Finishing - Digital

If you needed additional affirmation concerning the importance of digital printing for the industry, the Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) has proclaimed 2006 as “The Year of Digital Print.” The association is planning a full year of activities, events, publications and educational efforts to encourage printers to explore digital printing, expand their current levels of involvement, or embrace the full potential of digital printing for their companies. For firms that have already begun the trek down the digital path, the need to finish this digitally produced work has become even more important than in the past. According to “The Market for Print Finishing Technologies,”

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor Getting customers to stop by their booth was the No. 1 challenge facing manufacturers, suppliers and distributors during PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 in Chicago. Be it food, beverages, magicians or professional pool players, those exhibiting knew that getting one's attention was as critical as spreading their company's gospel. This is particularly true for those purveyors of binding and finishing equipment, which offer such a vast array of products and services that it's easy for attentions to get divided. The key was in seeing those attentions get conquered. For example, Standard Finishing Systems and Horizon International made a

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor Digital printing, by all accounts, isn't what it was even two years ago. Likewise, any similarity between today's digital printing presses/output devices and short-term future technologies will be purely coincidental. Scratch that last statement, for there's one notable exception: the quality of digital printing already has improved and is certainly on the fast track to mainstream acceptance for any type of job, not just those pigeonholed as "digital friendly" applications. More commercial applications are continuously being realized. The masses have certainly gotten that point and are mobilizing the back end of the operation with equipment geared toward the finish

Show Shines for Manufacturers ORLANDO—With 150 exhibit spaces of machines and services at Orlando Graphics 2005, held in April, enthusiasm for 2006 has already been expressed with 98 percent commitment by this year's exhibitors. "The quality of visitors, not the quantity, is what generates business for us," says Hans Max, president and CEO of MBO America, an exhibitor at the show. "We were extremely satisfied not only with the immediate sales, but the followup sales and leads produced by Orlando Graphics." MBO ran demonstrations allowing visitors to see more than 20 multiple-machine configurations bringing improved production to the pressroom or bindery. There was excitement over MBO's

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor In one of many hilarious episodes from the long-running animated hit television series, "The Simpsons," bartender Moe Szyslak is hammering a crayon up Homer Simpson's nose to restore his less-than-Hawkingesque intelligence level to subpar standards. Don't ask why. During the hammering, viewers can witness Homer's digressing intelligence as the crayon is pushed deeper into his brain. At one point during the hammering, Homer mindlessly blathers, "de-fense, de-fense," but the deeper, more acceptable (and thus dumber) level Moe reaches with the crayon (it's called a "Crayola Oblongata") causes Homer to utter, "Extended warranty? How can I lose?" We'll not debate the merits of parts

By Erik Cagle KISS is the word that best describes the modern day movement in regard to the manufacture of paper cutting systems: Keep It Simple and Safe. Safety may be to cutting what flour is to baking—an essential ingredient—but automation considerations cannot be ignored when weighing the purchase of a standalone cutter or complete system. In fact, with manufacturers adhering to U.S. and international safety guidelines, ease-of-use may spell the difference between products A, B and C. "Automating the backgauge movement on a cutter helps improve efficiency, makeready times, consistency and accuracy of the cut," points out Don Dubuque, marketing manager for Standard

By Erik Cagle How important is turnaround time in an on-demand, digital printing environment? Moreover, how critical is it to accommodate short-run finishing needs without outsourcing? Just ask Tom O'Brien, president of Greenville, NC-based AccuCopy, a digital printing operation with annual sales in the $10 million range. "We are in a fairly remote area, geographically," O'Brien says. "We couldn't afford the time it would take to send jobs out for finishing, given that they would have to travel several hundred miles to make it to the nearest trade bindery." AccuCopy, which is slated to move into a new 70,000-square-foot facility this spring, utilizes three Xerox DocuTech 6155s

by chris bauer With the economy stubbornly refusing to shift back to the economically favorable gear of a few years ago, commercial printers continue to search for ways to make a buck. One opportunity many printers have found is to provide more ancillary services, including expanded finishing options. According to recent data from the Printing Industries of America (PIA) and the Graphic Arts Marketing Information Service (GAMIS), the current competitive business climate has forced many operations to diversify and adopt new products and services to remain profitable. As such, respondents to the PIA/GAMIS survey reported that nearly $1 out of every $7 earned

By Erik Cagle The trade bindery business is doing just fine, thank you, despite whispers of its imminent demise. Superior Bindery is proof positive that there is a viable place for companies that specialize in comprehensive, full-service binding and finishing services. For all the talk of commercial printers looking for ways to add value to their core competencies and becoming one-stop shops (right down through binding and finishing), the Northeast has become a fertile feeding ground for Hingham, MA-based Superior Bindery, owned by Donny Charlebois, the son of a successful Boston-based bindery operator. Just 20 minutes south of Boston, Superior Bindery realized more

BY CHRIS BAUER While some sectors of the graphic arts industry moved to a more automated and computer-dependent process years ago, binding and finishing equipment seemed to lag behind. At Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2002, it was apparent that the bindery is no longer the blue-collar cousin of the pressroom and prepress department. Automation can now be found in just about every corner of the bindery. Today's newest machines incorporate operator touchscreen interfaces, servo motors and automated makereadies. And with industry standards such as JDF and CIP3/CIP4 slowly catching on, an even more sophisticated, computer-integrating finishing department is on the horizon. Software for