All Bound Up…Binding and Finishing at Graph Expo

Special Report by Gail Nickel-Kailing, Senior WTT Editor

October 25, 2006 -- Print production – while it’s extremely complex – primarily focuses on “putting stuff on stuff.” Toner on paper, ink on plastic, dye on fabric – some kind of pigment on some kind of substrate. Binding and finishing is everything that happens after the product is printed. And, boy, a lot happens! There’s stacking, cutting, slitting, perforating (breathe), folding, binding, gluing, tabbing (another breath), stamping, embossing, inserting, and wrapping, and that’s not all!

Then complicate things with the issue of “in-line/near-line/off-line.” In-line production implies that the entire process – or a large portion of it – is fully automated and work moves from one function to the next without human intervention. With near-line and off-line production, almost all of the equipment is – or can be – run as free-standing units and the work in progress is moved from one piece of equipment to another manually or on conveyor belts. The term “near-line” generally means that the set up is an automated process and “off-line” involves manual make ready.

BÖWE BELL + HOWELL

My apologies for not getting the name correct; I’ve got it now. It has been BÖWE BELL + HOWELL for some time, since the merger of Bell + Howell with Böwe Systec several years ago.

The company displayed a number of new products this year, including the Marathon16 inserting system. I don’t know about you, but 16,000 envelopes an hour is plenty fast for me! The system can insert up to 12 millimeters (0.47 inches) of paper into standard envelopes ranging from #10 business envelopes up to 6” by 9”envelopes.

BÖWE BELL + HOWELL is well-known for its intelligent inserters including machines that can read barcodes and put an address on the outside of a closed-face envelope making direct mail more effective. However, tucked away in the corner of its booth was my old friend, a dependable – albeit dumb – inserter, the Phillipsburg Mark II. Let’s face it, not everyone needs a “smart” inserter. For more information about all of BÖWE BELL + HOWELL‘s products, go to www.bowebellhowell.com.

C.P. Bourg

Bourg and book binding go way back… The Bourg Book Factory snuggles right up to a DocuTech and out comes finished perfect bound books. The system stacks, perforates, rotates and folds documents into signatures, wraps a cover around it, stitches and trims. Now that’s in-line production! Bourg also has a full line of collators, booklet makers, perfect binders, and document trimmers for off-line production. For more info, go to www.cpbourg.com.

Duplo USA

Duplo USA serves both the traditional offset and digital markets, and is now offering equipment incorporating JDF and UP3i (Universal Printer Pre- and Post-Processing Interface) for a fully automated workflow. Duplo’s finishing systems were demonstrated with Xerox IGen3 and DocuColor machines as well as equipment from Canon and HP.

For those who want off-line systems for lower volume production, Duplo offers tabletop collators and an entry level booklet maker that can product up to 2,400 books an hour.

The DuBinder, Duplo’s first high production perfect binder, was also on display. The DuBinder can produces up to 500 books, directories, manuals, and magazines an hour. To learn more, go to www.duplousa.com.

ExactBind

“Fastbind machines make book binding affordable and practical” according the ExactBind; and it’s true, their equipment is perfect for short runs of perfect bound or case bound books. For the “ultimate,” take a look at the Fastbind Ultra, a piece of equipment that lets you produce perfect bound, case bound and tape bound books from the same machine. Then add a little pizzazz with ExactBind’s foil fuser, in colors such as gold, silver, blue, red, and green, no less. Go to www.exactbind.com for more information.

GBC

There was a time when I always thought of GBC when I saw comb binding; however things have really changed! The GBC StreamPunch III can keep pace – inline – with any digital printer that produces up to 135 ppm. An in-line punching system that can punch at the printer’s rated speed! Who would have thought! The StreamPunch III is compatible with Ricoh and Toshiba equipment and includes 7 Interchangeable die set patterns.

