Collators Put Your Papers In Order

In today's print-on-demand market, manufacturers are rolling out collators designed for shorter runs.

by Chris Bauer

The Kansas Department of Transportation's in-plant specializes in really big jobs—to be specific, high-volume 22x36˝ construction documents. Last year the Topeka-based shop output 1,679,100 square feet of these large documents.

When it's not handling these projects, though, the 25-employee shop keeps busy printing smaller sized items like training manuals, monthly reports and a KDOT newsletter. To handle these jobs, the in-plant relies heavily on its 30-bin, three-tower C.P. Bourg BST 10 collator.

"The best feature on the collator is that it's electronically programmable," notes Bill Crooks, print shop manager in the Bureau of Support Services. "It allows you to continue to collate from one or two towers while you reload the third tower. If one tower is giving you a problem, you can just use the other two."

Most of the work handled by the collator, according to Crooks, is 8-1⁄2x11˝ front-and-back booklets and 11x17˝ saddle stitched booklets.

"In the future, we want to be able to add the booklet maker [and trimmer] to the collator, and be able to add more towers," says Crooks—if the volume of work warrants it.

Adapting To Short Runs

Collators are extremely useful—and popular—devices for in-plants. According to a recent IPG survey, 81 percent of in-plants have collators. But with short-run, on-demand work increasingly filling in-plants' workloads, modern collators have had to adapt.

"Shorter run lengths mandate quick setups and changeovers," acknowledges Don Dubuque, product manager for Standard Finishing Systems. As a result, collating systems have had to become even more automated.

"Automation is most effectively addressed through interactive, icon-based touchscreens that clearly and efficiently step the operator through all setups," he says. "This, in turn, leads to improved efficiency with quicker setup times and faster turnarounds, which is particularly important as run lengths decline. Automated, shortened job setup times translate into higher profits, more collator run-time, and the possibility to free up an operator to run another piece of equipment."

Some vendors say the control panel is the most notable feature of their collators. MBM's advertising manager, Donna Hall, feels that's the case on MBM's Maxxum line.

"There's no guess work at all," she says. "It's a well designed panel, and it will hook up with just about any bookletmaker."

Ideal For Copy Shops

MBM just rolled out its new line of Maxxum 6-, 10- and 20-bin vertical collators, ideal for copy shops, offices and print shops. They handle a broad range of paper sizes and weights, and feature a receiving tray with offset or straight stacking. The collators are compatible with Booklet-Pro and Sprint booklet makers, as well as Maxxum's corner stapler, for an on-line finishing system. A corner-and-side stapler and trimmer can be added to the Maxxum 20 Twin Towers for automated document finishing. The Twin Towers can work in tandem or independently for greater job productivity.

As a response to the growing needs of the digital printing market, Jose Alvarez, marketing coordinator of Duplo USA, recommends the IMBF (Intelligent Multi-Bin Feeder), a system that combines Duplo' s DC-10/60 interfaced with a PC computer.

"In addition, the IMBF can be interfaced with the MD-IN3 folder/inserter for the IMS (Intelligent Mailing System) solution," he says. "This is ideal for one-to-one marketing and custom collating and inserting needs."

Duplo's DC-10/60 offers high speed and ease of operation. Comprising a heavy-duty collator, it is capable of producing up to 4,200 booklets per hour when connected to the DBM-400 bookletmaker or up to 10,000 collated sets per hour. Its vertical design, modular styling and ability to handle a variety of paper types, sheet sizes and weights demonstrate superb versatility.

Touchscreen Speeds Changeovers

The latest collator offering from Standard Horizon is the SpeedVAC, which offers high levels of automation through an icon-based touchscreen for quick, simple changeovers. Easy and powerful programming enables dual-directional feeding, intelligent feeding, and a number of other functions that allow for continuous production and enhanced productivity at speeds up to 10,000 sets per hour. The programming, with touchscreen control, also allows for instant recall of previous jobs and the ability to break into jobs as needed for rush work.

According to John Curie, product manager for Streamfeeder, many businesses that historically outsourced collating projects are choosing to bring jobs in-house. As these companies expand their capabilities, they are very focused on the long-term profit-generating capability of the equipment purchased, he contends.

"Flexibility, value and ease of use translate to return-on-investment, so collating systems must be designed to be simple to use, easy to reconfigure and capable of efficiently handling diverse jobs," Curie asserts.

