The Finishing Touch

Ease of use, automation, reliability, flexibility, versatility and productivity are just a few advances touted by saddle stitcher and booklet maker manufacturers.

by CAROLINE MILLER

One thing is clear, today's booklet makers and saddle stitchers are easier to operate than the models of yesteryear. Features such as air feeding, detectors for misfeeds and doubles, and operator LCD control panels are just some of the innovations found on contemporary machines.

"Customers are looking for a machine that will do any job their clients bring them, so the [equipment] has to be versatile," says Donna Hall, advertising manager for MBM Corp. "They want to turn jobs without delay, so it has to be reliable. They also demand fast and easy job setup."

According to Hall, MBM has found a way to address these customer demands with its DocuVac air feed finishing system. The air feed feature allows for faster production rates, as well as the ability to handle all types of paper stocks without marking. The detectors help maintain accuracy and reduce downtime. The LCD control panels address the growing need for operator-friendly equipment.

Printers also demand features such as the stitch/staple method, staple leg length and automatic size adjustments, notes Steve Cutler, post press product manager for A.B.Dick.

His company offers the Watkiss BookMaster, featuring a low-impact stapling mechanism, which ensures virtually maintenance-free operation. The main wearing parts are included in the staple cartridge instead of the staple lead and are replaced every 5,000 cycles when the cartridge is changed. Cutler says more than one million cycles can be run before maintenance is needed.

"The BookMaster's staple leg length contains 22 sheets and produces a well-formed staple," he reveals. "The push-button, automatic adjustment changes paper sizes faster, more accurately and easier. It costs more, but setup time and operator skill requirements are greatly reduced."

Many innovations have resulted from the industry trend of putting relatively unskilled employees in the bindery, while still demanding that the products they produce be as perfect as possible, reports Ron Bowman, vice president of sales and marketing for Rosback. Rosback offers the Setmaster Stitch/Fold and Trim booklet maker, an in-line or off-line unit with dial adjustments, up to four stitching heads, in-line folders and a face trimmer.

In a world of lean running shops, ease of use is important, stresses Jose Alvarez, marketing coordinator at Duplo USA. "Ease of operation reduces the need for skilled labor, subsequently lowering labor costs. Unskilled workers with minimal training are capable of operating the equipment," he explains.

Duplo's DBM-400 booklet maker is an automatic stitcher. Setup and changeover are accomplished automatically, with no manual adjustments required. It reduces the need for highly skilled operators and also saves valuable training time.

"By building more system intelligence into the equipment, users rely less on an operator's specialized skill set and shops gain staffing flexibility as job demands vary," adds Mark Hunt, marketing director for Standard Finishing Systems.

His company offers the Standard Horizon SPF/FC-20A automated booklet making system. The SPF-20A combination stitcher/folder and FC-20A face trimmer feature servo-motors and worm gears for precise and automated setups. Fast changeovers are said to be made using a single, icon-based, touchscreen control console. Hunt notes that this provides for easy training, operation and troubleshooting.

Another vendor that has taken advantage of the explosion in automation is C.P. Bourg, which offers the SBM4 signature booklet maker. Its automated, modular design comprises a stitching, folding, book press and trimming module. With Bourg's automated saddle stitcher, users can utilize its cassette thread-loaded stitch heads for easy access, quick changeover and/or Bourg's high-durability Hohner stitcher heads.

Also available is the Graphic Wizard PL-60 booklet maker, which can staple and fold up to 22 sheets of 20-lb. bond at up to 1,800 booklets per hour. Stapling and folding can also be done separately at the flip of a switch, allowing both corner and end stapling.

The Stitch'n Fold booklet maker, from ISP Stitching & Bindery Products, uses ISP's magnetic stitching head technology. Interlocked access covers prevent machine operation when open. Users can jog, stitch and fold more than 65,000 booklets at a maximum speed of 2,300 finished booklets per hour, without stopping to reload staples. Stitch'n Fold's variable work thickness capacity handles from two sheets to a 100-page booklet. It can be used in-line with many tower collators, and is available as a complete system with jam detection including the tower collator, booklet maker and Trimmer.

Explosion In Stitching Features

Saddle stitchers, like booklet makers, have also seen an explosion in features, such as swing-cut trimmers, feeder adjustments and new control concepts, reveals Felix Stirnimann, division manager, print finishing operations, for Muller Martini.

The Muller Martini Optima saddle stitcher can be used for sizes ranging from small digests, up to double parallels and large tabloids, and can be expanded to 40 feeders to reach speeds of up to 16,000 copies per hour. The company's swing-cut trimmer offers superior trim quality, even with thick products, adds Stirnimann, and features a trim monitor that ensures quality.

"Swing-cut trimmers have been standard in cutters and are widely used in perfect binding, but it is new for saddle stitching," he points out.

Also taking advantage of new advancements in saddle-stitching technology is Heidelberg with its Stitchmaster ST 400 gang-stitcher. Servo-driven mobile feeder units, which can be placed on both sides of the saddle chain, ensure maximum flexibility in production when used in conjunction with integrated, automatic format presetting.

The SCS 100 communication system enables the Stitchmaster ST 400 to be linked to a digital workflow. A CIP3 interface allows data generated at the impositioning stage of the prepress operations to be loaded into the ST 400's press setting program.

A display with a touchscreen and membrane keypad enables format presettings to be made with ease. It ensures reliable monitoring of all machine functions, from feeding to gathering, to stitching and cutting. A further plus of the Stitchmaster ST 400 is the mobile cover folder feeder, which allows for in-line folding.

The Best Osako 368AS AutoSet saddle stitcher features PLC touchscreen controls to automatically set stitch head positioning and chain timing in less than 15 seconds. The 12,000-cph Best Osako also lets users operate the machine manually if the PLC controls fail.

McCain Bindery Systems offers the McCain S2000 saddle stitcher, an expandable, full-format machine with a rated speed of 13,000 cph. Standard equipment includes movable feeders and an operator control module, which not only provides the operator with important machine function information, but also offers downstream shutoff and sequential start up.

While there is no debate about the benefits of increased automation, the question still remains: Is there a limit to how much manufacturers can improve the equipment? Standard's Mark Hunt, for one, doesn't think it can continue.

"You are seeing increases in speed and automation, but there are some physical limitations that will start to inhibit significant advances using current methods."

For now, increased automation is coming at the right time, stresses MBM's Hall. "In these days of a depressed economy, printers need to be able to compete for all the business, not just a portion of it. Many types of documents are being produced in-house by end users with high-speed duplicating equipment. For this reason, printers must be able to offer higher-end work inexpensively—including bindery services."