BINDERY matters
Bobst Open House Draws Large Crowd
ROSELAND, NJ—Hundreds of converters, trade finishers and printers from across the country attended Bobst Group’s Direction ’08 open house and mini trade fair held over several days in early October. Aside from being able to see several Drupa introductions in action, visitors were also on hand for the world premiere of the Bobst SpeedWave and LocPack systems designed for crash-lock carton production.
SpeedWave eliminates the use of crash-lock hooks in the folding process, thereby reducing setup time and increasing operating speeds. At the delivery end of the folder, LocPack automates and simplifies the process of packing crash-lock cartons into boxes for shipment.
Direction ’08 also featured numerous Bobst Autoplaten diecutters, foil stampers and folder- gluers, with 13 machines running on the floor. New diecutters included the Novacut 106 E, Expertcut 106 LER and Commercial 106 E. Foil stamping machines featured the Expertfoil 104 FR and Steuer Foiljet 104 FBR. And Bobst’s new Masterfold 110 G+S with a Gyrobox unit, Visionfold 110 A-2 CS, Expertfold 110 A-2 CS with AccuBraille and Starfold 170 folder-gluers were also on hand. The mini trade fair included representatives from 33 related industry suppliers.
“Our Direction open house is only held every two years,” notes Chris Raney, vice president, Folding Carton. “So, we’re quite pleased to have so many running machines on the floor and so much that’s brand new to the marketplace.”
Displaying its commitment to sustainability, Bobst also sponsored a contest for graphic design students at nearby Rutgers University. More than 50,000 themed pocket folders featuring the winning student’s design were then diecut, folded and glued during the open house demonstrations, and then donated to Rutgers for free distribution to its students.
Above: One advantage of a mini trade fair over a large trade show is the ability to spend more one-on-one time together.
Left: Bobst open house visitors were able to watch demos of the manufacturer’s new Masterfold 110 G+S folder-gluer.
Stitcher Techs Set Winning Pace
LAS VEGAS—Creel Printing has qualified for the Goss Pacesetter Club, a program recognizing crews that achieve the near-maximum specified net productivity with Goss saddlestitchers. A Creel crew recently finished 206,000 magazines in an 11-hour shift, averaging more than the required 18,000 books per hour with a Pacesetter 1100 system.
“The Pacesetter Club is a well established incentive, and we’re proud to add our name alongside some of the most proficient finishing crews in the industry,” explains Robert Southwood, bindery department manager. “Qualifying highlights the important combination of high-caliber operators and equipment at Creel.”
Pictured here, from the left, are Quy Doan, Carolina Balbuena, Michael Burns and Derrick Smith, who are the newest members in the Goss Pacesetter Club.
DGM to Manufacture New Line Of High-Speed Equipment
RED BANK, NJ—Diversified Graphic Machinery (DGM) has announced its launch into manufacturing high-speed diecutting, hot embossing and foil stamping machinery.
“The move was made to provide customers with a cost-effective, result-oriented solution to enhance productivity and profitability,” explains Michael DeBard, president. “The Majestic Series was developed in the same tradition of quality and innovation found in all of our partners from Japan, Italy and the USA. It’s a cost-competitive investment without compromise.”
The new Majestic Series boasts speeds of up to 7,500 sph and provides 300 tons of impressional strength.
New Laminator Replaces Two Older Ones, Frees Up Operator
FAIRVIEW, NJ—East Coast Finishing has replaced its two previous laminating machines with a Compact 105 THS from UK manufacturer Autobond. The new Autobond thermal laminator is equipped with a Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 feed head and a stacker.
The machine has proved to be so efficient that East Coast Finishing can handle all of its own laminating, which means the company has freed one operator to perform other tasks. The company’s runs range from 2,500 to 40,000, and the ability to change jobs quickly and laminate at up to 200 fpm makes the Compact 105 extremely effective, according to East Coast’s Ron Stagnari.
He says the Compact 105 fits in very well with the other processes that the firm offers, including die stamping, UV coating, cutting, creasing, gluing and hand assembly.
Pile Turner Marks Polar’s 750th Sale
GLENDALE, CA—In 2003, Zarik Megerdichian, owner of 4Over Inc., purchased his first high-speed Polar cutter from Heidelberg. Since then, he invested in nine more Polar cutters. In 2008, after the opening of a new 4Over facility in Dayton, OH, Megerdichian installed six more.
This August, he purchased his first pile turner: a Polar PW-4 ABV. As luck would have it, 4Over’s pile turner purchase was also the 750th PW-4 ABV sold worldwide. In celebration of the milestone sale, 4Over was presented with a “Jubilee Certificate.”
“Our Polar cutters are running around the clock, and that’s one of the main reasons why the decision for this pile turner was made so fast,” Megerdichian says. “Previously, my people had to put a lot of labor into turning the piles.
“We also use the turning and airing functions of the pile turner for drying the sheets before backing up jobs,” he concludes. “With a workload of approximately 30 skids of paper each day, the pile turner saves us a lot of time and manpower.”
Quick Cuts
o Little Rock-AR based Vestcom Solutions recently took delivery of six 42? Rollem deep pile feeders.
o Precision Diecutting, Port Byron, NY, recently added a new Bobst Amazon 105 folder-gluer to its trade finishing operation.
o Apex Die, in San Carlos, CA, installed a Stock A-134R5 sheet-to-sheet mounting system, and production has increased to 1,500 sph.
o A new Polar 115X cutter from Heidelberg was added at San Antonio-based Universal Bookbindery.
o Blauvelt, NY-based Ryan Printing bought a Stahlfolder TH 82 folder.
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