New Stitcher, Proofer at Texas Senate

Sure, “old and reliable” equipment has its advantages. But with nearly 30 years behind it, the saddle stitcher at the Texas State Senate’s in-plant had seen better days.

“It finally got to the point where I couldn’t get any more parts for it,” says Robert Gomez, director of publications at the 18-employee in-plant. So he recently added a new Rosback 201CD stitcher with two quick-clamping stitch heads, two head alignment gauges, a book sensor and a stagger stitch feature. It can output between 1,800 and 5,000 books per hour, with a maximum size of 12x15˝.

The books and brochures being produced on the stitcher are of noticeably higher quality, Gomez says.

The Austin, Texas-based operation also added a new 24˝ Canon imagePROGRAF W6400 wide-format printer to use as a proofer. Previously the shop had used a copier for proofing, but when the Senate decided to put out a calendar, the shop knew it would need a better proofing system. Gomez says the output perfectly matches the final products produced on the shop’s two two-color 19x25.5˝ Heidelberg MOZP presses.

Within the past two years, the in-plant has also installed a Fuji Dart platesetter and a 30˝ Schneider Senator cutter.