I have to admit, I’m in love with GBC’s ProClick binding system! Not only is the binding sturdy and attractive, it literally unzips for document editing and then zips right up again when pages have been replaced. And for ease of use, documents lie flat when opened and pages can be rotated 360 degrees for note-taking or photocopying.

Don’t let these great binding solutions make you think GBC is a “one trick pony!” GBC also manufactures and distributes some great film and laminating products. GBC’s Digital Lay-Flat adhesive is designed to provide superior adhesion to toner-based prints and prints can be laminated immediately after printing. To see more, go to www.gbc.com.

Heidelberg

Heidelberg, a sprightly 156 years old, demonstrated high-speed cutters and cutting systems from POLAR-MOHR, a much younger company (just 100 years old) and partner for more than 57 years. POLAR cutters are available in widths from 26 inches to 69 inches. Note that POLAR has recently reached another milestone – the sale of its 125,000th high-speed cutter. Now that’s longevity!

Cutting isn’t everything, sometimes you have to stitch things back together! Heidelberg introduced its Stitchmaster ST 450 saddlestitcher to the North American market at Graph Expo. The 450 reaches up to 14,000 cycles per hour and can process untrimmed paper from 3.35”x 5.04”up to 12.60” x 18.90” and as much as 12 millimeters (0.47”) thick. Note too that the Stitchmaster ST 450 is JDF-compatible too. More info is available at: www.heidelberg.com.

Horizon International

Horizon demonstrated two versions of the ColorWorks Document Finisher – ColorWorks 8000 and ColorWorks 5000 – in-line with Xerox DocuColors this year. The ColorWorks Document Finisher trims, folds, stitches, and scores for perfect-bind covers. To learn more, go to www.horizon.co.jp.

Lasermax Roll Systems

We’ve been talking about what to do when the finished product comes out of the digital printer, but how do you get the paper in? Lasermax takes care of all that with its roll feed system, the DocuSheeter. Once can assume that with a name like DocuSheeter, it plays nicely with Xerox equipment. The DocuSheeter NV unwinds and cuts single sheets for the Xerox Nuvera.

A roll-to-roll system also feeds IBM digital printers and the Kodak Versamark. Go to www.rollsystems.com for more information.

MBO America

The name MBO America is synonymous with folding and at Graph Expo the company demonstrated their flagship PERFECTION folders, fully automated with MBO’s RAPIDSET computerized make-ready system. Other pieces of folding and feeding equipment on display were the B21 buckle folder, an Ehret high-speed sheeter, the Bograma die-cutting, punching and trimming machine and a Theisen & Bonitz collator with a stitch, fold and trimming unit. And – as we’ve waited years to say – MBO machines are CIP4 and JDF compatible. Check it out at www.mboamerica.com.

Morgana

Graph Expo was the venue to see all of Morgana’s creasing products including the manual DocuCrease, the semi-automatic Electro-Creaser and both the AutoCreaser 33 and 50. The AutoCreaser is capable of performing up to 6,500 creases per hour and 16 creases in a single pass. Now that’s a lot of folding! The DigiFold, which combines the operations of creasing and folding in a single machine was also displayed, as well as the recently introduced Morgana DocuMaster, which is a complete finishing system performing the functions of feeding, creasing and booklet making. In addition to creasing equipment, Morgana also demonstrated its highly automated DocuFold and Major folding machines, as well as numbering machines and a Kwikfold booklet maker with trimmer. Looks like we’ve got folding and creasing (or is it creasing and folding?) completely under control! Morgana recently launched their U.S web site at www.morganausa.com.

Muller Martini

Muller Martini – long known for book production systems – garnered two Must See ‘Ems this year for the Tempo 22 Saddle Stitcher and the Pantera Perfect Binder. The Tempo 22 is a workhorse for large runs of magazines, leaflets and catalogs. And did we mention JDF compatible?

