Finishing - Conventional

While digital print is the star, finishing is more important than ever. And there will be lots of new stuff on display in Chicago. It would take more than a few pages to highlight all of it, so I'll just pick a few that I think are worth a visit.

At PRINT 13, Rollem International will highlight its Delta diecutter that can kiss-cut, and cut-score products in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. It’s also ideal for boxes, cartons, labels and other types of packaging.

Quick, what's the most widely used form of binding? If you answered mechanical binding, you are correct.

At the Duplo USA Digital Finishing Expo at the Sam Houston Race Park in Houston on Wednesday, July 24, visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest in on demand print finishing, including bookletmaking, slitting/cutting/creasing, folding, UV coating, perfect binding and diecutting.

Druck Pruskil in Gaimersheim, Germany, is reportedly the first printer in the world to install a ST 500 saddlestitcher from Heidelberg. "The Stitchmaster ST 500 makes us very flexible and the output of the Stitchmaster ST 500 is absolutely perfect for our requirements," said General Manager Hannes Arnold.

This year, the largest heatset press of the world—consisting of two 80p manroland Lithoman IV presses—is going into production at Kraft-Schlötels in Wassenberg, Germany. The press will be equipped with postpress machinery from Rima-System and Müller Martini.

Rollem International is hosting a Finishing Technology Showcase scheduled for June 18-19, 2013 in its Anaheim, CA showroom. The event brings together both digital and offset finishing solutions including, Rollem’s slitting, scoring, and perforating systems, integrated with industry partners to create highly efficient system configurations.

Pioneer Printers of North Tonawanda, NY, has added two Kluge 14x22 EHD automatic diecutting and embossing presses to its diecutting fleet. Both presses included Missed Sheet Detector capability and Reversible Register Cam which allows for quick left or right registration.

In a large finishing operation, the sharpening budget can be a major operating cost, so it's the knife life after sharpening that should be watched closely. Not many of us think of knives as being so critical to finishing, but they're essential in your ability to "make the cut."

Standard Finishing Systems partner Hunkeler reported another successful Innovationdays event in Lucerne, Switzerland last month. Integrated total solutions from software to finished product spanned the hall with a special focus on uptime, productivity, and ease-of-use. During the opening day press conference, Hunkeler also announced positive business results for 2012 and further expansion of its Wikon headquarters.