Materials Handling in the Bindery — Moving It on Over

While many manufacturers are offering more automated finishing equipment, some users are not ready to implement all of the capabilities just yet.

“When we buy equipment now, we verify that it’s CIP4-compliant, but we utilize that technology on a limited basis in the bindery,” admits Mike McLaughlin, director of production at Challenge Printing in Shakopee, MN. “Our operators, like many others, can punch a program into a cutter or set up a folder pretty quickly. Though a complete digital workflow from order entry through finishing is intriguing, this technology, like any other, needs to be carefully thought out and measured on its return.”