Aidata BASIC METAL-ARM COPY HOLDER

This thing works great, read instructions first it's a bit tricky to turn on for the first time.

I very much like most of the design of this copy holder. It is listed as having a metal arm, which is only partially true. The arm rods themselves are metal, but all of the joints are plastic. They do have metal screws, which are well designed. Overall the arm is pretty sturdy. My biggest problem of the arm is that it does not bend 180 degrees. The bottom portion of the arm will only move 45 degrees. This would be fine, except for the next flaw.The copy holder itself is mounted on a fitting that does not allow it to rotate 360 degrees. It is therefore not able to be rotated all the way around to accommodate a full range of placement. The limited motion of the arm, combined with the limited rotation of the copy holder means that it is a right side only stand and even then, it doesn't put the copy holder in the right position due to my desk/hutch configuration.Finally, all of the flaws are not terminal. I will look for other mounting positions on my desk to see if I can find the position I want it. Also, I believe that it can be disassembled and reconfigured to make it left handed. I may try this if I get ambitious. I am torn between a three star and four star rating. I would recommend it with the caveat that you may need to work around the limitations or be handy enough to reconfigure it to your taste.

As assembled it is always at a slant, only holds about 3 sheets of paper the tray is so narrow. Not the best but it will do. More lightly constructed than the one it replaced.

This is the first copy holder I've ever used that didn't require me to have space cleared on my desk to stand it, or to attach sticky adhesive to my monitor. It does what it's supposed to, and the fact that it clamps on the desk, not onto the monitor is just a wonderful thing. It's also nicely sturdy, as I haven't had trouble with parts coming off or it slowly sinking down to a position other than where I set it.

My partner and I could not figure out how to put this item together and no instructions were included. Even after a Google search, we failed. The seller had an excellent return policy and promptly refunded me that's why 4 stars. Wish it would have worked out!

I knocked it down a bit on sturdiness because if you have ever worked in an office with one of these, this is NOT one of those bulletproof office versions. As long as you understand that you will have to be gentle with it I believe it will work fine... only time will tell... but so far so good!