Folder Enhances Automation for Humanitarian Group

Folding heavy stocks and producing complex gatefolds was impossible for the 10-person in-plant at World Vision, in Federal Way, Wash. The shop only had a tabletop folder, and it wasn't keeping up with the needs of the organization. So in October, the 10-employee in-plant installed a Baum 20 Autoset folder.

"This was something totally new for us," reports Allen Long, fulfillment supervisor. "We wanted to automate some of the items that we produce, so we needed to update our folder."

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. The main print job the in-plant produces is child sponsorship packets. When someone sponsors an underprivileged child, World Vision sends out a welcome kit to introduce them to the organization and the child sponsorship process.

"We specifically got the Baum folder to produce event kits," Long reveals. "We partner with other ministries or churches and have them sell child sponsorships. So we send an event kit to them."

Now World Vision can use the Baum folder and its Konica Minolta C6000 high-end copiers to produce these products totally in-house.

The Baum folder installation helped the shop accomplish its goals of more automation and less handwork, Long says.

"It is actually pretty simple, even for us who are new to this world," Long says of operating the newly installed bindery equipment. "We really didn't do a lot of finishing or binding besides a little bit of cutting or folding on the tabletop folder."

Long was impressed with tutorials and videos that helped with the learning curve of operating the Baum folder. And a Baum representative spent two days at the shop getting everything up and running.

"Their techs are great whenever we call," Long notes.

The new bindery capabilities have sparked interest in the in-plant's abilities as a print shop and as a bindery, Long says. The addition of the folder has already saved the organization about $60,000 in outsourcing costs, he adds.

"People have really been excited now that the word is out that we can do a lot more complicated folds," Long concludes. "And we have gotten more print jobs because of that."