Better Folders, Lower Costs

Purchasing a new floor-model folder with automation features can lower your operating costs and improve the quality of your folds.

by MARK SMITH

WHEN BUSINESS conditions get tight, it's natural to think about hunkering down and waiting for the market to turn around. This may hardly seem like the right time to make a significant investment in new equipment. However, doing just that can provide both short- and long-term benefits.

Postpress operations are prime targets for performance improvement, since they traditionally have been labor-intensive and highly mechanical. Folding falls into that category. Purchasing a new floor-model folder with automation features can provide a big payoff, manufacturers say. Benefits include:

• Lower operating costs, by enabling the use of less-skilled labor and reducing demands on the operator.

• Improved performance, with faster production of higher quality folds.

As an added bonus, manufacturers typically are offering financial incentives on new purchases. This is a buyer's market.

"Printers and binders must keep ahead of their competition, especially in tough economic times," advises Stacey Porto, marketing supervisor at GBR Systems. One way to do that is by embracing new technology, including automated folders, she says. Particularly when compared to manual folders, automated machines provide faster makereadies, quicker turnaround times and labor savings, while producing less waste, Porto explains.

GBR's Mathias Bäuerle SetMATIC folder offers automated, computer-controlled operation, she points out. To facilitate makeready, fold plates, alignment rails, delivery rollers and fold roller gaps are set via a central control panel. These settings, along with parameters for fold speed, sheet gap, shingling of sheets, suction length, counting functions, double sheet detection and paper travel control, can be recalled by selecting one of the 60 custom-fold jobs stored in memory. This can reduce setup times by 90 percent or more, Porto says.

Low Monthly Rates

One of the best reasons to consider acquiring a new folder is the low financing rates available, says Mark Pellman, marketing manager at Baum.

"When you combine the lower monthly payments with the substantial increase in productivity per hour, lower maintenance costs and simplified operation, now is the time to consider replacing marginal folding equipment," he asserts.

Baum folders are gear driven and have combination rollers to produce consistent, tight folds, while their sealed ball bearings provide long, maintenance-free performance, Pellman says. Newer models offer user-friendly operation with a "Learning Mode" setup function and patented "double blow bar" for the feeders, he adds. In combination with the latter, a non-contact pile height sensor improves sheet feeding, which is important because changes in the paper stocks used and printing done on a sheet are creating more curls that must be overcome in feeding at the folder.

Microprocessor-based Controls

To enable faster setup, MBO America offers microprocessor-based controls on its folders. Its Navigator system provides an operator-friendly interface for controlling critical machine settings, including centralizing speed and sheet gap controls for the main section and accessory units.

It also supports integration into a digital workflow via CIP 3/4 and provides an open, WindowsNT-based database system for managing production. Also, MBO folders boast stainless steel surfaces to minimize paper static problems, and marbleless engineering for greater production.

Another industry trend impacting all stages in the print process is the decline in run lengths, says Don Dubuque, product manager for Standard Finishing Systems. As this happens, setup time becomes a larger percentage of total job time, he points out. Automation features on folders can shorten job setup times, which translates into increased folder run time and higher profits, Dubuque continues. As run lengths decrease, fold quality becomes even more critical since there is less tolerance for waste, he adds.

The current class of folders all but eliminates the need for a dedicated, skilled "folder specialist" to set up and run the equipment, Dubuque says. The Standard Horizon AFC-504AKT folder line, for example, offers advanced setup automation features controlled through a user-friendly LCD touch-screen. Up to 50 job settings can be stored, reportedly enabling setup to be done in as little as 15 seconds. A rotary vacuum feeder with a suction head efficiently feeds of a range of stocks.

During good or poor economic times, there are only two justifications for investing in new equipment: Increasing capacity or improving productivity, asserts Ralph Johnson, president of LDR International. In-plants with multiple computer-assisted folding machines can achieve both of these goals, he says.

Individually, modern folders let operators achieve makereadies in under 10 minutes, even on complex work, Johnson explains. In addition, jobs can be stored in memory for even faster makeready on repeat orders, he says. However, if a shop has multiple machines a lead folder operator can handle the makeready on two or three machines while lesser skilled people tend the machines during the run.

Shoei computer-assisted folders from LDR provide automatic setting of the calipers, suction head and side guide, Johnson notes. Folder functions are controlled via a touch-screen monitor.

Modular Design

Count Machinery touts the modular design of its Count-Fold 235 and 245 series suction-feed folding systems. The machines are designed as stand-alone folders or can be fitted with in-line accessory units (scoring, perforating, etc.) to create flexible, high-capacity folding lines. An optional standing delivery supports production of miniature folding jobs and the Z-Feeder pile feeder is offered for uninterrupted operation.

For its part, Heidelberg USA has been putting a lot of development effort into solutions for integrating binding/finishing operations into the broader digital workflow. Its FCS 100 (Finishing Communication System), for example, controls finishing operations within Heidelberg's Prinect workflow concept and can link to the DCT 2000 digital folder control system for automatic presetting. The Compufold Workflow software module allows folding programs to be set up on screen and also creates a job-specific configuration plan for the folder with precise setting instructions for the slitter shafts to guide operators.

Heidelberg's ACC 2.4 digital controller controls in-line peripheral devices used for gatefolding, gluing and timed perforations. It can be used with Stahl folding machines and other folders to increase the applications for folding systems.

Profold features a compact design in its Model 4040 vacuum-feed, floor-model folder. The company claims to have eliminated the need for a register table by feeding directly into the first parallel fold section, reducing floor space requirements by one-third. The folder is equipped with the company's patented "No-Set-Gap-Set" technology, which simplifies operation by automatically adjusting for product thickness and fold-format changes.

What all these floor-model folding systems have in common is a focus on more efficient, productive operation. That's a smart bet for any business conditions.