Finishing - Digital

Digital printing and finishing has clearly transformed the print industry, but it’s also having an equal impact in packaging. A fascinating demonstration at GRAPH EXPO 2012 married a laser diecutter with a short-run folder-gluer to produce small printed cartons.

While I didn’t have a whole lot of time to stroll around the show floor during last week’s GRAPH EXPO 2012 in Chicago, one technology caught my eye. Vision, as in machine vision. Such systems are another tool that can be used to ensure consistent, high-quality finished products.

I’ve detected a lot of interest in GRAPH EXPO 2012, and I think attendance will be very good. So what does that mean for finishing? Well, more focus on digital. Rightly so, as the choices of digital print technology continue to expand.

After 10 years (more, or less) of JDF, where does its adoption stand in the bindery? Well, not so large. There were lots of challenges in getting binders, stitchers, cutters, folders and more to operate seamlessly from downloaded instructions.

The bindery has had to become a very creative place as print evolves into an “on demand” service. One of the engineering marvels out there is the “book factory.” Almost all of the major bindery vendors have risen to this challenge to varying degrees.

Duplo USA announces the following equipment installations at shops with Xerox presses. Capitol Citicom Print & Graphics, in Columbus, OH, has vastly improved its efficiency and productivity with a Duplo DC-745 slitter/cutter/creaser. Tom Henry Cards, soon to open in Kissimmee, FL, has installed a Duplo DC-615 slitter/cutter/creaser.

Bindagraphics, a leading trade bindery, finishing and packaging company, recently installed a new 40˝ GBC Saturn 8556 laminator. “Being able to run 40˝-wide means lower prices on material and labor, and shorter schedules, which allows our customers to be more competitive,” Matt Anson, president of Bindagraphics, stated.

Traditional well-trained bindery craftsman are both hard to find and expensive. That is one of the reasons why equipment manufacturers have tried to apply as much automation as possible to their machinery. By and large, they have been successful.

It’s a reality that digital print has enabled very-short-run book production. In fact, the term “book-of-one” has entered the language as a descriptor of the short-run process. Designing a system for producing books of one is no easy task.

How do you balance the need for labor with the investment in automatic machinery? I will stick to two key areas: collating and mechanical binding. - Saul Spiel gave the following seminar at The BIA Convention, June 5, 2012