Cassie Balentine

By the Booklet

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By Lisa Guerriero

Booklet maker manufacturers target the needs of the growing digital, print on demand market, increasing productivity through automation and higher page capacity. These devices deliver polished results with additional options for stitching, folding, and specialty spines.

Mid- to high-volume booklet makers handle jobs of up to 200 pages. Speeds range from 1,700 to 6,000 booklets per hour. In addition to automation, optional features and add-on tools further reduce touch points and enhance efficiency.

The demand for booklet applications comes from a variety of sectors, including education, financial services, government, and healthcare. Applications range from magazines and calendars to manuals, pamphlets, reports, catalogues, and testing materials.

Technology Advancements
The latest advancements in booklet making equipment entice digital users and are designed to streamline the process. Some of the latest innovations include automated sheet feeders, targeted software, higher page capacities, and square spine solutions. These features attract new users and expand application potential.

Booklet makers bind pages with wire-fed stitching or stapling and include an integrated folding or creasing option. In digital printing environments, booklet makers are generally fed with an automatic sheet feeder, though some devices are hand- or collator-fed.

Available in nearline and inline configurations, automated sheet feeders reduce touch points and increase productivity. Many functions reduce or remove manual steps to keep up with digital print volumes. Other options include automated cutting and slitting and high-capacity book stackers.
“By automating the booklet making process, operators spend less time setting up and more time running jobs, resulting in increased productivity as well as faster turnaround times,” says Anthony Gandara, product manager, Duplo USA Corporation.

Many booklet makers include targeted software that allow operators to easily manage the system, automate workflow, and ensure job storage. Software also enables integration with the printer, and for some systems, multiple print sources. Intelligent feeding provides custom features that support both digital and offset printed media in one system. To serve digital printers handling variable jobs, barcode reading options are also available.

Although page count is sometimes a limiting factor for booklet makers, today many handle higher page capacities to enable a broader variety of applications. They also support more paper types, sheet sizes, and quantities.

“Traditional booklet makers were typically strapped to collation devices and these mechanical wonders produced book-looking documents that didn’t exactly scream creative,” explains James Tressler, VP of sales, C.P. Bourg Inc. “They have come a long way in recent years.”

While magazines, calendars, and brochures are popular applications, uses extend to CD booklets and manuals to newsletters and reports for workshops, seminars, and trade shows.

“A booklet maker is an ideal choice for copy and print shops, in-plants, small offices, and any organization with a need to produce high-quality booklets quickly and efficiently,” observes Carrie Ford, art director, MBM Corporation.

Booklet makers produce professional products with a smooth, lay-flat style. By providing more stitching types and folding variations, booklet makers also expand the output range to include rate sheets, memos, binder inserts, and direct mail pieces, notes Neal Swanson, director, marketing communications, Standard Finishing Systems.

Some offer a square spine solution to expand capacity, allowing booklet makers to compete with other binding systems. These devices offer the square-spined appearance that some buyers require, with the longevity that stitching provides and the efficiency of a booklet maker.

“Some people favor perfect binding because the books have a square spine that can carry print—but even that is possible with some booklet makers,” explains Paul Attew, sales director, Watkiss Automation Ltd.

Booklet Devices and Systems
Here we highlight booklet makers targeting mid- and high-volume digital print environments, including stand-alone devices and systems that work inline with a feeder, a compatible print engine, or both.

C.P. Bourg offers a range of booklet makers, including several with inline bleed trimming and sheet-creasing features, JDF/XML automation, and touchscreen controls. “Considering the printing industry’s massive shift from lithography to inkjet and digital, our solutions allow customers to bring stacks of pre-collated work from any of their printing processes, load it as pre-collated stacks, and finish it into booklets with limited operator intervention,” notes Tressler.

The company also distributes the PowerSquare 224, manufactured by Watkiss.

Its BME Booklet Maker finishes sheets from 4.6×2.75 to 14.5×23.5 inches. Available in several configurations, it utilizes a stitch-fold-trim process. It produces booklets up to 120 pages—30 sheets—at up to 5,000 booklets per hour. The BME Booklet Maker offers automated setup and a color touchscreen interface. Its paper path follows a right-to-left process to work inline with Hewlett-Packard Indigo presses, or a left-to-right path to work inline with Xerox printers.

C.P. Bourg also offers the Bourg Sheet Feeder (BSF), an automated sheet feeder that allows multiple printers or presses to share one finishing device. When configured inline, its dual mode enables shifting or merging job production, including between digital and offset. Another booklet device, the BME-ExPress with BSF, is an inline system designed for the HP Indigo 5500, 5600, and 7000 Series digital presses. It utilizes C.P. Bourg’s automated feeder to ensure greater efficiency in digital on demand and Web to print environments.

