Binding Finishing: News
Features
On the go at Graph Expo
Oct 1, 2008 12:00 AM,
Graph Expo takes place Oct. 26-29, 2008, in Chicago. It's the biggest U.S. graphic arts event of the year, with upwards of 31,000 people expected to jam the aisles at McCormick Place to see more than 600 exhibitors. Here are some show highlights. More to come! Expanded range of sheefed inks Van Son Holland Ink's (Islandia, NY) VS series of commercial sheetfed printing inks supports faster makereadies
All-around PUR
Aug 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By Denise Kapel
With the ongoing trend toward short runs, sophisticated postpress techniques are migrating downstream. Even polyurethane reactive adhesive (PUR), once found exclusively on high-volume perfect binders, is popping up on small-format equipment. RIT professor emeritus Werner Rebsamen wrote in his Drupa 2008 review to the Library Binding Institute (www.lbibinders.org), On-demand and customized printing
Flexible folders
Jul 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By Denise Kapel
Your standard-issue folder could be a print finishing jack-of-all-trades. Equipment manufacturers are improving the modularity of these machines, adding automation features and updating the available accessories. With these new capabilities, operators can streamline the production of standard jobs and tackle work they couldn't do in the past. Folders have to be increasingly versatile to justify an
The whole package
Jun 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By Denise Kapel
Lake County Press (LCP), a $51 million, 250-employee shop in Waukegan, IL, always has added value to its conventional print jobs by offering in-house diecutting. But as the company grew and earned a reputation for its specialty diecuts and packaging, more and more diecutting had to be sent out to trade shops. Last year, the company took steps to both increase this value added segment of the business
Speed, accuracy & innovation
May 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By Denise Kapel
Drupa is just around the corner as this 125th anniversary issue of AMERICAN PRINTER goes to press. Several postpress equipment manufacturers some of which are celebrating anniversaries, themselves have given us a preview of the products they will launch at the show. Some are keeping their newest products under wraps until the show opens, May 29, so we will continue our coverage in upcoming issues.
Cut to the chase
May 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By Katherine O'Brien
Heidelberg (Kennesaw, GA) distributes Polar equipment in the United States. Polar, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2006, will be in Heidelberg's booth, showcasing solutions for cutting and trimming, automation, label production and networking. Several new introductions target larger sheet sizes, such as those produced on Heidelberg's new XL 145 (41.73 57.09 in.) and XL 162 (47.24 63.78 in.).
Crossing the finish line
Apr 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By AP staff
Just over a year ago, Spiral of Ohio, based in Cleveland, OH, and Action Bindery of Norcross, GA, near Atlanta, rebranded themselves as Finish Line Binderies. After their merger in 2002, the companies operated mostly independently. Although pleased with the results of the first years of combined operations, company co-owner and CEO John Helline had a feeling he was leaving opportunity on the table.
Hot stuff
Mar 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By AP staff
Nothing says like foil stamping. A foil-enhanced greeting card says you cared enough to spend a little more. Savvy package designers have taken a shine to it a little bit of gleaming foil is just the thing to help their wares catch shoppers' eyes. Foil also can be used to combat fraud you'll find it on many tags and tickets. Foil stamping begins with the heating of a die mounted on a platen. Foil
Digital demand
Feb 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By AP staff
The On Demand Conference & Exposition (www.ondemandexpo.com) is right around the corner. More than 10,000 print-for-profit, corporate in-plant and publishing professionals will descend upon the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center March 3-6 to learn how to establish, manage, market and grow their printing business with the latest digital printing technology and automatic finishing solutions. For
To Preserve & Protect
Jan 1, 2008 12:00 AM, By AP staff
Wide-format laminator Distributed by Neschen Americas (Elkridge, MD), the SEAL 62 Pro Series offers a professional laminator with industrial performance. Featuring fully adjustable temperature, speed and pressure settings, the 62 Pro is said to be ideal for an experienced user who requires a highly versatile laminator. The SEAL 62 Pro Series is capable of running a wider range of media and can generate
All for one
