A Grand Finish at drupa

Take a stroll through the halls of drupa and you will see more finishing equipment than you have ever imagined in your life. Companies you have never heard of, whose names have never reached the United States, have some of the most curious looking equipment on display.

Most of those machines, sadly, are unavailable here on the other side of the Atlantic. So we've decided to focus on the equipment that is. On the pages that follow, we've provided a quick look at some of the new bindery and finishing systems that made their debuts at drupa.

Autobond launched an entry-level thermal laminator at the show, the Micro 52 SD TP. It is a heavy-duty laminating machine aimed at the short run, multi-color B2 and B3 markets. The laminator can produce 2,000 sheets per hour (sph) of B2, is backed by a Heidelberg Stahl suction drum feeder and has a perfecting feature for two-sided lamination in one pass.

At drupa, Baum exhibited several solutions. In the Polar booth, Baum demonstrated the Baum 714XA folder and the latest in BaumCut guillotine cutter systems with small- to large-format capability. GMS demonstrated self-mailer folder/gluer solutions with the Baum 714XLT 8Z folder/gluer producing self-mailers with a GMS Microglue cold glue system. The Baum 20 independent deep pile feeder was shown with the Kodak NexPress for cut-sheet feeding with an exclusive sheet staging design. The Baum CF20 folder with the Baum DG creaser were shown creasing and folding light to heavy weight stocks inline. It features extra-large-diameter folding rollers with special polyurethane coating to handle all types of imaging.

The Clarion APEX sorting system was showcased by Bell and Howell. It processes mail in uniform batches or mixed with various types and sizes. Applying constant gap and pitch control to every mail piece helps minimize processing time and maximize throughput. Options include detectors for doubles, metal, height, indicia and thickness.

The Challenge CMT 130 and 330 On-Demand Book Trimmers were displayed at multiple locations, demonstrating automated book-of-one production trimming with the Challenge Txe control systems. Utilizing barcodes printed on the precut book block, job dimensions are sent to the trimmer for automated setup. Hydraulic clamping and cutting action provides the necessary force to accurately cut through 5-cm-thick books. The modularity of the CMT series of trimmers provides possibilities for future growth. They can be configured as a hand-feed off-line trimmer, add a high-capacity feeder and high-capacity stacker for unattended, near-line trimming, or add the advanced in-feed and cooling tower for true in-line finishing capabilities.

Automated Perfect Binding

C.P. Bourg introduced the Bourg BB3102 automated perfect binding system for short-run, on-demand environments. It can produce a variety of bound, soft-cover books from traditional or digital print streams, with minimal intervention. The operator can load up to 120 book blocks into the Bourg BBL Book Loader in less than six minutes, load corresponding covers into the cover feeder, set job parameters and leave the system unattended for up to 30 minutes of non-stop production, at a rate of 350 books/hour. The Book Loader allows books to vary in thickness from 0.2˝ to 2.36˝, and in paper sizes from 7.68x5˝ to 15.15x12.6˝. C.P. Bourg also announced a compact and operator-friendly PUR version of its single-clamp BB3002 Perfect Binder.

Duplo showcased the DBMi high-volume collating and saddlestitch booklet-making system (introduced at Graph Expo 2011) and also demonstrated its DC-745 slitter/cutter/creaser, geared toward mid- to high-volume production digital printers. The DC-745 touts greater speed, productivity and versatility, with the ability to finish a wider range of digitally printed applications in a single pass. The machine can perform up to 10 slits, 20 cuts and 15 creases in one pass, and eliminates white borders and toner cracking on fold lines. New features include a higher feed capacity and a PC controller for easy job setup.

Gateway Bookbinding Systems showed the PBS 3000 QS - Quick Setup Auto Coil Inserter/Finishing System. It automatically inserts pre-cut lengths of coil into the pre-punched book and simultaneously crimps both ends. No tools are required for basic setup and changeover. It boasts productivity as high as 600 books/hour.

The Stitchmaster ST 500 saddlestitcher debuted at the Heidelberg booth. The ST 500 touts individual drive technology, a centralized control system and a range of feeder models. The stitcher has a capacity of 13,000 cph. It enables users to collate stack-signature brochures in preparation for adhesive binding. Automation options for the feeder, trimmer, stitcher and compensating stacker help reduce makeready times.

Air-feed Slitter/Cutter/Creaser

MBM Corp. showed its Aerocut air feed slitter/cutter/creaser, which provides an ideal finishing solution for digital applications. It combines high-speed production, easy setup and laser-sharp accuracy. A range of stocks including gloss, laminated and UV-coated can be creased without cracking, even with full-bleed coverage. The touch-screen control panel comes pre-programmed with 83 templates, and up to 50 more can be stored in memory.

