At the Duplo USA Digital Finishing Expo at the Sam Houston Race Park in Houston on Wednesday, July 24, visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest in on demand print finishing, including bookletmaking, slitting/cutting/creasing, folding, UV coating, perfect binding and diecutting.
Müller Martini is not the only finishing manufacturer facing tough times. As the printing industry consolidates, there is a small flood of very recent vintage saddle-stitchers, folders, perfect binders, collators, diecutters, and other bindery machinery on the market as the result of closed shops.
The more the printer professional "schools" himself, or herself, on finishing technology, methods and workflow, the more complete and efficient solution they can present to the prospect, and the more orders they will win.
Rollem International is hosting a Finishing Technology Showcase scheduled for June 18-19, 2013 in its Anaheim, CA showroom. The event brings together both digital and offset finishing solutions including, Rollem’s slitting, scoring, and perforating systems, integrated with industry partners to create highly efficient system configurations.
A new video series has been introduced by Duplo USA called “How Do You Use Your Duplo?” The series profiles in-plant and commercial print providers throughout the country and their finishing process using Duplo solutions. Customers provide a brief tour of their operation and discuss the products they offer and how their Duplo equipment has contributed to their business.
Both the offset and digital community have much to offer each other, and much to learn from each other. I'm waiting for a new finishing community or organization to arise that will help bring them together.
There were many attempts to integrate press and finishing over the years. A few actually worked. But most were considered as a drag on press output. When the in-line finishing module stopped (for whatever reason), so did the press. And this was a definite no-no.
While the conventional bindery may be in a bit of danger (long-term), packaging faces a more robust future. It might be well worth it for today's "bindroids" to get up to speed on this market.
Standard Finishing Systems partner Hunkeler reported another successful Innovationdays event in Lucerne, Switzerland last month. Integrated total solutions from software to finished product spanned the hall with a special focus on uptime, productivity, and ease-of-use. During the opening day press conference, Hunkeler also announced positive business results for 2012 and further expansion of its Wikon headquarters.
Back in the heyday of high-volume print, the pecking order among bindery manufacturers was fairly well-established. The "heavy-iron" firms in the U.S. had their place, but the renowned German and Swiss firms (like Muller Martini) were rapidly gaining U.S. market share. But as digital print began to gain traction in the new millennium, a curious thing happened. The mainline manufacturers were slow to match their machines to the new realities of the digital space.