Dec 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By AP staff
MBO hosts multivendor mailing, print and finishing event MBO America's (Westampton, NJ) annual Open House included exhibits, presentations and demonstrations from Buskro, Baumer hhs, Bograma, Buhrs, Colter&Peterson, Delphax, Ehret, H&H, HiFlex, HP, Hohner, KBA, Kodak and Kodak Up Front, Lake Image Systems, Longford, Muller Martini, Oce, Palamides, Ricoh/IBM, and United Graphic Systems. Visitors saw
Big Finish
Dec 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By AP staff
As noted in our July issue (Iron Giants) there's a definite VLF press buzz. Some commercial printers are pushing beyond the 40-inch format to achieve production efficiencies and access new markets. KBA (Williston, VT), MAN Roland (Westmont, IL), and Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses USA (MLP USA) (Lincolnshire, IL) currently offer VLF equipment; Heidelberg (Kennesaw, GA) will introduce the Speedmaster
Neatly folded
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By AP staff
Integrated creasing and folding for digital printers Morgana Systems' (Marietta, GA) DigiFold reportedly is the world's first integrated creaser and folder, combining Morgana's blade and matrix creasing technology with a new folding method that will not mark or scratch sensitive materials. It can work in two ways: as a single-pass, integrated creaser/folder or as a stand-alone creaser. Rather than
An upward Spiral
Oct 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By AP staff
Rapid Bind's John Goch saw a great opportunity when he purchased a fledgling three-person operation in 1980, but he never could have foreseen how the business would grow. The Portland, Oregon-based bindery was established in 1977 with just two people and some used equipment occupying a humble 1,500-sq.-ft. rental space. Thirty years after opening, Rapid Bind Inc. has evolved into a thriving postpress
Plan ahead
Oct 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By Christopher Lien
Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) mail is a billion-dollar problem for commercial mailers including those in the printing business who provide mailing and fulfillment services to their clients. It costs the United States Postal Service (USPS) more than $1.8 billion each year to forward, return or, in many cases, dispose of this well intentioned but poorly addressed mail. In fact, a recent study done
Shrink to fit
Sep 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By AP staff
Blanks Printing & Imaging's (Dallas) fulfillment division knows how to perform quick changeovers. Its jobs run from hundreds to millions of pieces, from business cards to poster-size prints. With can do teamwork, the company's fulfillment group has plenty of tricks up its sleeve, like keeping some equipment on casters to facilitate quick reconfigurations. Fulfillment manager Diane Allison also credits
Keeping score
Sep 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By Katherine O'Brien
Remember Dan Aykroyd's Bass-o-Matic sketch on Saturday Night Live? It comes with 10 interchangeable rotors, a nine-month guarantee, and a booklet, Aykroyd promised in the breathless tradition of pitchman Ron Popeil. You'll never have to scale, cut or gut again! The inline options offered for scoring, perfing and cutting on folders and other finishing devices don't quite dice, slice or chop, but they
Unchained Productivity
Aug 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By Denise Kapel
Once considered the biggest bottleneck in print production, the bindery is achieving new heights in productivity. Equipment manufacturers are improving the level of automation and enabling greater workflow integration with prepress and the pressroom. Modular stitcher components and new equipment configuration options are enabling postpress operators to perform quick job changeovers and get more product
Rise & shine
Aug 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By AP staff
The use of foil stamping, embossing and holography represents quality, added value, shelf presence, individuality and security. To promote and acknowledge continued creativity in this area, the Foil Stamping and Embossing Assn. (FSEA) (Topeka, KS) honored the winners of its annual Gold Leaf awards competition in May during the IADD/FSEA Odyssey in Milwaukee. This year's awards drew more than 300 entries.
Hands off
Jul 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By Carrie Cleaveland
Picture this: An automated jogger aligns whole skids of paper in one turn. Lifts are loaded, a gripper loading system brings lifts to and from the knife, paper is cut, a turning gripper turns and positions lifts for cutting, waste is removed, gripper systems transfer the finished cut lift and the finished product is palletized onto a skid and the operator has nothing to do but watch and load skids.