Among the latest products offered by MBO is the T535-EA (Efficiency Automatic) buckle folder. Its features include Vario control with touchscreen, Rapidset computerized makeready system, Combiplate combination plate and an A-56 mobile delivery. The T535-EA also boasts the automatic setting of sheet gap and infeed through the suction wheel.

Morgana unveiled its new range of PUR binders for digital printers. Joining the DigiBook 300 were the 150 and 450 series binders. The DigiBook 150 produces 150 cph and can bind publications with spine thicknesses from 2mm to 50mm. The DigiBook 300 runs at up to 300 bph while the DigiBook 450, can produce up to 450 cph with automatic cover feeding.

The SigmaLine digital book solution headlined Muller Martini's product display at drupa, going from PDF to finished book in a single, integrated operation. The Connex data and process management system is the central control element of the SigmaLine, linking all production stages utilizing JDF and JMF. Also featured was the Alegro perfect binder, operating at up to 7,000 cph. It was complemented by Muller's latest three-knife trimmer, the Solit. Based on the success of the Orbit trimmer, this mid-range trimmer utilizes many of the same design elements, including the SmartPress adaptive pressing system, tool-less changeover in less than three minutes, and separate servo drives for all major areas.

On Demand Machinery highlighted its Super Sewer XXL with Back Tack technology. This solution is designed for sewing book blocks up to 1˝ thick, ranging in size from 4x4˝ wallet to 18x18˝ tabloid. The Super Sewer XXL produces 400 books (up to 1˝ thick) per hour.

Pitney Bowes' live White Paper Factory solution was a drupa highlight with attendees. It demonstrated how the elements of its print, mail finishing, sorting, output management and automatic document factory software integrate to produce personalized, color transactional applications. Pitney Bowes rolled out new print head and ink technology to enable 800-fpm monochrome printing speeds on the IntelliJet 30 and IntelliJet 42 printing systems, as well as 400 fpm monochrome and color speeds on the IntelliJet 20.

Punching and Binding

Renz showed the new Inline 360 high-speed punching and binding system. Book blocks are dropped onto the infeed (conveyor), punched, re-collated and fed automatically into the binder. The Inline is also capable of punching and binding calendar sets with either nail hole or calendar thumb cut. Once the DBW automatic cover turner is linked to the line it allows the device to automatically flip the back cover after the binding process, and it also spins every second book 180 degrees for level stacking.

At drupa, Spiral James Burn introduced the BB400P in-line solution for punching and binding calendars. Drop the book on the machine and the BB400P will punch both the top wire-o pattern and the pinhole at the bottom. It will then take the book down a conveyor where the wire will be inserted and closed automatically. The finished product will be dropped off at the end of the line. The EX610 Double-Action unit also can punch both the top wire-o pattern and a pinhole at the bottom in one pass for those who prefer to bind books in an off-line wire-o finisher.

Standard Horizon introduced several products at drupa: The HT-1000V variable three-knife trimmer is capable of one-to-one variable trimming, in-line or off-line. Setup and variable trimming are achieved by reading a barcode printed on a cover sheet. It can trim up to 1,000 variable-thickness and -format size books per hour. The HT-1000V will accept a range of input sizes and deliver trimmed books from 5.7x4.05˝ up to 13.38x11.69˝. Also, the new CRF-362 handles creasing and folding of digital color output across a range of light and heavy weight stocks, coated or uncoated. The impact scoring eliminates or minimizes cracking of the stock or printed image. It comes configured with seven selectable fold patterns and six selectable cover creasing patterns for perfect binding. Jobs can be saved to job memory, and up to 10 creases can be placed on a sheet.

Also Notable…

Though not at drupa, Spiel Associates showed off its Sterling Coilmaster Jr. at On Demand last month. This tabletop unit automatically inserts plastic coil into the book from the first hole onwards. It then cuts and crimps automatically. The Coilmaster Jr. allows for the speedy binding of books with healthy margins of up to 3⁄16˝, with round or oval holes. Bind books up to 25mm in diameter using any pitch. No tooling is required. Bind books automatically at speeds of up to 600 books per hour.

Also, the The Fletcher-Terry Co. has released its new F-60 cutter for cutting semi-rigid/flexible materials. It features a new plastic knife cartridge, allowing for quick and safe blade changing, a lock down pressure clamp for tightly securing material and a "lock and cut" feature. The cartridge utilizes a .015˝ blade providing great cutting and edge quality with all paper-based products as well as PVC materials up to 3mm thickness. The blade is permanently molded into a plastic cartridge for safe handling, quick blade change and contains four measuring settings indicating depth of cut. The F-60 has a cutting capacity of 62˝. IPG