Saddle Stitchers — A Stitch In Time

"Instead of stitching from the top down, it goes from the inside out," Morton explains. "The glue strip is laid as it comes into the cover feeder, and then it goes into the former. It looks like a perfectly bound book."

It appears that the venerable saddle stitching machine is striving to reinvent itself. Already a bindery darling, a stitcher offers lower costs and quicker turnaround time for books, catalogs, brochures and direct mail, among others. Still, that won't stop printers from demanding—or manufacturers from researching, retooling and redefining—more attractive stitchers.