The Pantera – newly available in North America – runs up to 4,000 cycles per hour. In addition to conventional hotmelt binding, Pantera can also process PUR Adhesive (polyurethane reactive).  The use of PUR is becoming an increasingly popular method of perfect binding, due to high pull-resistance values and exceptional layflat characteristics – in other words, books bound with this process simply hold up better. For more information go to: www.mullermartini.com.

Rollem International

Slits, cuts, holes – that’s what Rollem does best. Well, maybe not only what Rollem does – you can also get numbering machines. How about Scoring/Perforating Systems, Business Card CD DVD Slitting Systems (no, you don’t slit the CD or DVD, you make slits in a carrier to hold the disc), Slitting/Collating Card Pack Systems, and Paper Drilling Systems? Find out more at www.rollemusa.com.

Standard Finishing Systems

If it’s good enough for Microsoft… a common, standardized interface, that is. Standard Finishing Systems has integrated a consistent, touch-screen user interface across all its finishing equipment to allow operators to work across several different pieces of equipment and not have to learn a new interface.

At the Expo, we saw the Standard Horizon BQ-470 which features end-to-end automation, color touch-screen control, and interchangeable glue tanks for application flexibility and is targeted to the mid-range binding market. The BQ-470 can cycle at up to 1,350 books per hour, bind books up to 2.5” thick, and meet varying customer requirements with optional interchangeable glue tanks for both hot-melt EVA and PUR adhesives. An angled, elliptical belt system is a space saver too, and – once again – we’ve got a piece of JDF-compatible equipment!

Launched at Graph Expo was the new Standard Horizon SB-07 Perfect Binder; designed for short-to-medium run-length print on demand commercial print book markets. The SB-07 can be run as a stand-alone binder or as a complete binding system with in-line three-knife trimming.

The SB-07 is designed for single-person production of up to 3,200 books per hour, with complete changeover and set-up performed in less than 3 minutes. To learn more about this equipment, go to www.sdmc.com.

Tucked away in the back… B-N Technology

In a booth back in a corner safely ensconced next to the US Army Mobile Printing Unit, was B-N Technology from Japan. Graph Expo was the US launch of two cutters for business cards and postcards, with or without bleeds and/or gutters. The CT 620 is an air-fed suction cutter that will slit 20-up business cards on a 12” x 18” sheets, producing about 140 cards per minute. The “baby brother” CT 335 will cut 4-up post cards and 10-up business cards 8.5” x 11” with an output of about 100 business cards or 70 post cards per minute. Find out more about this reasonably priced equipment at www.bn-technology.co.jp.

Please offer Gail your feedback! She can be reached at gail@business-strategies-etc.com

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More About Gail Nickel-Kailing:

Gail Nickel-Kailing is a senior marketing and strategic planning consultant experienced in marketing technology-based solutions and services. She provides business counsel and marketing assistance to companies seeking to increase profits and revenues and reduce costs through business process improvement and implementation of information or workflow management systems. Through Business Strategies Etc. she offers services such as marketing planning and management, business and product development, and other support services for national and international clients.

Representative projects include:

· Development of channel marketing and collateral distribution programs incorporating electronic and print-on-demand documents as well as traditionally printed promotional materials and direct mail, for manufacturers offering a wide range of products, including commercial exterior lighting, recreational vehicles, water treatment products, and others.

· Detailed mail systems analyses resulting in recommendations for operational and procedural improvements to capture cost savings completed for companies in the following industries: insurance, banking, catalog and direct mail, specialty printing, and government.

Gail has also held executive positions in companies such as Printable Technologies, Firstlogic (formerly known as Postalsoft and recently acquired by Business Objects), CAPVentures (now InfoTrends) and ImageX, a provider of B2B print procurement software and services (acquired by FedExKinko’s in 2003)

Ms. Nickel-Kailing is also an author, journalist, and nationally recognized speaker regarding printing and mailing, including web-to-print, variable data printing, and direct mail. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire WI. She can be reached at gail@business-strategies-etc.com.