Saddle Stitchers/Bookletmakers — The Finish Line

BY CAROLINE MILLER

In the world of saddle stitchers and bookletmakers, machinery is king.

"The emphasis is on the equipment," reports Ron Bowman, vice president of sales and marketing for Rosback.

Ease-of-use, automation, reliability, flexibility, versatility and productivity are just a few of the advances touted by saddle stitcher and bookletmaker manufacturers these days.

Many of these innovations have come as a result of the growing industry trend of putting relatively unskilled employees in the bindery, while still demanding that the products they produce be as perfect as possible, reveals Bowman. Rosback offers the Setmaster Stitch/Fold and Trim bookletmaker, an in-line or off-line unit with dial adjustments, up to four stitching heads, in-line folders and face trimmer.

"Customers are looking for a machine that will do any job their clients bring them, so the [equipment] has to be versatile. They want to turn jobs without delay, so it has to be reliable. They also demand fast and easy job setup," says Donna Hall, advertising manager for MBM Corp. Features such as air feeding, detectors for misfeeds and doubles, and operator LCD control panels are just a few examples of some of the new innovations found on bookletmaking machines.

According to Hall, MBM has found a way to address all of these customer demands with its DocuVac air feed finishing system. The air feed feature allows for faster production rates, as well as the ability to handle all types of paper stocks without marking. The detectors help maintain accuracy and reduce downtime. The LCD control panels address the growing need for operator-friendly equipment.

Printers and trade finishers also demand features such as the stitch/staple method, staple leg length and automatic size adjustments, states Steve Cutler, postpress product manager for A.B.Dick.

Low Maintenance Model

A.B.Dick offers the Watkiss BookMaster featuring a low-impact stapling mechanism, which ensures virtually maintenance-free operation. The main wearing parts are included in the staple cartridge instead of the staple lead and are replaced every 5,000 cycles when the cartridge is changed. Cutler says that more than 1 million cycles can be run before maintenance is needed.

"The BookMaster's staple leg length contains 22 sheets and produces a well-formed staple," he reveals. "The pushbutton, automatic adjustment changes paper sizes faster, more accurately and easier. It costs more, but setup time and operator skill requirements are greatly reduced."

In today's world of lean running shops, ease-of-use is important, stresses Jose Alvarez, marketing coordinator at Duplo USA. "Ease of operation reduces the need for skilled labor, subsequently lowering labor costs. Unskilled workers with minimal training are capable of operating the equipment," he explains.

Duplo's DBM-400 bookletmaker is a fully automatic stitcher. Setup and changeover are accomplished automatically, with no manual adjustments required. It reduces the need for highly skilled operators and also saves valuable equipment training time.

"By building more system intelligence into the equipment, users rely less on an operator's specialized skill set and shops gain staffing flexibility as job demands vary," adds Mark Hunt, marketing director for Standard Finishing.

His company offers the Standard Horizon SPF/FC-20A automated bookletmaking system. The SPF-20A combination stitcher/folder and FC-20A face trimmer feature servo-motors and worm gears for precise and automated setups. Fast changeovers are said to be made using a single, icon-based, touchscreen control console. Hunt notes that this provides for easy training, operation and troubleshooting.

Another vendor that has taken advantage of the explosion in automation is C.P. Bourg, which offers the SBM4 signature bookletmaker. It is a highly automated, modular design comprising a stitching, folding, book press and trimming module. With Bourg's automated saddle stitcher, users have the capability to utilize its cassette thread-loaded stitch heads for easy access, quick changeover and/or Bourg's high-durability Hohner stitcher heads.

Also available is the Graphic Wizard PL-60 bookletmaker, which can staple and fold up to 22 sheets of 20-lb. bond at a rate of up to 1,800 booklets per hour. Stapling and folding can also be done separately by just a flip of a switch, allowing both corner and end stapling.

Saddle stitchers, like bookletmakers, have also seen an explosion in features, such as swing-cut trimmers, feeder adjustments and new control concepts, reveals Felix Stirnimann, division manager, print finishing operations, for Muller Martini.

Down With the Thickness

The Muller Martini Optima saddle stitcher can be used for sizes ranging from small digests, up to double parallels and large tabloids, and can be expanded to 40 feeders to reach speeds of up to 16,000 copies per hour. The company's swing-cut trimmer offers superior trim quality, even with thick products, adds Stirnimann, and features a trim monitor that ensures quality.

