Mechanical Binding — Bound for Success
Spiel Associates has worked with customers to tweak the Coilmaster when needed. When the system couldn't handle a margin larger than the bridge, Spiel invented a spreading device that forces the coil to jump past a healthy sized margin.
"When we found that inferior coil was causing our machines to act slowly or to jam up, we created the first in-line system where the coil is formed prior to insertion," Spiel adds. "Many of our upgrades were done free in the field, until the point where we had to bring them in-house for the upgrade. Now, we're incorporating all of the upgrades into the newer models."
The Coilmaster II is available for all sizes between 6mm and 30mm, and automatically binds books at speeds up to 700 books per hour (bph).
Some of the leading issues that customers should look at when considering the purchase of a mechanical binding machine (for spiral wire and plastic coil) include projected volume requirements, worker skill and space availability, advises Bill Francis, director of trade sales for James Burn International (JBI).
"Note that budget considerations are not mentioned here; that's because putting the cost considerations ahead of the real needs facing an operation too often leads to purchasing the wrong solution to meet your customers' needs," he says.
Francis notes that his company recognizes the need to produce products that are easy to set up and run, versatile, highly automated and able to fit the space requirements of a variety of environments. JBI's Wire-O Bind is designed for mid- to high-volume Wire-O binding applications. It boasts ease of setup with touchscreen control, and is compact and portable for near-line application of digital printing. It can bind documents from as small as two pages to 11⁄8˝ thickness in sizes from 2x3˝ to 13x13˝.
Stick with equipment that speaks to your workload, maintains Anna Massey, sales and marketing manager for Gateway Bookbinding Systems. "If 80 percent of what you do is over the .75˝ (20mm) mark with a 5˝ binding edge, then look for equipment that is geared for the thicker books," she says.
