Bookpad Finisher Tackles Shorter Runs

To help meet the shortened lead times of business forms customers seeking faster turnaround on smaller-quantity orders, Granby, Quebec-based MultiForme recently purchased a unique Vijuk Multi-Bookpad System.

"Up to this time, the production process for bookpads involved a great deal of manual labor," says Pierre D'Amour, president of MultiForme, which specializes in the production of continuous and snap-set business forms for the Eastern Canadian market. "After evaluating other machinery, we decided to go with the Vijuk system because it met our production requirements and offered the automation we were looking for," D'Amour explains.

The system comprises three automatic programmable units that integrate stitching, taping, and cutting in line. Up to 30 jobs can be stored for instant recall.

In replacing the one-head stitcher that MultiForme had been using, the Vijuk system eliminates a number of steps by quickly stitching pads four-up, and then cutting them in line. In addition to speeding up the process to meet the faster turnaround requirements of MultiForme's customers, this has translated into measurable savings in terms of overall labor costs, says D'Amour.

The Vijuk machine, which MultiForme typically operates at cycling speeds between 500 and 1,000 linear feet per minute, is capable of stitching in formats of up to 10-up. The MultiStitch unit makes up to 20 side-stitching steps per cycle, up to ¾" thick (20 mm) within a 23½" span. The initial bookpad size can range from a minimum of 4¾x2¾" to a maximum of 167/8x175/8".

The system's guillotine cutter can be programmed to make up to 20 cuts within the 23½" length, cutting in much smaller increments than can generally be achieved with other cutters, says the manufacturer. Further savings in labor is realized since MultiForme previously handled bookpad cutting as a separate operation.

An optional MultiTape feature that wraps tape over the stitched end (using paper, kraft, clothnet, or plasticized tape) represents a key component of the Vijuk system.

D'Amour relates that since the company's founding in 1986, it has continually invested in new equipment in order to address the entire spectrum of the business forms market.

"Today," he states, "this remains one of our biggest strengths, and the major reason we survive.

"Before we bought the Vijuk Multi-Bookpad System, there were always many skids of jobs waiting to be booked," D'Amour continues. "But now we're going through the work faster and getting those skids out to the loading dock for delivery. And because we're moving them through the plant faster, we're that much more competitive on the short-run type of jobs that are most in demand today."