"Swing-cut trimmers have been standard in cutters and are widely used in perfect binding, but it is new for saddle stitching," he points out. "Most feeder adjustments, even the feeder timing to the chain, can be made on-the-run from controls on the outside of the feeder. This allows for faster makereadies; settings can be improved in order to gain higher net performance," according to Stirnimann. "A new stitcher control concept is decentralized and offers a touchscreen. The decentralization allows for faster setup and an operator has to do less walking to the main terminal."

Also taking advantage of new advancements in saddle-stitching technology is Heidelberg with its Stitchmaster ST 400 gang-stitcher. Servo-driven mobile feeder units, which can be placed on both sides of the saddle chain, ensure maximum flexibility in production when used in conjunction with integrated, automatic format presetting.

Link to Digital Workflow

The feeder concept and the control are ready-prepared for selected bindings. The SCS 100 communication system enables the Stitchmaster ST 400 to be linked to a digital workflow. A CIP3 interface allows data generated at the impositioning stage of the prepress operations to be loaded into the ST 400's press setting program.

A display with a touchscreen and membrane keypad enables format presettings to be made with ease. It ensures reliable monitoring of all machine functions, from feeding to gathering, to stitching and cutting. Storage of all job data also means that the SCS 100 forms an excellent basis for increasing cost transparency in an end-to-end business workflow.

A further plus of the Stitchmaster ST 400 is the mobile cover folder feeder, which allows for in-line folding. According to Heidelberg, the newly designed stitching machine is particularly sturdy and stitches the product while it is in motion. An innovative saddle chain guide allows lateral thickness control without format limitations.

Heidelberg Web Systems supports the high-end market (units in the 14,000 to 20,000 cph range) with its Pacesetter 870. The 870 can finish products ranging from A5 to A3 in one- or two-up formats at up to 15,500 books per hour. The 1000 is aimed at 8.5x11˝ and A4 magazines, catalogs, periodicals or publications in one-up format

While automation has done much for improving turnaround times, it still does not always prevent downtime. One way to prevent downtime is by adding design redundancy, explain Bob Morton, president of Best Graphics.

The Best Osako 368AS AutoSet saddle stitcher features easy-to-use, PLC touchscreen controls to automatically set stitch head positioning and chain timing in less than 15 seconds. The 12,000-cph Best Osako also provides users the ability to operate the machine manually if the PLC controls fail. "This ensures that there is never any unexpected downtime," says Morton.

As pressroom technologies such as automatic makeready systems find their way into the bindery, it is also important that saddle stitcher manufacturers not lose sight of the initial goal, stresses Dennis Keihm, vice president and general manager for McCain Bindery Systems.

His company is currently offering the McCain S2000 saddle stitcher, an expandable, full-format machine. The S2000 has a rated speed of 13,000 cph. Standard equipment includes movable feeders and an operator control module, which not only provides the operator with important machine function information, but also offers downstream shutoff and sequential startup.

The S2000 can also accommodate value-added features such as online cover folder feeders, inside/outside ink-jetting, paper labeling, card feeders, blow-in cards, tipping applications, loop stitching, calendar punching and products printed two-up.

No Bells and Whistles

"We need to keep the main thing, the main thing," adds Keihm. "Printers aren't just looking for technology or fancy electronic packages. They're looking for ways to minimize costs and increase productivity. The challenge is to make it simple, not add bells and whistles. Stitchers must be durable and versatile. They should offer high speed, value-added features, quality finished products, ease-of-operation and faster makereadies. These are the machine attributes that not only make books, but also make money for their owners."

While there is no debate about the benefits of increased automation, the question still remains: Is there a limit to how much manufacturers can improve the equipment? Standard's Mark Hunt, for one, doesn't think it can continue. "You are seeing increases in speed and automation, but there are some physical limitations that will start to inhibit significant advances using current methods."

For now, increased automation is coming at the right time, stresses MBM's Hall. "In these days of a depressed economy, printers need to be able to compete for all the business, not just a portion of it. Many types of documents are being produced in-house by end users with high-speed duplicating equipment. For this reason, printers must be able to offer higher-end work inexpensively—including bindery services.

"The days of collating, stapling and trimming by hand are gone," she concludes. "Printers must find more cost-efficient and time-saving ways to produce a finished product."