By Cassandra Balentine
Part one of two
Automating binding operations brings a myriad of benefits to digital or hybrid production environments, including a reduction in both time and labor requirements.
“Automated bindery solutions provide an effective way to produce products down to a copy of one and with the need for less skilled labor,” shares Andy Fetherman, president/CEO, Muller Martini Corp.
Stefano Formentini, VP, sales and marketing, Meccanotecnica; and Manrico Caglioni, president, Book Automation, Inc. – part of the Meccanotecnica Group, point out that benefits are particularly evident in near-line or semi-automatic processes, where efficiency gains can be substantial. “By optimizing operations and implementing automation, there exists a considerable opportunity to enhance overall productivity and resource utilization.”
“Automation in binding allows printers to maintain a high level of efficiency across operations regardless of run lengths, and it can even open additional revenue streams,” offers Bob Flinn, director of business development, Standard Finishing Systems.
Equipment Considerations
Automation comes from advancements in both hardware and software.
Machine-level automation is essential. According to Flinn, this enables faster operator training, reduces setup and changeover times, minimizes makeready, and results in consistent quality from shift-to-shift or from operator-to-operator.
Automation is also on the rise in material handling with robotics starting to be incorporated into the binding process for in-feeding, off-loading, palletizing, and material routing, adds Flinn.
Vendor Specific
Several equipment vendors support finishing/binding automation in digital print environments.
APS Imaging Solutions specializes in digital layflat binding. Al Scolari, president, APS Imaging Solutions, Inc., says that today it has automated this process using inline scoring and folding as well as block building through its machines. “Our manufacturer Layflat.com is now producing industrial solutions that support most digital press output and B2-Plus sizes for production purposes.”
Layflat.com has concentrated on automating the most tedious and labor-intensive tasks in producing layflat books. “Most of these steps were being produced either by hand or on separate pieces of equipment,” offers Scolari.
For layflat binding the biggest challenges involves supporting the many different substrates being printed on today and speed. Layflat.com has addressed these issues in introducing its LF Pro series.
The LF Pro series machines now support most digital presses and output. “We can now produce a block up to 20 inches in width,” says Scolari.
Automation in layflat binding has come a long way and now supports inline production to streamline the process and produce a high-quality book at a low cost.
Book Automation Inc. boasts a comprehensive range of highly automated digital print finishing solutions tailored for book production. Its portfolio enables seamless integration, allowing printers and binders to connect all machines in line. This integrated approach empowers users to execute various binding methods with precision, including thread-sewing—also known as smyth-sewing—and perfect binding, thus ensuring versatility and efficiency throughout the production process.
In addition to its existing lineup, Formentini and Caglioni say the recent introduction of the SIRIO, a cutting-edge three-clamp perfect binder, revolutionizes book production, enabling ultra-short runs down to book-of-one with unparalleled automation. The SIRIO sets a new standard in its category, offering exceptional performance without sacrificing quality. As a heavy-duty solution it is engineered for continuous operation, capable of sustaining 24/7 productivity over extended periods. With the SIRIO, Book Automation Inc. delivers a versatile, high-performance binding solution that meets the evolving demands of the industry.
Aarona Tesch, product marketing manager, ACCO Brands/GBC, points out that the GBC Nearline Automated Punch and Bind machine’s ability to perform punching, collating and binding operations, along with creasing and perforating, makes it a versatile finishing solution, dramatically reducing manual touches and provides greater productivity versus manual production by feeding, punching and wire-binding in one easy step, to finish mechanically bound documents.
Muller Martini has developed many “hybrid” offset/digital finishing solutions based upon its Smart Factory: Finishing 4.0 engineering ideology. “We manufacture touchless workflow solutions that drive the automation inherit in each design with XML-based and barcode-driven connectivity to address the variability so prevalent in today’s printing and finishing world,” says Fetherman.
Fetherman says Muller Martini also combines the ability to process offset and digitally printed products both separately and even combined on the same finishing device. “This eliminates the need for separate devices to process these disparate workflows, resulting in more products per square foot and labor hour with our finishing solutions.”
From a hardware perspective, palamides’ products support finishing/binding automation in digital print environments by offer advanced automated delivery systems, stacker, and feeders. The palamides Automated Delivery solutions are designed to seamlessly integrate with digital printing presses and postpress equipment, allowing for efficient handling of printed materials and reducing the need for manual intervention.
Standard and Horizon, Standard Finishing Systems’ manufacturing partner, have offered automated binders, trimmers, saddlestitchers, folders, and more for over 25 years.
Horizon designs its bindery solutions as automated systems from the ground up to provide the highest levels of reliability and ease of operation. The operator interface on Horizon equipment is also the same across all product categories, making it easy to cross-train operators.
Standard offers perfect binding solutions in continuous configurations and hybrid or offline configurations.
For continuous setups, the Standard Hunkeler/Horizon Roll-to-Perfect bind solution is specifically designed to respond to the growing need for short- to medium run-length book production. This smart binding system combines a Hunkeler unwinder and rotary cutter with a Horizon folder, gluing and pressing station, perfect binder, intelligent accumulator, and three-knife trimmer to convert pre- printed rolls into finished books in a continuous, fully automated, touch-free process. The solution can move seamlessly between books of varying format and page count, ensuring absolute quality assurance through end-to-end system control and integrity checking.
For high-production environments, the Standard Horizon CABS 6000 Perfect Binding System includes the MG-600 Gatherer, SB-17 17-clamp Perfect Binder, and a HT-110 Three-knife Trimmer. The system can produce up to 6,000 books/hour. It features an inline stacker for standalone gathering, twin milling stations, automated inline cover scoring, gauze feeding for hard cover book blocks, and advanced quality control features such as CCD cameras, digital caliper thickness detection, and weight checking. Operators can change over from EVA to PUR to in about five minutes.
For book-of-one production, the Standard Horizon BQ-500 Perfect Binder reaches production speeds of up to 800 books per hour. The system also features interchangeable EVA and PUR glue tanks with a new and improved tank removal process for cleaner and easier tank changeover. The BQ-500 features 21 automated sections in total, reducing setup and changeover time even when making fine variable thickness adjustments—all while ensuring higher quality books. The BQ-500 can also be combined with the Standard Horizon GF-500 Gauze Feeder and ESF-1000 End Sheet Feeder to prepare book blocks for case binding. Another optional add-on, the LBF-500 Book Block Feeder, further improves operational efficiency.
Finishing Automation
To improve productivity in digital environments, finishing trends move towards automation. We look at the role of software and workflow in part two of this web series.
May2024, DPS Magazine
