From Press to Bindery, a Unique Approach from IMC America

YORK, PA—IMC America has built a reputation of supplying quality automation products for the pressroom over its twenty five year history. Recently, Ward Walsh, President, and Ric Mayle, Vice President Sales & Marketing, have expanded their line of equipment into the binding and finishing area.

In order to enhance and compliment IMC’s line of semi-automatic and fully automatic stacker bundlers, IMC has recently signed an agreement with Dominique Feuiltault, President of Feuiltault Solutions, Beloeil, Quebec to handle their line of hopper loaders and new gathering machine.

“Our new range of products is extensive and allows customers to come to a single source supplier for pressroom and bindery related automatic, labor saving machines” says Mayle. “A number of these new products incorporate revolutionary changes to the way printers have worked in the past”. Diagnostics of machine functions through an Ethernet connection, in-line feeding of signatures to a raceway with zero reciprocating motion for ultra high speeds, and “vision recognition” cameras to analyze the operation of automatic log depalletization to hopper loaders are just some of the exciting trends in equipment at IMC America.

Fully Automatic Log Making
The Recmi HP1200 automatic horizontal stacker/bundler is designed with operator convenience in mind. No other automatic log maker has complete accessibility to the bundle building table. The access to the strapping area is independent from the stacking area which allows intervention to this part without interrupting the stream. Recmi designs systems with overhead conveyor and numerous options for automatic palletization. Full electronic stacking regulation, auto jam ejection without stream interruption, auto end board feeding, and a telemaintenance Windows PC system for remote diagnostics of the equipment are some important features.

Vision Guided Log Depalletizer
IMC has many successful installations of their CAMotion LDP log depalletizer. This system is mounted on conventional overhead rails already in existence for binding lines with manual bundle clamps. The CAMotion LDP fully automatic “vision guided” log depalletizer is programmed to feed the correct logs from their pallet positions to the proper hopper loaders on a binding line. The operator’s single responsibility is to remove the strap and end boards from the log being fed on the loader.

Depending on the number of pockets on the line, cost justification is simple and fast through substantial labor savings. The installed base verifies the pay back.

Two other unique products recently developed at CAMotion are a Loose Lift Palletizer (LLP) to handle brick piles at high speed and a new Variable Height Bindery Line Palletizer (VHP) to handle carrier route zip sorted products.

Dependable Hopper Loaders
Feuiltault’s ‘Thomas II’ Hopper Loader is a rugged and versatile feeder of logs to the binding line. Electronic pocket height adjustment, Touch Pad control panel, electronic size adjustments and a reversing system for fast unloading are all part of the standard package which comes with the unit.

“New” High Speed Gathering Line
After an extensive research and development program, Feuiltault Solutions proudly announces its new XYZ high speed gathering system. The revolutionary new gatherer pocket uses no reciprocating motion to feed the signature to the raceway. The product is accelerated straight forward by a unique separation and gripper device without misses or doubles.

Customers with older perfect binders running well below their potential can now swap out their present inconsistent feeders for the XYZ without the need to purchase an entire new binder. Low net speeds due to old feeder running with misses and doubles can now be dramatically increased to the true binder/trimmer top speed with the addition of the XYZ Gatherer.

Tests have been conducted with the most difficult stock from 4 pagers to 64 pagers at speed of up to 30,000 copies per hour on stock ranging from bible to SCA. These speeds are far faster then any binding line on the market today.

By coordinating unique products from insightful manufacturers, IMC can offer systems to streamline today’s printing operations. Loose lift palletization and log making with palletization for the pressroom, along with robotic log feeding to our own line of hopper loaders, gathering line and variable height postal bundle palletizers, all round out and impressive line of automation for the company.

“The new product lines at IMC America are a welcome addition to our present equipment” notes Mayle. “We have aligned ourselves with only first class suppliers of quality automation equipment for the graphic arts industry”.

For more information on these products and our complete line of products, email us at sales@imcamerica.com or call us at (717) 845-4807.

IMC AMERICA – The Source for Your Material Handling Needs