Binding - Perfect

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY—“ ‘Try out this machine and if it does not meet your satisfaction, you may return it at our cost.’ That’s the pitch I received from the manufacturer of this amazing machine,” says David Spiel. “So I make the same offer to my customers and not one has sent it back!” The Sterling® Digibinder is the newest offering in the world of short run perfect binding machines. “This little machine does the same job as many floor model machines costing much more,” says Saul Spiel. “I have never seen a better table top machine of any kind.” ROUGHING AND NOTCHING Most

Ripon, WI—August 22, 2007—“We are now open to two new markets: PUR and layflat binding,” says Andy Lyke, President of Ripon Printers, in describing how his company has broadened its service offering since installing a Muller Martini Bolero perfect binder. The Bolero, which runs at 8,000 cycles per hour, processes the industry’s largest range of product sizes for 1-up and 2-up production. Furthermore, Bolero offers an extensive range of production options, whether the job calls for hot melt, cold glue or PUR...in perfect bound, layflat or book blocks for casing-in. Ripon Printers is a 330-employee shop with annual revenues of $44 million. The company,

JACKSONVILLE, IL—02/27/07—Production Press has recently added two new Kluge products to its sheetfed print shop. Its Kluge UniFold automatic folder/gluer was configured with Kluge’s patented vertical bucklefolder, TransTable III and two-head hot melt glue system for folding and gluing presentation folders. However, its modular construction and high versatility make its capabilities endless. The second Kluge…

Big Texas Bindery Adds Capabilities HOUSTON—Seidl’s Bindery, Texas’ largest full-service print finishing operation with 130 employees, recently installed a Muller Martini Bolero perfect binder. “We have doubled our capacity and can now also offer more options to customers,” says Bill Seidl, CEO. “Setup is fast, operation is easy and the machine is very diverse.” In addition to perfect binding, Seidl’s Bindery provides services such as saddlestitching, Wire-O binding, tipping and attaching, diecutting, folding and gluing. Time to Talk Shop CHICAGO—Shown during Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2006, Jochen Durselen, founder and designer of the Durselen line of drills (pictured at right), spends some time with Jim Grisez,

Jehovah’s Witnesses Gain Efficiencies Wallkill, NY—The Watchtower Printing Center recently put a new 350,000-square-foot production facility into operation. Central to this new manufacturing system is a Muller Martini Corona/Diamant production line. Among the machinery recently put into operation is a fully automatic hardcover book line from Muller Martini. At the heart of the new system, on which 10 million hardcover books will be produced annually, are a Corona perfect binding line, a fully automatic buffer system and two Diamant book lines downstream. These technologies are complemented by two addressing and packaging/cartoning systems, followed by two Cohiba palletizers. Polar Celebrates Centennial Year HOFHEIM, GERMANY—Founded

For Mike Welsch, strength and flexibility are the keys to building a successful postpress business. The Muscle Bound Bindery president credits the durability of his products for building the reputation his Minneapolis-based bindery enjoys. Strength and flexibility also characterize Muscle Bound's growth from an extension of a publishing house to one of the leading case binding and Otabind producers in the country. From left, Muscle Bounders Jeff Deutsch, plant supervisor; Mike Ertle, plant manager; Jerry Hanson, former president; and Mike Welsch, president.Muscle Bound Bindery was founded by Jerry Hanson in 1967 as the hardcover book binding arm of Lerner Publishing. The company quickly outgrew

WESTAMPTON, NJ—In another positive sign that things are turning around for the better in the graphic arts, a special customer expo conducted here recently by MBO America and Muller Martini attracted more than 250 participants. Held in early June at MBO America's Westampton headquarters, the exposition was attended by key executives and technicians from facilities that operate or plan to run binderies. Their focus was on a variety of finishing solutions that were operated continuously throughout the event. Werner Naegeli, president and CEO of Muller Martini, headed the team representing his company at the event. "It's always great to meet face-to-face with bindery

BY MARK SMITH Adhesive binding has long been a benchmark of quality for finishing, but equipment costs and setup times traditionally had kept the process in the realm of long-run and/or higher end projects. The prevailing trend now in "perfect" binding systems is increasing their flexibility to handle shorter runs. This is true for all levels of equipment, but particularly for the relatively new product category of units designed to work in conjunction with digital printing systems. A related trend is the industry's move to computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) that is trickling down to postpress operations in general. Unlike prepress and printing, though, digital

BY DAVE CLOSSEY There is as much variation in company owners as there is in the companies themselves. This is what makes competition great; there are hundreds of ways to run a successful company. For some owners, the plan might go something like this: Target a specific market niche; pursue clients in that niche; and sit comfortably on a steady—and hopefully predictable—revenue stream. Gary Markovits, president of E&M Bindery in Clifton, NJ, sees things a little differently. "My wife always says to me, 'Your company is doing well. Why not sit back and relax?' " laughs Markovits. "But that isn't the way I am.

BY CAROLINE MILLER Brenda Slacum, COO of Specialties Bindery, has a favorite saying: "We are a brand new company with a 30-year history." It's a statement that might leave you scratching your head if you're not familiar with this trade bindery, which specializes in mechanical (Wire-O, spiral wire, plastic coil and plastic comb) binding, perfect binding, as well as folding, rotary scoring, collating, fulfillment and related services. But this $6.5 million, 85-employee trade services company, which is located in a 108,000-square-foot facility just outside of Washington, DC, in Hyattsville, MD, has a bit of a Cinderella story to tell—thanks in part to its COO.