Stitching/Binding Equipment Upgrade And Bring In Business

By replacing older stitching and binding equipment with new models, in-plants are bringing new business into their shops.

by Bob Neubauer

It wasn't the automation. It wasn't the ease of use, either.

No, the biggest benefit the Heidelberg ST 90 saddle stitcher brought to Minnesota Life Graphic Services was new business, according to manager Tom Neckvatal.

"It opened up the doors for us to do work we couldn't do before," he says.

With the ST 90, the in-plant could saddle stitch 96-page books, plus covers. This meant jobs like annual reports, catalogs and manuals were now well within the capabilities of the 55-employee Minneapolis-based in-plant.

"It gave us a competitive opportunity to be in that business," Neckvatal notes.

And new business is the key to in-plant survival.

Across the country, in-plants are finding that by replacing their aging stitching and binding equipment with modern, automated models, they can reap a host of benefits. Not only are the automated features allowing them to use lesser-skilled operators, but the newer machines are designed to offer fast makereadies, because manufacturers know short-run, on-demand work has become the lifeblood of the modern in-plant.

Neckvatal is pleased with the features on his new stitcher, like its misfeed and double sheet detectors, as well as its additional capabilities, like three-side trimming and inline cover scoring. Indeed, combining features like collating, folding, stitching and trimming into stand-alone booklet makers has become popular among manufacturers. Such machines can also be boons to in-plants, since much of what in-plants produce on their copiers and printers ends up in booklet form.

Below, you can learn more about the latest stitching and binding equipment for the in-plant market.

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Stitching It Up

Tilt-back Feeder

Best Graphics offers Best Osako 368 12,000/hour saddle stitchers. The Tilt-Back High/Lo Folio model, with a full tilt-back feeder, delivers fast makeready. The 368AS AutoSet's touch-screen provides automated control over key stitcher operations and allows chain timing and stitch head positioning to be set in 15 seconds. Previously marketed under the Consolidated name, Best Osako stitchers have been sold in North America for over 25 years and they have a three-year warranty.

Automatic Speed Adjustment

Equipped with Bourg Automated Speed Optimization, the Bourg Binder BB3001, from C.P. Bourg, can automatically adjust its carriage speed according to book thickness. It outputs up to 500 cycles per hour. Another product, the SBM4 Bourg Signature Bookletmaker, consists of three units—stitcher, folder and trimmer. It accepts multiple paper types and features automatic setup for common paper sizes, plus five preset positions for common applications.

Designed For Maximum Accuracy

Duplo's DBM-400 dynamic bookletmaker is designed for maximum accuracy and productivity, the company says. The automatic stitcher/folder is online to the System 4000 vertical collating towers. Setup and changeover are automatic, with no manual adjustments required. To obtain maximum productivity from the System 4000 collating towers, the DBM-400 is engineered to produce 4,200 booklets per hour, with an optional extended delivery conveyor for larger production runs.

Short And Medium Runs

The Heidelberg Stahl ST 90 saddle stitcher system collates, trims and stitches short to medium runs. Additional feeding stations in multiples of two are available, as is an optional cover folder feeder to score high-quality covers. The Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270 is also for short- to medium-run lengths in sizes ranging from 4-3⁄4x3-1⁄2˝ to 18-11⁄16˝ to 12˝. Jam detectors are positioned throughout the machine. It comes with four pockets, a cover folder feeder, a hand-feed station, a stitcher section, a trimmer and delivery.

Compact Wire Stitcher

The BinderyMate 305 from ISP Stitching & Bindery Products is a compact wire stitcher that will stitch up to 1⁄4˝ of 20# bond paper. This wire stitcher uses a five-pound spool that can stitch 50,000 stitches before changing spools. It switches from flat to saddle stitching and back again in seconds. The BinderyMate mounts easily to most work tables, or the adjustable ISP stand. Two BinderyMates can be linked together with a dual saddle kit assembly allowing for two stitches at one time.

1,850 Sets Per Hour

The Booklet-Pro 6100 Bookletmaker from MBM features user-friendly touch buttons in an easy-to-read control panel for fast and simple production of pamphlets, bulletins, directories, and newsletters. Choose between saddle stapling, side stapling or folding without stapling from the options on the control panel. It is capable of producing 1,850 sets per hour and offers the option of working online with Maxxum Collators.

High-end Features, Easy Operation

Targeted to smaller printers, Muller Martini's Valore saddle stitcher made its debut at Print 2001. An affordable and versatile stitcher, the Valore is easy to operate, makeready and maintain. It can handle two-up production by using a center cut device in the three-knife trimmer, and it also offers several high-end features not generally found in solutions available for this market. One such feature is the cover folder feeder, which achieves quicker turnaround time because of reduced operator involvement.

Standard Finishing Systems

The Standard Horizon SPF-20/FC-20A stitching, folding and face trimming accessories, from Standard Finishing Systems, feature an icon-based touch-screen for quick, easy setups and changeovers. The SPF Series delivers professional-quality results with minimal operator training. The manual version of the SPF series is also available, and the systems can be combined with a range of Standard Horizon suction and friction feed collators, for productive flat-sheet collating and bookletmaking.

