GBC

BY CHRIS BAUER The whole point of on-demand printing is to get the customer his or her print order in a short amount of time. So you have an army of 100+ ppm printing devices and you can churn out short-run, digital documents like there is no tomorrow. That is all well and good, but customers are looking for finished documents—books that are bound, brochures that are folded and marketing materials that are cut, slit and punched. Out of necessity, digital and on-demand printing has become more and more popular in the commercial printing world. According to CAP Ventures' 2000-2005 U.S. Print On Demand market forecast, print

BY MARK SMITH Rodney Dangerfield has nothing on bindery and finishing operations when it comes to a lack of respect. Or at least that's how things traditionally had been in the industry. Process automation—with the obligatory keyboards, LCD displays and digital readouts—is starting to give the machinery that high-tech aura. At the same time, on-demand production and workflow integration efforts like CIP4 are highlighting the integral role postpress operations play in the overall process. The market segment's profile may never have been higher. It's understandable, though, if independent trade binders still feel a little picked on. Printers have been nibbling away at the

BY CHRIS BAUER With PRINT 01 just around the corner, and thousands of printers ready to storm the show floor in Chicago, laminating equipment suppliers are confidently standing ready to seal a deal and send many show attendees back to their shops with new laminating gear in tow. "Most of our customers are looking for compact, automatic machines with standard equipment (including) feeder, calender, separator and collection table, easy installation and low prices," contends Dr. Cesare Sassi of American Binding Co. "A few are also looking for high-speed machines with savings on working time and on raw material costs. Some customers are asking

When pondering what sets one commercial printer apart from the competition, the answer has to be unique capabilities. The C.J. Krehbiel Co. routinely delivers products and services that other printers cannot provide. For 128 years, the Cincinnati-based company has been partnering with clients to realize their printing goals. From estimate to delivered products, prepress to bindery, C.J. Kreh-biel provides total in-house capabilities, saving customers time and money while producing high-quality products. Complete in-house capabilities allow the 250-employee company to offer flexibility in printing clients' products. Their ability to print in a variety of web formats and signatures, and to produce a mix of

Once part of a merger-induced consolidated firm, Specialties Bindery has broken out of that industry stronghold and is out on its own. Business is now booming and the future looks bright. BY T.J. TEDESCO Specialties Bindery has a history of bucking business fads. The suburban Washington, DC-based company was acquisition prey in 1988, long before merger mania swept through the printing industry. Then, after nine years of being a cog in the Quebecor empire, three former owners bought the company back in mid-1997. Now the company is looking to the future. In 1971, Ron Ridgeway and Bill Schroder founded Specialties Bindery to provide postpress