BINDERY matters

Vendors Partner for Innovation Days

WESTAMPTON, NJ—MBO America, in conjunction with more than 20 leading providers of digital printing, on-demand finishing, mailing and gluing solutions, hosted aproximately 300 visitors from all over the country during its annual Innovation Days open house held here early last month.

Equipment on display during the three-day mini-trade show focused on real-world transactional printing and finishing applications, personalization, on-demand book/brochure production and sophisticated mailing solutions. In several instances, exhibitors partnered to showcase complete end-to-end production systems featuring components from multiple vendors. And, unlike larger trade show events, the more intimate open house setting allowed visitors ample time for one-on-one discussions and equipment demonstrations.

“Customers no longer go to suppliers to buy one piece of equipment,” points out Klaus Beckbissinger, executive vice president of MBO America. “They require comprehensive solutions that could include two, three or even more suppliers, who need to seamlessly blend multiple products, technologies and services to meet the needs of their businesses.”

Educational seminars were also held daily on topics such as digital finishing, large-format printing, gluing technologies, on-demand book printing, as well as business-building ideas for marketing variable data printing.

Binder Powers Hardcover Production

ASHLAND, OH—BookMasters Inc. is reaping the benefits of a new Muller Martini Diamant 30 hardcover book manufacturing system. Bookmasters manufactures both black-and-white and color books. “The Diamant 30 will give us better control over our case binding schedules and will service both our offset and digital divisions,” notes Raymond Sevin, president of BookMasters.

BIA Issues Call For Award Entries

PITTSBURGH—The Binding Industries Association, a special interest group of the PIA/GATF, is seeking worldwide entries for its 2008 Product of Excellence (POE) Awards. The competition is judged by a team of professionals from within the binding community. These judges come from around the world and are chosen for their extensive knowledge and years of experience in producing loose-leaf and trade bindery products.

Any pieces produced between May 1, 2007, through April 1, 2008, are eligible. The deadline for submission is May 1, 2008. For more information, visit www.binding-awards.com.

VistaPrint Loads Up On Cutting Systems

LEXINGTON, MA—Online print procurement specialist VistaPrint recently obtained four Polar LabelSystems SC-21 automated label cutting systems for its production facilities in Windsor, Canada (just across the border fom Detroit), and the Netherlands. Vista- Print already operates five SC-21 systems.

The cutting systems speak to VistaPrint’s high-powered production lines. Depending on the size of the product, they cut and band up to 1,500 jobs per hour.

With the systems that were ordered, the material is first cut into strips by a Polar 137 Autotrim M automated cutter. After that, a Polar Autocut 115 cuts the products to the required size. Finally, the stacks are banded by a BM-105 multi-station bander. The strip cutting, feeding of strips to the Autocut, label cutting and the banding are all carried out in a fully automated process. Compared to a conventional installation, this system can process the jobs from the raw sheet to the finished product in one operation.

VistaPrint serves more than 10 million small businesses and consumers with products ranging from business cards and brochures to invitations and thank-you cards. It employs 1,000 people worldwide and operates 18 localized Websites serving more than 120 countries around the world.

Muller Martini Holds Open House

BAD MERGENTHEIM, GERMANY—Muller Martini showcased its latest hardcover book production equipment and workflow solutions, along with its latest innovations and enhancements to existing machines, at an open house here early last month.

With a theme of “Perfection Down to the Last Detail,” Muller Martini rolled out its new ZFM stack loading hopper for the Ventura book sewing machine. Other highlights included the new full-surface press GPM in combination with the RPM spine pressing machine, the VBA endsheet feeder and the Ribbon register ribbon inserting machine. Also presented was the new Diamant 35 bookline. The short-run Diamant 35 delivers 16 percent more output than its predecessor, the Diamant 30.

Quick Cuts

Central Bindery of Phoenix has added a 42˝ Rollem Double Head TR with strike, as well as a 42˝ continuous air feeder.

Corporate Image, Salt Lake City, installed a 45˝ Heidelberg Polar 115 X guillotine cutter to handle large vinyl sheets.

Bobst’s InTouch online system for parts ordering recently passed the $25 million mark in sales. Nearly a third of Bobst customers in North America now use it routinely.

Fort Worth, TX-based Branch Smith Printing has added a Muller Martini BravoPlus T saddlestitcher and a Pantera perfect binder.

Chicago-based Corporate Graphics of America has installed a six-pocket Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 90 saddlestitcher with cover feeder and three-knife trimmer.

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