drupa 04 Report Binding & Finishing — Building Better Binderi

And while in-line finishing has been around for some time, speeds are increasing and the latest equipment is more flexible. Moreover, as more and more printing is being done digitally (as much as 10 percent of all printing, by some estimates), the need for appropriate finishing grows in tandem.

Trend V: Shorter Press Runs Means Shorter Bindery Runs. As press runs become shorter and shorter, the demand for quick-turnaround binding increases, as well. At one time, short print runs typically meant toner-based pages stapled in the upper left corner. But today, print customers expect perfect binding and other quality finishing on their short-run work.