Automated System

Rosback offers the 318 Lynx automated system for four- or eight-pocket vertical feeding, stitching and three-knife trimming of multiple signature, saddle stitched books and booklets from 3-1⁄8x51-3⁄16˝ to 11-1⁄2x15˝. The 318 Lynx can handle runs from 500 all the way up to 500,000. Its variable speed ranges from 1,800 per hour up to 5,000 per hour (4,000 per hour average production). Finished booklets range from eight pages (two sheets) up to 3⁄8˝ (approximately 120 pages). Models 201 and 203 Auto-Stitchers produce booklets ranging from 3-1⁄2x5-1⁄2˝ to 12x15˝. The units can handle books from two sheets up to 3⁄16˝ thick.

Quick, Simple Makereadies

New Vijuk 321-T saddle stitching system provides quick, simple makereadies and changeovers with minimal spoilage. Horizontal feeders have 1:1 and 1:2 feeding ratios with mechanical and adjustable vacuum assist openings improved to accommodate a wider range of signature configurations. Folder feeder has four-edge air-blast separation, in-line scoring, and on-the-fly adjustment.

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Perfect Binders

250 Binds Per Hour

Brackett's new i~binder III perfect binder turns out up to 250 binds per hour, up to nearly 2˝ thick. It attaches covers to spines automatically with hot melt adhesive. The i~binder III is a floor model, mounted on locking wheels for portability. It features an effective spine notcher for extra binding strength plus automatic delivery from the front. Handy control buttons allow instant operation of all functions. Maximum cover size is 16.7x25.6˝.

Short And Medium Runs

Duplo's MR- 500 perfect binder is designed for short to medium runs. It features quick, easy setup and changeover. The single-operator, single-clamp design allows output of up to 600 books per hour. Book thickness from two sheets to 1.8˝ can be produced without any adjustments. The Document Verified System is a bar code scanner that ensures the cover and the inside book match.

Time-saving Features

The GBC PF3200 automated tabletop perfect binder is for short- to medium-volume runs with a production rate of up to 200 perfect-bound books, manuals or pads per hour. Time-saving features typically found on larger, more expensive systems are incorporated into the PF3200, such as auto clamp and power "nipping," which ensures perfectly square, consistent binds. The two-pass "notching" system offers superior glue penetration and virtually eliminates paper dust. The PF3200 offers easy glue removal at the turn of a valve.

Advanced Features, Low Price

The Graphic Whizard KB60-S perfect book binder is a floor model, German-engineered product. It offers features usually only available on machines priced much higher. Standard features include slitting knives for notching that provided better glue adhesion, spine pre-heating and side gluing. Other models include the KB60, which is ideal for padding, and the Signature 6040, which can process signatures.

Professionally Bound Documents

Powis Parker offers the Fastback Binding System, consisting of the Model 8, Model 11 and Model 15. They produce professionally bound documents that are durable and will open flat. Depending on the selected model, the machine will bind from 3 to 350 sheets in 20 to 30 seconds. Complementing the Fastback Models 11 and 15 is the PowisPrinter, which prints a title on the spine of the book. Powis Parker offers a variety of binding strips in 16 colors in 8-1⁄2˝ and 11˝ lengths, as well as a complementary line of binder covers in six colors with or without windows.

For High-volume Production

Muller Martini's Corona perfect binder is designed for high-volume production of materials such as books, manuals, directories, magazines and catalogs. The Corona is available in a variety of versions, ranging from 12,000 up to 18,000 c/hour. The Corona's Commander Central Control System allows for quick setup with computer-aided motorized makeready in less than 15 minutes.

Fits In Your Office

The Sterling Minibinder, from Spiel Associates, is an economical, heavy duty perfect binder. Bind up to 600 books per hour with a machine that can fit in your office. The Minibinder will bind books from 4x2˝ up to 11x17˝ and from 1⁄8˝ to 2˝ thick. The auto sensor eliminates the need to press a button. Just drop the book in the clamp and the machine does the rest. The 70-tooth carbide saw blade and notching station ensure a professional quality. The nipping motor is so heavy duty that most cover stock does not need to be scored.

Standard Finishing Systems

The Standard Horizon BQ-340DF perfect binder, from Standard Finishing Systems, combines professional-quality book production with automation and optional in-line three-side trimming. The BQ-340DF features push-button setup via an icon-based touch-screen, or it can be set up using DigiFinish bar-codes. Xerox's proprietary DigiFinish software embeds finishing attributes in a bar code on a job sheet, which is scanned by the operator for automated setup. The system can verify book block and cover matching.

New Operator Interface

At Print 01, Rosback displayed its new Perfect Binder Model 882. It produces strong, square spines and boasts a 2˝ clamp capacity. A new operator interface provides a central master control for quick setup, fast changeover to pad mode and total system monitoring with a total counter. The 882 is equipped with two cover joggers to ensure precise cover registration, a self-adjusting nipper, which adjusts to any book thickness, and new variable conveyor tape travel allowing shingling or single book exit.