding a few hundred letters at a time, that trade is usually acceptable; for a mailroom folding thousands, an automatic machine such as the ZY460 is the better choice.

Paper sizes from 128 by 182 mm up to 297 by 400 mm cover A3-width sheets down to small inserts. Paper thickness from 45 to 135 grams covers ordinary office paper through to heavier leaflet stock, with the stated limit that 135-gram paper cannot be double-folded. That limit is worth noting for buyers who fold heavy stock twice: the paper may crack or the fold may not close cleanly.

Feed tray capacity of 500 sheets, stated for 55-gram fine paper, and processing speed of 40 to 100 sheets per minute, stated for a single fold on 55-gram fine B4 paper, are both tied to a specific paper in the source list. Thicker or heavier paper will change both figures, so they should be read as the listed values for that stated paper, not as guarantees for every paper type.

Getting Good Folds on a Manual Folder

Manual folding rewards patience and punishes haste. The operator sets the fold, feeds each sheet or small batch, and checks the result. Because the operator is part of the mechanism, consistency comes from a steady rhythm rather than from the machine alone: feed the same way every time, keep the stack squared, and check the first few folds before continuing.

Paper thickness is the main variable to watch. The listed range runs from 45 to 135 grams, with the stated limit that 135-gram paper cannot be double-folded. That limit is a property of the paper, not a fault of the machine: heavy paper cracks when folded twice at the same place. If your job needs a double fold on heavy stock, score or crease the sheet first, or choose a lighter stock for that job.

The feed tray capacity of 500 sheets and the speed of 40 to 100 sheets per minute are both stated for a specific paper, 55-gram fine paper, and for a single fold on B4 paper in the case of speed. Thicker paper reduces both figures, and heavier folds reduce the speed further. Use those figures as a baseline for light paper, and test your own paper before promising a deadline.