BINDERY matters
Americans Tour German Facilities
Ludwigsburg, GERMANY—Customers from the U.S. recently visited the Postpress Inforum and various manufacturing sites of Heidelberg Postpress, as well as the Polar Mohr manufacturing location.
The trip started at the Polar facility in Hofheim, where a demonstration of the PACE (Polar Automated Cutting Efficiency) system and Polar’s newly finished Logistics and Parts Center were the focal points.
The group then proceeded to Ludwigsburg, the main manufacturing site for folders and mailer equipment. Stahlfolder demonstrated various extended folder applications, such as mailing and in-line punching/diecutting. A whole section of the Inforum was dedicated to automation in the bindery. A changeover demonstration on a TH 82/4/4/4 folder configuration took only a few minutes between pile changes and adjustments.
Another highlight at the Inforum was the new Eurobind 4000 perfect binder, a flexible, automated binder suitable to run with PUR and standard hotmelt glues.
A visit to the Heidelberg Finishing Moenchengladbach manufacturing facility and Inforum provided a closer look at all folder/gluer and diecutters Heidelberg Finishing has to offer. Demos on all equipment highlighted the various applications and options available. A sightseeing tour of Cologne rounded out the trip.
New Saddlestitcher Praised by Printer
Davenport, IA—Fidlar Printing has installed a Muller Martini Presto saddlestitcher and the company reports the machine has helped enhance business in several ways.
“The Presto reduced setup time, doubled our stitching throughput, increased capacity and added new capability. It also eliminated the off-line folding of covers,” says Bob Barstow, plant manager. “We can now take on more work, provide faster turns and higher quality.”
The new Presto saddlestitcher at Fidlar Printing replaced a 20-year-old Muller Minute Man unit. “Our customers rely on Fidlar to produce their product right and on time,” adds Barstow. “We chose the Presto based on company reputation, reliability of our previous Muller stitcher and service support.”
Trimmers Purchased For Digital Book Output
La Vergne, TN—Lightning Source, a digital on-demand book production provider, has placed an order with Colter & Peterson for five Horauf three-knife trimmers. The five trimmers will be installed during the first half of 2007.
Two of the trimmers will be installed at the main Lightning Source facility in Tennessee, with the other three installed at other Lightning Source locations in the United States and England. This order comes on the heels of four Horauf three-knife trimmers Lightning Source purchased from Colter & Peterson in the past three years.
The Horauf three-knife trimmers were selected by Lightning Source for their ability to integrate into the company’s growing on-demand book manufacturing operation. Lightning Source recently announced the purchase of 15 new Océ VarioStream digital printing presses, and required support equipment to complement them.
Featuring infinitely adjustable clamping and automatic pile ejection, the Horauf trimmers are ideal for the variable production requirements of an on-demand printing workflow.
According to J. Kirby Best, president and CEO of Lightning Source, the company’s satisfaction with previous installations was an important factor in the decision to purchase additional three-knife trimming units from Colter & Peterson.
Quad/Graphics Taps Finishing Veteran
SUSSEX, WI—Quad/Graphics has named Bill Graushar to the position of vice president of finishing operations. In this role, Graushar will direct the company’s vast finishing operations, corporate-wide.
“Bill is widely respected—both within our company and within the printing industry—for his knowledge and commitment to customer satisfaction,” says Joel Quadracci, president and CEO of Quad/Graphics. “He is ideally suited for maintaining our position as a finishing technology leader.”
A 27-year veteran of Quad/Graphics, Graushar most recently served as the company’s manager of finishing research and development. He is the inventor or co-inventor on 23 patents and 14 pending patent applications, including the printer-feeder pocket for ink-jetting parallel to the foot of a book on any inside signature; the double cover, or cover wrap, application for affixing two covers to one book; and the Multi-Mailer for combining (off-line) pre-bound mailpieces into a single mailstream, creating lower per-piece postage rates.
Last fall, Graushar was recognized at the R&E Council’s 2006 Bindery, Finishing and Mailing Operations Manager of the Year for his role in keeping Quad/Graphics and its clients at the forefront of the finishing world.
Automated System A Boost to Bindery
Hillside, IL—Commercial and direct marketing printer Darwill recently increased its postpress efficiency with the addition of a Standard Horizon StitchLiner 5500 automated saddlestitching system with in-line three-knife trimmer. The system supports both conventionally printed offset work from its 40˝ MAN Roland sheetfed presses, and pre-collated output from its Xerox iGen3 digital color press.
