Bindery - Finishing

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

If the books you print need to lay flat, plastic coil, spiral and double-loop wire binding may be the best choices for you. by Chris Bauer JUST ASK manufacturers of spiral wire or plastic coil binding equipment what advantages their products have over other finishing techniques. You will get a lot of good answers. "Undoubtedly, the greatest advantage of spiral binding is that when opened, the book lays flat," points out David Spiel of Long Island City, N.Y.-based Spiel Associates. "Lay-flat perfect binding was supposed to put an end to mechanical binding, but it hasn't because it doesn't really lay flat. Books bound

Purchasing a new floor-model folder with automation features can lower your operating costs and improve the quality of your folds. by MARK SMITH WHEN BUSINESS conditions get tight, it's natural to think about hunkering down and waiting for the market to turn around. This may hardly seem like the right time to make a significant investment in new equipment. However, doing just that can provide both short- and long-term benefits. Postpress operations are prime targets for performance improvement, since they traditionally have been labor-intensive and highly mechanical. Folding falls into that category. Purchasing a new floor-model folder with automation features can provide a big

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

Are your blade's a little worn? The newest cutters on the market will bring some sharp features into your bindery. (The online version of this story features information not included in the print version.) by MARK SMITH Cut. Knife. Blade. Guillotine. The terminology alone shows why safety is a must when it comes to paper cutters. Two-handed cut activation, non-repeat knife cycles and auto-stop infrared light curtains are just some of the safety features that have been mandated by law and market demand. Because manufacturers are not willing to compromise much in this area, all the latest cutters are endowed with

Today's folding equipment must do more than simply fold paper. In-plants want additional features to help them keep pace. by ERIK CAGLE ACCESSORIES ARE to folding machines what cherries are to cheesecake—sweet. Printers still want folders that are easy to operate, with short setup times, but auxiliary equipment for scoring, slitting, perforating, gluing and plow folding can greatly augment the humble folder. The aforementioned features are among the most requested by customers, according to Wayne Pagel, president and owner of KEPES. He believes a vacuum table that allows product sampling, and plow folds with gluing to close the product are also sought after.

As customers clamor for faster turnaround, in-plants are relying on their collators for relief. Upgrading to newer models, managers say, has helped most of all. TEN YEARS ago, Jason Seto's shop sent out any collating job over 5,000 copies. Twenty years ago, it was still collating by hand. Today, Seto's shop can turn jobs around in as little as 24 hours, thanks to its in-line collator/stitcher/trimmer. Although Seto's shop at the State of Hawaii's Department of Education has had a collator for the last 20 years, only recently did the shop strengthen itself by replacing its 11-year-old collator with a new Standard Horizon

In-plants want a better way to profitably produce low-volume saddle-stitched jobs. Collators with in-line stitching, folding and trimming may be the answer. Traditionally, in-plant printers have produced their saddle-stitched products using the time-honored method of printing multiple-up on a large-format press, taking the product off-line for perforating and signature folding, then loading the eight-, 16- or 32-page signatures into a saddle-gathering machine, where they are gathered and stitched. The final step—three-side trimming—is completed in-line or off-line. This approach works fine for longer run lengths, where you can amortize the cost for longer setup time over tens of thousands of units. But run lengths

Programmable cutters put the bindery in-line with the rest of your equipment, boosting productivity. Automation fever—catch it. Better than the flu and more important to your well being than the office coffee pot, automation in paper cutting is fast becoming the next big thing. "Say you got some little 3-1⁄2x7˝ job," proposes Roland Stroud, production manager at the Mays Mission For The Handicapped in-plant, in Heber Springs, Ark. "You can program it so you only have to hit the button once. That way one person can be sitting there boxing while the machine is cutting by itself." And that, in a nutshell, is

Automation in setup and changeover make today's folding machines easier to use than ever. Learn how your in-plant can benefit. NICHOLAS MONELLO has been in printing for 40 years. He knows what to look for in a folder. "A state-of-the-art folder, with computerized and electronic input controls," he says. "Also, very important is having quick changeover capabilities to different sizes or features." As print shop director for the New York City Department of Health Graphic Services, it's Monello's job to know the industry. His supervisor, Graphic Services Director Bruce Krueger, says the in-plant uses an MBO B-18, an MBO T-49 and a Baum Ultrafold