Saddle Stitchers — A Stitch In Time

Traditionally, commercial printers have produced their saddle stitched product using the time-honored method of printing multiple-up on a large-format press, taking the product off-line for perforating and signature folding, then loading the 8-, 16- or 32-page signatures into their saddle gathering machine, where they are gathered and stitched. The final step: three-side trimming, completed in-line or off-line. This approach works fine for longer run lengths, where you can amortize the cost for longer setup time over tens of thousands of units.