Stitchers step up

Paper and postage account for about 75% of the total cost of the printed product, forcing drastic changes to the finished product to restrain costs. At the same time, “plain vanilla” books and magazines are becoming a thing of the past.

Publishers and catalogers are in a space-race to differentiate their titles or catalogs from the rest of the pack. Everything from plastic cards to scent strips is expected to be stitched into the book, and even multiple titles can be produced at the same time. To say that the environment is “demanding” for folks running saddlestitchers in the bindery is an understatement.

Big players such as RR Donnelley, Quad/Graphics, Quebecor and Banta are facing heavy pressure from all sides. Run lengths have declined somewhat, but cycle times have also shrunk, forcing them to get work out faster. At the same time, they are facing the challenge of working with the lightest paper stocks they've ever had to deal with.

Thirty-five and 27-lb. offset paper is now common, as well as super-calendered stocks. The lack of weight has forced major redesign of stitcher pockets, which have to feed and open these signatures at speeds from five to eight per second.

Although super-wide web presses can now produce 64-page signatures, 16- and 24-pagers are still the norm for many magazines—due publishers' desire to get in as many special ad inserts as possible. These must be placed at breaks between signatures, so lower page count signatures create more insert opportunities.

An even bigger challenge is gimmicks. “Gimmicks are now an embedded part of our industry, and they're not going away anytime soon,” notes Bill Graushar, R&D manager for finishing at Quad/Graphics. Graushar says that the ability to add special components to a book is critical. Some outstanding examples are cards for store promotions or clubs, scent strips and “e-patches”—a card tipped under a clear plastic patch that protects the card underneath. Unbalanced forms may be used so that these gimmicks can be tipped on to the form, creating further signature-handing difficulties.

The major high-end manufacturers, Muller Martini and Goss International, each has high-speed systems (up to 30,000 books per hour) that minimize machine makeready, making them practical for shorter runs.

Muller Martini has two offerings in the computerized makeready category: the Tempo 22 and the newer Supra saddlestitcher. Tempo 22 was introduced a few years ago and represents the company's first full-time integration of sophisticated inkjet controls. Inkjet is critical on most saddlestitchers (although the use of inkjet for personalizing ads is actually declining). Combining machine and inkjet controls on these lines makes for an easier experience for the operator. The Tempo 22 has a lot more features in its technology arsenal, however.

Mike Weber, plant manager at Fry Communications, Mechanicsburg, PA, says the printer purchased three Tempo 22s because of its need for speedy output to keep pace with the company's fast presses. “The Tempo 22 has a 'windmill' rotary delivery of the signature to the stitcher chain, which replaces the traditional tucker blade,” he notes. “This mechanism is a lot smoother, has never failed and handles lightweight paper a lot better.” The hopper dipper also moves out of the way easily, in case a signature gets jammed.

The Tempo 22 features flat signature feeders (pockets). There is a long-standing debate over the relative benefits of flat pockets versus vertical ones. Flat pockets feed the bottom-most form from a horizontal pile. Vertical pockets load the signatures at an almost vertical angle (spine-side down), and a feed chain advances them to the feed head. Flat pockets work well with a streamfeeder (or hopper-loader), which enables the pocket to maintain a low pile height of signatures that are constantly replenished by the loader.

Fry purchased its Tempos with Muller's flat-pocket Streamfeeders. Weber says that these units let the machine run at 22,000/hr. He adds that the Tempo 22s don't require tools for most of their makereadies and adjustments—and are ready for auto setup using JDF files when that day arrives at Fry. He also cites the 304 Three-Knife Trimmer as being especially quick to set up (using a touch screen), and that its book register system produces a square book with almost 100% consistency.

Muller also introduced the Supra 30,000/hr. saddlestitcher at Drupa 2004. The Supra is at the top of the food chain, so to speak, in its ability to put out longer-run work at record-breaking speeds. Supra is a design departure, and Quad/Graphics was the first U.S. customer.

Not to be outdone, Goss recently began a unique project with Banta Publications at its Maple Grove, MN catalog facility. Glen DeRosset, bindery manager there, said at last month's R&E Bindery Conference that Banta went to Goss about a year ago with a request for a 25,000- to 28,000-per-hour saddlestitcher that could be delivered within six months. Expecting doubts from the Goss engineering staff, the printer was pleasantly surprised when they said, “Yes!”