Duplo offers entry, mid-, and high-volume devices that convert media from multiple print sources into booklets. Available features include intelligent feeding, two-knife trimming for full-bleed booklets, barcode reading, and specialized cutting and creasing tools. PC-based software allows easy management of the booklet system. “Users can save an unlimited number of jobs within the memory of the PC to later recall and use to change from one job to another within a matter of seconds without any tools or manual intervention required,” adds Gandara.

For medium production runs, options include the 350 Digital Booklet System and the 350C Booklet System, which both produce booklets up to 80 pages. The 350 series converts digital pre-collated printed media into saddle-, side-, and corner-stitched booklets. It processes up to 2,400 sets per hour with an estimated monthly volume of 280,000. It utilizes the DSF-2200 Sheet Feeder and PC-based software to achieve fast, touch-free changeover between jobs. The 350C series converts un-collated digital or offset printed media from multiple sources into saddle-, side-, and corner-stapled booklets. It utilizes a suction-feed collator to feed the paper and produces up to 3,000 sets per hour with an estimated 300,000 monthly volume. Connected collators increase loading capacity and improve efficiency.

Duplo’s 600 Digital Booklet System is one of the company’s high-production options. Like the 350 digital series, it creates saddle-, side-, and corner-stitched booklets and utilizes a sheet feeder for automation. It produces up to 3,200 sets per hour, with an estimated monthly volume of 400,000. The device’s Hohner stitch heads enable saddle stitching up to 120-page booklets, corner stitching up to 60-page booklets, and side stitching up to 100 pages. Another high-volume option is the iSaddle Digital Booklet System, which converts pre-collated digital printed media into saddle-stitched booklets. Its Hohner stitch heads create booklets up to 120 pages in a variety of sizes and formats—including CD-size, calendars, and letter landscape. The software-driven system features a two-tray sheet feeder. It produces up to 3,200 sets per hour, with a monthly volume estimate of 300,000.

MBM’s StitchFold booklet maker utilizes a wire-fed stitching and folding system. “The stitching system replaces costly staple sticks with economical spools of wire, saving money while reducing downtime—no more stopping mid-run to replace staple cartridges,” says Ford. The magnetic stitching heads feature one-step threading for easy setup.

The StitchFold processes 2,300 booklets per hour and up to 65,000 booklets before the wire spools must be replaced. It runs inline with a variety of collators and produces booklets up to 100 pages. A staple leg adjustment feature allows staple lengths to be custom fit to the size of the booklet. An optional trimmer is available. The powered exit conveyor stacks booklets neatly after they exit the booklet device or the trimmer.

Plockmatic’s booklet makers utilize a stapler apparatus. Many are compatible with key print engines. “JDF-based automation is offered on an increasing number of our systems to eliminate manual steps and reduce errors,” notes Scott Russell, VP, inline and mailing business unit, Plockmatic.

The MX-BM50 is Sharp-compatible or configurable for offline manual feeding. It creates 140-page booklets, up to 30,000 per month. Optional features include a face trim module and a book fold module, which creates a square folded edge and printable spine, mimicking the look of a perfect bound book.

The Pro50 and Pro35, which create 200- and 140-page booklets, respectively, are compatible with Xerox presses and offer bleed trim, sheet rotation, and crease modules. Other options include the face trim module and a square folding module. Pro50 and Pro35 produce 30,000 booklets per month.

Plockmatic’s PBM500, PBM350, and 5010e devices are compatible with Ricoh printers and also configurable for offline sheet or manual feeding. They offer software integration and modules are available for bleed trim, sheet rotation, crease, and face trim, as well as a book fold feature. The PBM family produces up to 30,000 booklets per month, with booklets of 200 pages for the 500 model and 140 pages for the 350 model. The 5010e creates up to 20,000 120-page booklets per month.

Standard Finishing Systems’ Horizon SPF/FC-200A/L offers stitching and folding with face trim. A color touch screen handles advanced setup automation, including folder roller gap settings and centralized control. Stepper motors drive stitching heads, end stops, side guides, and other systems to the exact location for the job’s sheet size and finish style. An integrated hand-marry station increases flexibility. The device also features a built-in error eject tray that enables non-stop production at up to 4,500 booklets per hour. Connected with the Standard Horizon HOF-400 High-Speed Sheet Feeder, it offers variable page count production.

The HOF-400 feeder is configurable to run inline with Horizon booklet makers and saddle stitchers. It feeds up to 45,000 8.5×11-inch sheets per hour, and handles sheets up to 14×24 inches. It delivers variable page count production with integrity and verification using a standard mark reader, which easily shifts from top and bottom reading for different applications. It also accommodates cover feeding, accumulating, and manual feeding depending on the job requirements. As an offline feeder, the HOF-400 provides flexible system configurations including sheet insert on, variable page count, bleed trimming, and creasing for digital printing. It also connects with finishing devices for use with both digital and offset output.

