Morgana Systems

Vendors reported a good amount of interest in bindery equipment at this year's GRAPH EXPO in Chicago. The bindery equipment at the show offered in-plants some great opportunities to expand their services and increase their efficiency.

Though digital printing equipment made the biggest splash at the On Demand Conference and Exposition in March, the Washington, D.C. show was chock full of bindery equipment too. IPG visited all of the major bindery vendors. Here's a look at what we saw.

Though inkjet presses may have stolen some of the thunder, new bindery equipment was everywhere at Graph Expo. The crowds were consistently large in the bindery booths, and vendors were very upbeat about the show.

The copy center replaced its old folder with a Morgana AutoCreaser 33 and Docu-Fold MK-2 in September 2008. Supervisor Irene Castilla-Alonzo recalls the justification process was easy once the in-plant showed how the new equipment could bring in new business.

THOUGH PRINT 09 may have gotten off to a slow start, the crowds eventually showed up. And when they did, many of them headed right for the bindery equipment. Nowhere was that more true than at the Standard Finishing Systems exhibit, which was bustling with activity on the third day of the show, even as other booths appeared to be on siesta. Mark Hunt, director of marketing for Standard, thought he knew why.

Join Editor Bob Neubauer as he drives around Montgomery County, PA, visiting in-plants and vendor open houses.

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

THOUGH PRINTING equipment may have grabbed most of the attention at the On Demand show last month, bindery equipment had a strong presence too. From desktop folding units to floor model perfect binders, the show had a range of post-press gear. IPG visited with all of the major vendors at the Philadelphia show and collected information on their latest products for the in-plant market. One bindery highlight at the show was the Standard Horizon BQ-470 fully-automated four-clamp perfect binder. Standard Finishing Systems was awarded Best of Show honors for this product in the bindery category at On Demand by judges from BERTL, a

Xplor joined up with Graphics of the Americas last month to bolster its conference. Did it work? By Bob Neubauer AFTER WATCHING attendance at its conference dwindle since the booming days of the '90s, Xplor International teamed up with the successful Graphics of the Americas (GOA) conference this year, putting on a joint event last month in Miami Beach that drew about 24,500 attendees, according to organizers. The partnership seems to have been a wise move, as it freed Xplor from the task of organizing a trade show, allowing it to concentrate on its educational mission. GOA, in turn, got a host of

A year after Drupa, what new surprises do graphic arts vendors have in store for in-plants? Here's an advanced look. In-plant managers eager to see the latest graphic arts technologies can't do much better than Print 05 & Converting 05. Held in Chicago once every four years, this is the printing industry's main event. Larger than last year's Graph Expo show, Print 05 will feature nearly 800 exhibits covering more than 725,000 square feet of floor space. To help in-plants prepare, many of the industry's key vendors offered a peak at the products they plan to display in Chicago. Offset Boasting