Stacey Porto

By Caroline Miller In the era of earlier job deadlines, shorter runs, increased quality and more complex jobs, efficient postpress operations are imperative to a profitable printing business. All of the efficiencies and savings from state-of-the-art prepress and pressroom capabilities are lost if the finishing department is languishing in neglect. Upgrading your floor-model folding machine is just one area of the bindery that can offer significant benefits. By investing in a new folding machine a company benefits from new technology, ensuring much quicker job turnarounds, substantially reduced paper waste, the elimination of the need for high-priced, hard-to-find setup people, as well as a more

BY MARK SMITH When business conditions get tight, it's natural to think about just hunkering down and waiting for the market to turn around. It may hardly seem like the right time to make a significant investment in new equipment. However, doing just that can provide short- and long-term benefits. Postpress operations are prime targets for performance improvement, since they traditionally have been labor-intensive and highly mechanical. Folding definitely falls into that category, so anteing up for a new floor-model folder with automation features can provide a big payoff, manufacturers say. Potential benefits include lower operating costs, by enabling the use of less-skilled