The Watkiss PowerSquare 224 booklet maker combines stitching, folding, spine forming, and trimming to produce square-spined books up to 224 pages. “They offer a professional high-quality appearance and books that open flat without damaging the spine. The book can carry print on the spine, giving the appearance of perfect binding with the security of a stitched spine,” explains Attew.

The PowerSquare is configurable offline for hand feeding, nearline with a high-capacity dual-tray sheet feeder, or inline for a variety of leading print engines. Inline, it offers automatic sheet rotation. Options include a high-capacity book stacker for unattended operation during long runs and a two-knife trimmer to produce full-bleed printed booklets in a single pass.

The system creates books that are 10.4 millimeters thick, enabling applications with thicker stock or higher page count. The PowerSquare forms the square spine during the folding process—not after, eliminating the need for pre-creasing. Offering an alternative to perfect or tape binding, it also enables two- and three-up books.

The Future of Booklet Making
Booklets are used in a variety of industries and environments. Booklet makers target these applications with automated tools and software that help ensure return on investment.

By reducing touch points, booklet makers present an efficient and cost-effective binding method for digitally printed output. Today’s systems offer higher page counts, professional finishing, advanced features, and more configuration options to enable efficient booklet production. dps

Sep2015, DPS Magazine

Unrolling an Opportunity

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By Lisa Guerriero

Print providers turn to digital technology as a cost-effective method to produce packaging prototypes, samples, and short runs. The emphasis on personalization drives packaging in the digital direction. As the market grows, more equipment is available to serve digital print providers.

As a segment, packaging is a broad category. It includes folding carton, shrink sleeves, flexible packaging, and labels. For wide format print providers, this means an opportunity to introduce or expand packaging services.

“What we have seen is an explosion in the packaging variants—different versions for different regions or product variants, which is causing more prototypes and more short production runs to be generated,” says Matt McCausland, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc.

Because the output is varied, it is important to select equipment that complements the application. Depending on the type of product needed, roll-based and flatbed options are both available for package printing. Roll-based devices are well suited to flexible packaging, while flatbed equipment targets rigid media like corrugated cardboard.

This article focuses on features afforded by roll-based, wide format printers—defined as more than 24 inches—for the creation of packaging applications. Stay tuned as the next issue of DPS follows up with a focus on flatbed solutions for packaging.

Packaging Potential
Wide format, roll-based devices are ideal for digital print service providers (PSPs) entering the packaging segment as well as converters and offset shops looking to offer digitally printed prototypes and short run packaging.

Many roll-based printers offer metallic and white inks, a wide color gamut, and specialty finishing. These features help meet customer requirements for specific types of packaging applications. The price point of roll-based equipment makes it accessible to many print providers, with devices starting at about $18,000.

The benefits are similar for each type of printing environment—packaging is thriving and it’s cost effective to digitally produce under 2,500 pieces, or smaller sample and prototype runs.

“The market for low-cost, short-run and prototyping packaging work is massive. Many packaging converters still proof on press, incurring high proofing costs for the end user and wasted press time. Leveraging digital equipment is the ideal way to go,” explains Michael Barry, product marketing manager, digital solutions, Fujifilm North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division.

PSPs may have found digital packaging impractical in the past, but recent technological advancements changed that, observes David Hawkes, group product manager, printers, Roland DGA Corporation.
“Updates and modifications are made quickly, making it easy to accommodate requested changes from customers and significantly reduce time to market,” says Hawkes.

Roll-based devices produce a variety of features suited for packaging applications. They enable quick turnaround for folding carton, shrink sleeves and wraps, flexible packaging including pouches, envelopes, and labels. These output types also often require special substrates that these printers are designed to handle.

Retailers and marketers utilize all of these applications to target consumers, make products stand out from the crowd, and ensure a lasting impact for the brand. Digital devices enable quick results, and the ability to produce at a smaller scale that is economically favorable to traditional methods.

“New product launches are significant investments and often face uncertain futures in terms of consumer acceptance and market share. The ability to do rapid prototyping and test marketing and reduce overall time to market is often critical to success,” explains Roy Oomen, Hewlett-Packard (HP) Indigo category product manager.

Shorter runs are also a burgeoning segment for digital, driven by the demand for personalized runs, variable data, versioning, and barcodes.

“Durst foresees consumer packaged goods and retailers—private label or ‘own brands’—to continue their focus on producing differentiated and memorable packaging, promotional point of sale (POS) displays, and in-store messaging,” says Brent Moncrief, VP, sales & marketing, Durst Image Technology US.

White and metallic inks are popular, producing marketable effects required for many packaging applications. The combination of efficiency and specialization make digital equipment appealing to print providers as well as their customers.

