BINDERY Matters
Miniature Folding Work No Longer Outsourced, Now a Value-Added Service
LEBANON, NH—Whitman Communications no longer has to outsource projects that require very small folds for packaging inserts. The commercial printer installed a new two-station Vijuk-G&K V-14 commercial/miniature folder that will now keep those projects in-house.
“I’m delighted to have added the folder to our equipment selection,” says Steve Whitman, president. “This new piece of equipment has created additional options for the types of folds and papers that our customers can choose from. I was also particularly pleased with the installation and training support we received.”
Trio of Saddlestitchers Big Hit at Olympic
BROADVIEW, IL—Faster makereadies and better average run speeds of three Muller Martini BravoPlus saddlestitchers is helping Olympic Bindery to outproduce its competition. The third BravoPlus was installed recently because the first two had significantly increased productivity, and Dan Mooney, president, wanted to keep that momentum going. It’s the third BravoPlus the 80-employee trade shop has purchased in the past three years.
“We have the ability to run more of a variety of sizes and formats due to the improved feeders and trimmer. Our Muller stitchers each produce double the output of the equipment they replaced,” says Mooney.
BIA Inducts Niesen Into Hall of Fame
SCHAUMBURG, IL—The Binding Industries of America (BIA) honored James Niesen, former executive director of the BIA, as the inaugural inductee into the BIA Hall of Fame. Niesen was inducted during the 2008 BIA Mid Management Conference held here April 28-29.
Under Niesen’s leadership, the BIA expanded its membership worldwide; oversaw the creation of The Binding Edge magazine; expanded the Product of Excellence competition; organized “Bind-athons” throughout the United States, Canada and England; and significantly increased member services and programs.
“Jim [Niesen] has a passion for the binding industry, and has fought very hard for BIA members,” says Bob Windler, president of Diecrafters Inc. “I can’t think of a more fitting occasion to honor him than at the 2008 BIA Mid Management Conference.”
The BIA Hall of Fame award is conferred to an individual who has made a dedicated effort to advance the betterment of the industry, who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, and who has been a strong supporter of the BIA. The award is designed to perpetuate the lifelong careers of people in the trade and loose-leaf industry, recognizing them as a major influence that brought about positive change.
Longtime Polar Shop Adds Another
SAN DIEGO—The RR Donnelley Commercial Press plant here has always run Heidelberg Polar cutters, so the addition of a new Polar 137 XT with Autotrim wasn’t expected to draw much fanfare.
But “the results so far have been great,” says Jim Rosenberg, plant manager, noting that production output is 30 percent higher since the cutter was installed.
The Polar 137 XT cutter features knife speeds up to 45 cpm, automatic waste removal during cutting and the capability to process paper, paperboard, cardboard and plastic.
Bobst’s Openair Plasma Technology
ROSELAND, NJ—The Bobst Group has entered an agreement with German manufacturer Plasmatreat GmbH to be the exclusive representative for Open-air atmospher- ic plasma technology products for applications in the package folding and gluing area.
Openair provides bonding capabilities on hard-to-bond synthetic materials such as plastics and varnished, laminated or metallized paperboard packaging. The technology eliminates the need for varnish cut-outs on glue flaps, thereby eliminating the cost of special varnish plates, as well as milling that slows production and generates waste and dust.
quick cuts
IMC America has been awarded the contract to supply the new Goss Sunday web press at Transcontinental Printing’s Interweb plant in Boucherville, Quebec, Canada, with Recmi automatic horizontal bundle stackers, overhead conveyors, and fully automatic palletizers with empty pallet feeding and full pallet ejection.
A new Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 350 saddlestitcher, Stahlfolder TH 82 4-4-4 pallet-fed folder and an existing Polar 115 X guillotine cutter newly accessorized with an RA-4 jogger are now in operation at Walker Printing in Montgomery, AL.
A new Heidelberg Stahlfolder B-30 folder with special 6-6-4 configuration for complex folds has been acquired by Irvington, NJ-based Stuyvesant Press.
Spi Binding Co., of Darlington, IN, recently celebrated its 25th year in business. The full-service, 40-employee bindery offers Wire-o, plastic coil and comb bindings, as well as eyelet installation, calendar tinning, mylar edge reinforcing, mylar and plain tabs, stitching of oversized or undersized booklets, foil stamping and shrink wrapping.
Coleman’s Printing & Awards, of Knoxville, TN, has purchased a new Standard Horizon StitchLiner 5500 collator, stitcher, trimmer.
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