Finishing - Conventional

by chris bauer Managing Editor Once overlooked in a printing world that focused heavily on digital technology, bindery equipment, including floor-model folding machines, can now be part of the conversation. Modern machines offer all of the automation that today's users desire. According to Josef Niehueser, product manager for Stahlfolder (distributed by Heidelberg), automation and integration are the features that folding machine users want to incorporate. The bindery is the only production department left that still involves a degree of manual labor, he points out, and printers want to take as much labor out of the finishing process as possible. "Integration is the next

by Dennis E. Mason The just-finished Drupa 2004 in Germany was unquestionably the most comprehensive graphic arts trade show in the world. Nowhere else but every four years in Düsseldorf can one see the breadth and depth of equipment, supplies, software and processes on display for two weeks. Although Drupas are dominated by the likes of Heidelberg, MAN Roland and KBA, with their particularly press-centric focus, it also provides a forum for companies that are far less well known, and for firms that only wish to be known. And while many journey to Drupa to see the latest in presses, or a complete

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor In one of many hilarious episodes from the long-running animated hit television series, "The Simpsons," bartender Moe Szyslak is hammering a crayon up Homer Simpson's nose to restore his less-than-Hawkingesque intelligence level to subpar standards. Don't ask why. During the hammering, viewers can witness Homer's digressing intelligence as the crayon is pushed deeper into his brain. At one point during the hammering, Homer mindlessly blathers, "de-fense, de-fense," but the deeper, more acceptable (and thus dumber) level Moe reaches with the crayon (it's called a "Crayola Oblongata") causes Homer to utter, "Extended warranty? How can I lose?" We'll not debate the merits of parts

by David Spiel A customer calls and says that he wants to buy a three-hole punch, but I tell him that he really does not. To avoid the risk of falling into an Abbott-and-Costello routine, I explain to him that a drill uses rotating drill bits to drill through paper and a punch uses reciprocating male and female dies to push through paper. A solid punch pin pushes paper through a female hole and the waste exits below. A drill cuts the paper while spinning and the waste is ejected up through its hollow shaft and exits through the top. What's the difference? Speed, accuracy, versatility

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor From start to finish, the printing process traditionally has had a split nature. Digital technology initially increased that divide, but now promises to tie all of the process steps together. On the front end, prepress has been as much about art, or at least craft, as it has been production. It's also where the digital revolution began, bringing an ever greater degree of computerization and automation. At the back end, binding and finishing operations come closest to being what people think of as a traditional manufacturing environment. It's about precise measurements and exacting specifications, as well as repetitive

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor Equipment in the bindery, as it is in many other manufacturing sectors in our country and around the world, can be extremely unforgiving. An error or a relaxed attitude toward the handling of certain finishing equipment can easily separate you from yours in a hurry. Fingers, heads and lives were parted with in the commercial printing industry during 2003, according to Gary Jones, manager of environmental health and safety at the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF). While rare, these accidents are attention getters: * One young operator lost three fingers while adjusting knives on a three-knife trimmer unit on a saddle

By Chris Bauer Managing Editor The phrase, "Houston, we have a problem," is not a sentence often uttered by customers of Houston-based Seidl's Bindery. Bill Seidl works hard to make sure of that. "Our primary goal is to eliminate problems on the front end," Seidl explains. "Before a job gets to us, we want to be involved in the production or the layout. Or, when it gets to us, it is important to have both our CSR and preflight departments catch any errors before we are into the job for three days and then find out there is a problem. Our goal for this

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor There are enough headaches encountered between the time a customer's files are uploaded to your FTP site and when the truck rolls away from the back dock with finished product. But, while certain aspects of the workflow are tedious and time consuming, your perfect binder shouldn't be an attention, or time, burglar. Most manufacturers of floor-model adhesive binders agree that time is of the essence. And the position of bindery operator often sees high turnover, making it imperative that a quality machine is easy to makeready, simple to operate, and equally user-friendly and fast on changeovers. Shrinking Setup As run lengths

By Erik Cagle KISS is the word that best describes the modern day movement in regard to the manufacture of paper cutting systems: Keep It Simple and Safe. Safety may be to cutting what flour is to baking—an essential ingredient—but automation considerations cannot be ignored when weighing the purchase of a standalone cutter or complete system. In fact, with manufacturers adhering to U.S. and international safety guidelines, ease-of-use may spell the difference between products A, B and C. "Automating the backgauge movement on a cutter helps improve efficiency, makeready times, consistency and accuracy of the cut," points out Don Dubuque, marketing manager for Standard

by chris bauer With the economy stubbornly refusing to shift back to the economically favorable gear of a few years ago, commercial printers continue to search for ways to make a buck. One opportunity many printers have found is to provide more ancillary services, including expanded finishing options. According to recent data from the Printing Industries of America (PIA) and the Graphic Arts Marketing Information Service (GAMIS), the current competitive business climate has forced many operations to diversify and adopt new products and services to remain profitable. As such, respondents to the PIA/GAMIS survey reported that nearly $1 out of every $7 earned