“By utilizing the specialty white and silver inks along with extended gamut orange and green inks, wide format printers can be used to quickly mock up packaging prototypes for design review and sign offs,” notes Ken VanHorn, director, marketing and business development, Mimaki USA.

Specialty ink is also important for label making, as are finishing capabilities. “Service providers need to invest in a printer with a white ink option, since many label applications are on clear material that require a white background,” notes Larry D’Amico, VP, digital imaging, Agfa Graphics.

Vendors anticipate digital printing to continue to cultivate the market for packaging and prototypes. “The demand for shorter lead times and lower costs all bode well for digitally printed packaging,” observes Guy Cipresso, VP sales & business development, Novus Imaging. He cites a report from analyst firm InfoTrends, which forecasts the package printing market will from grow $3.2 billion to $7.6 billion from 2013 to 2018.

Production Packaging
Numerous wide format, roll-based printer options are available for the creation of prototypes and short-run packaging.
Agfa offers the Anapurna M3200i, a roll-based UV inkjet printer. It is available with optional white ink and is well suited to short run packaging applications.

“The UV ink provides a lot of latitude to image a variety of media for flexible media applications,” notes D’Amico. Agfa’s printers for packaging—roll-based as well as hybrids—are priced at $100,000 to $750,000, depending on the speed and volume.

Durst has two options for roll-based production, the Rho 312R and 512R. Both offer 12 picoliter drop size, 900 dpi resolution, and up to seven color configurations. The 3.2-meter is a better fit for packaging applications than the five-meter, says Moncrief, because it’s designed for short runs.

“Because of the size and speed of Durst’s roll-based output devices, they are better positioned for short production runs than one-off prototyping. An ideal example would be for sales samples, focus group samples, or small test market evaluation,” he suggests. In addition, an integrated border cutting and textile printing option are available with the Rho 312R.

Epson SureColor S70675, starting at $17,995, is suited to short runs of prototypes, especially with PrecisionCore TFP printheads and UltraChrome GSX solvent inks. The S70675 prints a variety of applications, such as shrink sleeves, folding cartons, and corrugated. McCausland recommends solvent-compatible media from ChromaSpec Systems, an Epson partner.
The S70675 offers optional white and metallic silver inks, and includes Onyx GamaPrint Pro Rip, which allows for printing these colors immediately after acquiring the device. “The ability to print with white and metallic silver inks is crucial for those print providers wishing to provide a substantial short-run packaging prototype solution,” he says. Epson recommends custom profiles for each media and application, but provides multiple color profiles for metallic silver and white. ChromaSpec Systems provides a closed-loop color management solution.
HP offers the 30-inch format HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press, which provides a mid or wide web. The company also provides the HP Indigo WS6800, which offers a 13-inch, narrow web format. Converting can be operated inline or near line with both devices.

The HP Indigo 20000 features a white ink option, an expanded color gamut or spot colors, and handles a variety of films and paper. It supports reverse- and surface-printed applications, and produces output like folding cartons and labels. Run sizes vary from a few units to 20,000 linear feet or more. “Some projects include millions of individual units where each unit is personalized, serialized, carrying a unique loyalty token or code, or marked with a catch phrase that varies across the runs,” adds Oomen.

Mimaki’s offerings for prototypes and short runs include the JV400LX Series latex printer, available in 54- and 64-inch widths. With available orange and green inks, the company says it can produce 93 percent of the Pantone color chart. The white ink enables printing on metallic substrates, such as chip bags or transparent media. The JV400LX “uses eco-friendly inks that help brand managers and design agencies vitalize their packaging and label concepts. It offers the ability to print directly onto a range of economical, non-coated media such as paper and textiles,” explains VanHorn.
Novus Imaging’s Synergia hybrid UV printer is available as roll-based only, board printing only, or hybrid. The 3.2-meter wide device features up to ten ink channels to accommodate white, varnish, and spot colors.

Suitable applications include flexible packaging, plastic packaging, folding cartons, corrugated boxes, metal, and point of purchase retail displays. “Run lengths begin with one offs and can progress to 50, 100, 1,000-plus before going to volume production,” says Cipresso.

Roland offers a hybrid UV-LED printer, the VersaUV LEJ-640, which combines the advantages of hybrid and flatbed printing.

The Softer Side of Packaging
Flexible packing applications are an important segment served by wide format, roll-based devices.

Features like white and metallic ink enable digital printing for prototypes and short runs. These specialty inks print on transparent and metallic packaging, and also provide a wide color gamut.

These features and capabilities enable roll-based devices to provide a practical entry into offering packaging prototypes and short runs. From folding cartons to shrink sleeves, flexible packaging, and labels, the devices enable a foray into digital packaging.

We continue our coverage of wide format packaging in September, with a look at flatbed printers and cutters. dps

Jul2015, DPS Magazine