Peer Advice Helps with Folder Choice

Randy Patrick was fed up with wrestling with a folder that had been at his in-plant longer than he had. The rollers and wheels were worn, there were feeding issues and it was creating static on digitally printed jobs.

Patrick, who has headed the Printing Services department at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise for nine years, looked into replacing the rollers and wheels on the friction-feed folder, but the cost just didn’t seem worth it. So he decided it was time to buy an air-feed folder.

After spending some time searching online, Patrick turned to an email listserv for higher-ed in-plant managers. A few of his peers around the country recommended the Baumfolder 714 XA automated tabletop folder, so Patrick felt comfortable enough to move forward. He says he liked the durability and the automation, and was excited that the air-feed folder would cut down on the static his old folder was creating.

“I liked the delivery conveyor,” he reveals. “It has an adjustment where you can slow it down or speed it up. The old Profold ran whatever speed you had the folder running. I liked this option where you could adjust your delivery speed.”

In addition to the speed and adjustability, Patrick says the Baumfolder came with other features that drew him in, such as the ability to program 20 custom folds into the machine’s memory. In the past, Patrick says, Printing Services has gotten some jobs requiring unusual folds.

The monthly statements from the cashier’s office, for example, need to be folded in such a way that the address appears through a window in the envelope. With the old folder, the operator had to manually align the fold pans. But with the new machine, Patrick can push a single button and the folder automatically aligns itself into the proper configuration.

The new folder is also fully enclosed, which Patrick says reduces the amount of noise it produces.

Patrick says he very rarely makes requests for new equipment, so when he asked for the new folder, the shop’s success and conservative financial nature helped coax management into approving the addition. He was also able to make a strong case because of how much waste the Profold machine was creating.

“I explained that we had to fight the other one and we were wasting a lot,” he relates. “When we would go to print we would lose a lot. We were wasting a lot of material and paper we could be saving.”

The two-employee in-plant, based in Wise, Va., serves both the college community and non-profit organizations in the area. In addition to the new folder, Printing Services runs a Xerox Docu­Color 240/250, a black-and-white Xerox 4110 printer, a Xanté Ilumina digital production press and a Canon imagePROGRAF iPF8100 wide-format printer. The in-plant also has an ABDick press, though it is rarely used.

Patrick says the email listserv he used to get folder advice is an immensely useful resource and a great way to receive input from his printing peers.

“There’s always people on there that have the solutions, or ideas where to find the solutions,” he says.