Finishing On Demand

In all the hoopla over print-on-demand, little attention is given to the bindery demands that help realize on-demand's potential.

By Marie Ranoia Alonso

Obviously, an on-demand printer that relies on digital printing technology must be able to assure customers that deadline-sensitive print jobs will be produced on time. After all, there's little advantage to digital color output if a job cannot be finished quickly.

As a result, in-house finishing capabilities are necessary for an on-demand printing operation, which must decide if in-line or off-line finishing, or more commonly a combination of the two, will bolster its digital printing effort with enough postpress power. The benefits of in-line finishing include high set integrity, as well as a streamlined production path.

On the other hand, off-line finishing allows a digital output device to print at full-rated speeds, as finishing is done several feet away from point of output.

Whether in-line or off-line, the need to have automated finishing capabilities in the on-demand printing environment is critical. A fully functioning in-house bindery dedicated to on-demand output is the necessary final link in a production cycle that incudes all the glamour of variable data printing and customized, digital color output.

Digital Demands

"As digital printing enters the mainstream of publication and commercial printing, many of the operational paradigms of finishing need to be reexamined both by print providers and equipment vendors," contends Mark Fleming, president of Naperville, IL-based Strategies on Demand, a marketing, financial and operations consulting firm catering to digital print providers.

Fleming suggests that existing on-demand printers—and those looking to expand their capabilities portfolio by investing in a digital color press—consider the following facts of life for finishing in an on-demand environment.

• Finishing is an integral component of the on-demand production and distribution service. This isn't a capability that can be outsourced or left to the client.

• Pricing for on-demand production frequently differs from the conventional makeready-run structure. On-demand production and distribution can make the customer's costs entirely variable. While this advantage is a strong selling point, the price of the product cannot change with the quantity ordered.

• In on-demand finishing, the make- ready is more important than the run. One of the most common mistakes that Fleming sees is investment in high-cost finishing equipment designed for speed rather than flexibility. The printer's fixed manufacturing costs are then weighted down by underutilized bindery capacity.

• On-demand finishing is not necessarily best suited for in-line finishing. The digital printing equipment manufacturers frequently promote high technology in-line folding, binding and trimming solutions for on-demand production using the long-run, standardized product paradigms that have existed in the older digital printing and mailing industry.

So, in what areas can today's digital finishers improve? Fleming offers the following suggestions.

• Closer electronic integration of finishing systems with digital production management systems to ensure the integrity of the finished product.

• Lower cost, versatile case-binding solutions.

As just one player in a still emerging, fledgling market that includes offerings from Duplo USA and Standard Finishing, among others, Roll Systems provides feeding and finishing technologies specifically for for on-demand finishing.

Its DocuSheeter 6180/6135 supports Xerox black-and-white cut-sheet printers; BookMaster is compatible with continuous-web printers from IBM and Océ; and its Digital Color Unwinder is designed to work with Agfa Chromapress, IBM InfoPrint Color, Xerox DocuColor and Xeikon digital color presses.

"The finishing demands of on-demand printers will vary greatly by printer model. Each kind of printer has its unique characteristics," cautions Jules Fried, vice president of marketing for Roll Systems. "For example, each printer handles different media at different speeds; this affects finishing."

The paradox is that while shorter run lengths become feasible it will still be difficult to change the format of each run. So the industry will begin to see standardization of media and finishing formats. This will make in-line finishing attractive as a way to reduce labor, improve document integrity and speed turnaround.

"Very little finishing equipment has been designed specifically to work with on-demand printing equipment," Fried argues. "We expect to see evolution here."