Just-In-Time Finishing — Flying to the Finish

For Copresco clients who feel that maximum economy is paramount over appearance, side stitching may be substituted for saddle stitching, and tape binding for perfect binding, he says.

"These processes can be accomplished both on- and off-line," Johnson confides. "As for mechanical binding, a plethora of smaller punches and binders manufactured by GBC and Renz allow for instant changeover and zero makeready. Running speed is sacrificed with smaller equipment, but in a world where books are produced by the hundreds instead of by the thousands, this is a worthwhile tradeoff, since we still finish ahead because of radically shortened makereadies."