Finishing - Conventional

BY JACK RICKARD Until the 1990s, sheetfed printers had little opportunity to sell products with remoist glue. Today, short run remoist glue jobs are practical because the current crop of machines yield high quality jobs at good production rates. Both sheetfed and non-heatset web printers now can produce products with direct response reply devices and participate in profitable direct mail campaigns. There are primarily two ways of applying remoist glue. The older technology—cold application of water-soluble remoist glue—works by transferring glue to paper by either a wheel or a blanket. This process has two main advantages. First, heat by itself doesn't activate it, which means it's

BY ERIK CAGLE If you think it's not easy making a living in the postpress environment, consider the state of the equipment manufacturers. Finishing trends are causing manufacturers to respond almost as quickly as current turnaround demands. Issues abound: A lack of trained workers beget the call for increased automation. Value-added product enhancements are desired to help break away from a sea of finishing conformity. Commercial printers are being called upon to handle customers' projects in-house—from start to finish. When printers and trade finishers feel the pinch, they pass it on to the manufacturer, whose job it is to make life easier for them.

Top finishing pros reveal their secrets on selecting the right paper cutting tool for the right job. The cutter is often the last machine to touch the printed product before it goes to the customer, so it needs to cut cleanly, be easy to use and keep the work flowing. Though recent advancements in automation and computer control have made working on the machine easier, they've made choosing a cutter more difficult. That complexity can be simplified, however, by deciding on three basic factors right from the start: the size, the type of blade, and how many optional features and types of paper handling

According to the Quick Printing Industry Profile of 1997, 80.8 percent of quick printers broker out thermography work. Why? "Quick printers would need an awful lot of thermography on their plate to bring it in-house," answers Tim Rice, vice president of sales and marketing at Sunraise, a Lexington, MI-based manufacturer of thermography equipment. "For the most part, quick printers would be best off to send it to their local wholesaler." Does that mean quick printers shouldn't even consider investing in thermography equipment? Not exactly. Rice simply suggests that you consider the degree of demand before adding thermography capabilities. Rick Short agrees. Short makes his

"We glue things to other things." That's how Plant Superintendent Joe Carr describes the services offered at The Form House, a finishing house situated in Bedford Park, IL. Carr's description, while accurate, can be a tad misleading. True, The Form House specializes in affixing, but it's an affixer like no other. This company pushes its machinery—and people—to the hilt, coming up with solutions to seemingly impossible problems. "We're proud of our creativity," says Vice President Roger Crisman. Indeed, The Form House is stuck on creativity. The company's innovative approaches to tipping win it the jobs other finishers are afraid to touch. Often, these jobs