Streamfeeder Universal collator systems are built to provide flexibility. Modular design using "plug and play" simplicity makes these systems easy to reconfigure as collating needs change. Component feeders can be removed from the line for stand-alone feeding applications, then reintroduced to the collator when needed. Typical Universal systems run the gamut from simple two-station configurations to sophisticated systems featuring 30-plus feeders.

Digital printing has revolutionized the way printed material is generated, points out Dennis James, manager of press planning and management for A.B.Dick, (the U.S. distributor for the Watkiss line of finishing equipment) and a high proportion of it needs to be converted into finished booklets. Most solutions to these finishing requirements are handled with the flexibility of collators, with various accessories such as stitch-fold-trim, booklet makers or stapling application, he says.

"There has been the attractions of online finishing, where the paper is put in at one end of the machine, and a finished booklet is delivered at the other. However, in many cases this is not the most efficient way to proceed, nor is it the most cost-effective. For example, most digital printers can print sets sequentially, but this is much slower than conventional batch printing, especially on longer run lengths."

Near-line finishing, James says, allows the production rate of the printer to be optimized according to the print parameters, without affecting the finishing process, and is a better solution.

Watkiss systems provide an off-line finishing solution for users of high-speed electronic copying, printing and publishing systems. The entry-level Eco Vario shares many features with the full Vario range. Three different types of feeders are available for the Watkiss Vario collating system. Each collating tower can include any combination of feeders to suit the application.

"The connection and synchronization of our collator with other equipment makes our machines attractive," agrees Dr. Cesare Sassi, of Pigna America (formerly American Binding). "Our machines are using many optional features for printing and paging control before gathering; most are used to avoid missing, double or reversed sheets."

Sassi notes that the options most required by his customers include: the multiscanner for printing control, the in-phase extra-blow for very light paper, and the emergency exit for wrong copy (double or missing or reversed sheet).

The S59 collator can be used for jobs like collation tabs, envelopes and greeting cards. It boasts six to 48 stations on six-station modules. It provides vertical and horizontal stacking with in-line capability, and a maximum speed of 5,000 sets per hour (18 stations). These machines are produced in Italy by Tec-graf, which Pigna represents.

The Sterling S59 gatherer/collator from Spiel Associates will collate sheets as thin as onion skin and as thick as 1⁄4˝ pads at a rate of 6,000 sets per hour. It is also ideal for collating tabs, envelopes, greeting cards and practically anything that fits into the pockets. The stations are positioned on both sides, reducing the overall length of the machine by almost half.

From Baum, QuickVac eight-, 16- or 24-bin vacuum-feed collators handle a variety of stock such as coated, art and NCR paper. Users can choose from adjustable speeds and on-line or off-line operation. Capabilities include collating with insertion sheets, chips and slips with front and back cover insertion.

The Baumfolder QuickSet 10 and QuickSet 20 collators produce 60 sets per minute. Features include crisscross or straight stacking, total and preset batch counting, large bin capacity, alternating bin mode, adjustable feed and separator pressure settings, easy bin removal and self-contained bin extensions.

From the Rosback Co. comes the Setmaster vacuum-top-feed horizontal collator. It handles one-time carbon, newsprint, fabrics, vinyls, laminates, folded sections, business forms, wallpaper, floor tile samples, tabbed index cards, checks, calendars and more. It boasts continuous loading, missing- and double-sheet detection system, and variable speed to 3,600 cph. Stitch/fold, trim, gluing, deep-pile feeding, duplexing and crash numbering are options. Standard and custom sizes to 30x40˝, from three to 50 stations.

Another well-known name among bindery circles for its folding machines, MBO America, is also the exclusive agent for Theisen & Bonitz collators. Theisen & Bonitz offers three versions: the tb sprint, tb flex and the tb eco. These collators can accommodate a variety of material, from lightweight paper to heavy chipboard, whether small or very large sizes.

They can handle sheets from 2-3⁄4x3-15⁄16˝ up to 28x40˝. The tb sprint offers such standard equipment as a missed sheet detector at each station and double-sheet detector on the delivery. Up to 16 vacuum-suckers at each station assure a safe sheet transport.

Buhrs Americas offers the CS300 Mobile Gathering Section, an extension of the BB300 Envelope Inserter and the Buhrs 2000/4000 film and paper wrappers. The CS300 gathers products for placement in the main raceway. It has servo-driven feeders. The product dimensions are 3-1⁄8x3-15⁄16˝ to 8-5⁄8x12-3⁄16˝ and its maximum speed is 10,000 products/hour.