Bindery - Finishing

In an era of earlier job deadlines, shorter runs, increased quality and more complex jobs, efficient post-press operations are critical for a successful in-plant. By Mike Llewellyn and Caroline Miller SOLID FOLDING capabilities are critical to the success of an in-plant. That's what Mel Zischler believes. As manager of Principal Financial Group Printing Services, Zischler oversaw the recent installation of a Challenge Machinery folder into his 33-employee in-plant in Des Moines, Iowa, where it will work side-by-side with a five-year-old Stahl folder. "We had an application come through where we needed greater [paper-handling] capacity," explains Zischler. While looking at folders, Zischler says he

Saddle stitcher manufacturers say time is of the essence in their business, and they're looking to save it on makeready, training, production and, of course, ROI. by Mike Llewellyn "IN-PLANTS, LIKE every business, are being challenged to do more with less," says Mark Hunt, director of marketing for Standard Finishing Systems. But unlike other businesses, Hunt believes, in-plants have a more reliable stream of internal work feeding them. To vendors of finishing equipment, this makes in-plants the ideal customers in slow economic times. "In-plants are extremely important," Hunt continues. "In-plants have always been important, but especially in difficult times because they have their own

Put simply, plastic coil binding saves money. And better yet, customers love the way it looks. by Mike Llewellyn IT MAY NOT be branded "the wave of the future." It may not have industry commentators calling it a revolution. But plastic coil binding has developed a solidly loyal following over the past few years among in-plant managers. Dave Opp is one of them. Opp is manager of corporate printing and literature distribution for Storagetek, a software firm specializing in data storage and disaster recovery systems. Opp feels the bindery can play its own role in disaster recovery. "Binding is critical," says Opp, speaking

In-plants sure do a lot of binding. In fact, more in-plants have bindery equipment than offset presses or copiers. According to an IPG survey, the top three pieces of in-plant equipment are paper cutters, folders and drills/punches, with 97+ percent of in-plants saying they own this equipment. Close behind are saddle stitchers (installed in 83 percent of in-plants), collators (81 percent) and spiral wire binders (46 percent). That's because in-plants know that a job isn't finished until it's...well, finished. So maintaining an arsenal of top-notch bindery equipment is essential to providing customers with the quality they expect from an in-plant. Like all

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

With new advances, faster paper cutting doesn't have to mean compromised safety. by Chris Bauer Speed isn't everything—not when you're talking about paper cutters. With this equipment, safety comes first, leaving features like speed and productivity to take a back seat. "Safety was really important when we were looking at cutters," remarks Carl Zalaznick, supervisor of Printing Services for Holy Cross Hospital in Florida. "Before the [Swaneck] ProCut 235, we had a really old Challenge. Except for cutting my finger once, we were really lucky that we didn't have any accidents." He says his shop's new cutter makes up for the lack of

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