Bindery - Finishing

AFTER YEARS of healthy investment in prepress and press, in-plants are finally taking notice that their bindery is inefficient, unproductive and poorly suited to the short-run requirements of today’s print market. At the same time, printers recognize that manufacturers are bringing labor-saving innovation to the bindery. Automation stands out as the most powerful theme, with stepper motor controls, touch-screen interfaces and integrated digital workflows that enable automated setups and changeovers. Also significant, in-line finishing is gaining favor for some work—especially digitally imaged output. Digital printing sparked a wave of in-line finishing several years back, with high-speed monochrome printers introducing a range of in-line

ANDOVER, MA— November 7, 2007­—Standard Finishing Systems, a leading supplier of post-press and paper handling solutions, received the 2007 Gegenheimer Corporate Award for industry service from NPES, the Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, on November 4 at the NPES 2007 Annual Conference in San Diego, CA. “I’m pleased to accept this prestigious award on behalf of all Standard employees,” said David Reny, Managing Director, Standard Finishing Systems. “It’s a real compliment to the dedication and service of our entire organization.” Named in honor of former Baldwin Technology Company Chairman Harold W. Gegenheimer, these annual awards recognize one company and one individual

THERE ARE two sets of attendees walking the show floor at Graph Expo. The first type has done his/her homework, knows all the primary players for a given product, has whittled down the equipment choices to a short list, and is at the show to see the machines in action. This person is on a mission. The second type has been to all the booths offering freebies, has three or four posters, two flash drives, one guitar and assorted other trinkets. For him, this show is a two-day reprieve from work. This tire kicker doesn’t really have an agenda. An educated shopper is the

Muller Martini has opened a new rebuild center in Allentown, Pa. The 10,000-square-foot facility includes state-of-the-art capabilities for both rebuilding and refurbishing used equipment. Through the company’s pre-owned equipment program, printers and binderies have the opportunity to purchase certified pre-owned machines at substantial savings. Among the equipment available for purchase are saddle stitchers, perfect binders, press delivery machines and a diverse range of other Muller Martini technologies. “Our pre-owned equipment is evaluated carefully and it is then meticulously brought back to its original specs by our factory-trained experts. . .in virtually every way the machines are just like brand new. Plus, our rebuilt equipment

MBO America has been hosting an annual open house for nearly a decade now, but the one it has planned for next month will outdo them all. The finishing equipment company has invited 20 other vendors to exhibit their wares in MBO’s new and expanded Technology Center in Westhampton, N.J. The event, called Innovation Days, will take place November 7-9, from 10-6. It will once again feature an authentic Beer Garden buffet. Joining MBO this year will be Buskro, Baumer hhs, Bograma, Colter + Peterson, Delphax, Ehret, H&H, HP, Hohner, KBA, Lake Image Systems, Longford International, Muller Martini, Oce, palamides, Ricoh/IBM, Ryobi, Shinohara,

THE LATEST folding technologies were on display at Graph Expo. For those who couldn’t make it to Chicago, IPG has collected a sample of products that were featured at the show. B&R Moll showed its Regal folder/gluer system. It includes a primary pocket folder/gluer unit and a complementary folding unit that glues, forms pockets and can change product directions for secondary operations. Also shown was the Standard 2000 folder/gluer. It has a makeready feature for easy setups. All settings are in inches. It comes with a roll up standard stacker. Challenge Machinery displayed its Medalist 870 folder, which provides floor-model features in

YOU JUST completed a true printed masterpiece. Maybe it is all about the history of your company or university. For the excellence of the job done, you receive many compliments. Then comes the ultimate question from the top: could we have this masterpiece bound into an attractive hardcover binding? After all, as everyone is aware, clever “packaging,” called binding, enhances every printed product. In-Plant Graphics, in its April article on digital book production, concluded that the future for on-demand books is indeed very encouraging. These days, thanks to clever software and digital printing equipment, it is relative easy to put together a book.

“Puffy.” That’s how Charles Tyree describes the books produced by his in-plant’s previous saddle stitcher. Without a score on the folds, the pages of thick books bulged outward—not a very professional look for Virginia Tech’s publications. Tyree, director of Printing Services for the past 13 years at the Blacksburg, Va., university, says his staff was never quite satisfied with that stitcher, which it added in 1999 to replace a four-pocket Macy stitcher. “It didn’t trim three sides, it didn’t give us tight enough folds and it didn’t have vacuum feed in the pockets,” he says. Plus it was slow. “We wanted

In-plants interested in providing hardcover binding should consider attending a seminar on the topic being held September 29 in Springfield, Mass. Sponsored by the Library Binding Institute (LBI), this event offers an opportunity for networking, information gathering and demonstrations from and discussions with industry experts. Seminar topics include hardcover binding processes, challenges and solutions. Best binding options for text blocks, binding systems, and techniques used in hardcover bindings will be covered. Solutions for problems like cover warp and selecting appropriate reinforcements will be addressed. Featured speakers include Werner Rebsamen, professor emeritus from Rochester Institute of Technology. His article on the topic will appear

KENNESAW, GA—August 7, 2007—Heidelberg will showcase its commitment to small print shop owners at Graph Expo 2007 with a dedicated Small Business solutions area in booth #1200 at McCormick Place in Chicago from September 9 -12. Small business printers can now find everything they need from one place, and Heidelberg will demonstrate many of their small business solutions, including prepress, press, postpress and workflow products, at the show. “Small businesses are the engine of the printing industry, and Heidelberg offers them the best technology available to remain competitive,” said Joerg Daehnhardt, director of product management for general commercial print, Heidelberg USA. “We recently added many