In an unprecedented cooperation, Goss asked Banta for its bindery technician and operators for a six-week period to hammer out the new design, resulting in the base Goss Pacesetter 1100 stitcher pocket. Ultimately, the new saddlestitcher, dubbed the Pacesetter 2500 SPX-25, was installed and ran its first production job at close to 28,000 catalogs per hour.

Goss announced a major redesign at Print 05 for its Pacesetter stitcher series: Pockets went from being driven from a line shaft to standalone, servo-driven feeders with their own individual Siematic touch-screen panels. The pocket can be taken off line for adjustments or set-up, and then placed back on line in seconds. Pocket adjustments can be made through the touch-screen panel while the Pacesetter is running.

Servo-design also enables pockets to easily feed under data control from the line controller. This facilitates “co-binding” in which various demographic versions of the magazine can be assembled on the same stitcher by selectively feeding signatures for each book. In co-binding, even different publications can be assembled on a single saddlestitcher, resulting in substantial postal savings. (See related column on p.40.)

Most mid-sized printers are not looking for 20,000/hr. plus performance, but a versatile saddlestitching system at the right price. Muller Martini has this market well covered with its Prima and Bravo-T models. However, there are newcomers.

Vijuk Equipment has been importing the Purlux Shanghai 321-T saddlestitcher and enjoying great sales success. The 321-T runs at 10,000/hr. with horizontal (flat) pockets that can be quickly switched from 1:1 to 1:2 feed ratio with a simple clutch. Both cards and inserts can be fed from the horizontal pockets without having to rely on special feeders.

The machine has missing signature photocells, double-sheet calipers, oblique sheet monitoring and over-under calipers. Books rejected for any reason will automatically dump into a reject bin. The 321-T will support up to 10 pockets. Its cover feeder has multiple air-blast nozzles to separate UV-coated covers, and scoring and folding of the cover can be adjusted as the machine runs. The 321-T's three-knife trimmer can accommodate a fourth and fifth knife center-cut assembly for two-up book production. The trimmer safety hood rises vertically to allow three-sided access. The 321-T also features top-of-the-line Siemens controls and a Mitsubishi PLC.

Heidelberg's ST 450 saddlestitcher is a well-designed machine that takes some new tacks in giving printers flexibility without sacrificing throughput, topping out at a respectable 14,000 books per hour. The ST 450 does not use “fixed” signature feeders (or pockets). Instead, each pocket is its own separate feeding system and can be placed on the gathering chain on either side as needed. The ST 450 has a wide media range, from 3¼x 5´´ up to 12½x18¾´´. Signature separation suckers have their own vacuum source, so that if one fails, feeding and opening will not be compromised.

A new stitching head unit permits small- format work to be stapled twice. The stitching heads have also been designed to be very low-wear. One of the stitcher's biggest features is that it is fully JDF ready. Prepress set-up data is accepted by the system, and once product dimensions are accepted, a lot of good things happen quickly. The gathering chain and feeders are automatically synchronized for signature feeding. The stitcher, trimmer infeed, trimmer and compensating stacker also travel to the correct positions automatically. The wire feed length is also automatically adjusted for product thickness.

Best Graphics Osako Tener series saddlestitcher has also done well in the mid-range market. The Japanese-built machine incorporates many very useful goodies into a well-priced and performing system. Individual signature scanners (both opto and camera-based) can verify that every signature has dropped onto the chain correctly.

The Tener has wire monitor that verifies the absence of a stitch, a central lubrication system, a wireless remote control that can stop and start the machine, a digital caliper (as opposed to a mechanical design), a misfeed control with downstream inhibit.

The ORF-836 rotary pocket can be easily tilted to the appropriate angle to allow a better drop for difficult signatures at higher speeds. Each feeder also has its own pump for better air pressure and vacuum. The ORF-836 incorporates high- and low-folio grippers. The Osako OCS-203T Cross Stacker permits the entire system to run at the highest speeds.

With digital continuous-web printers now running at speeds up to 500 fpm, stitching systems are now being designed for this market. Systems have been introduced that can be integrated directly into a digital web printer from Océ, Xerox, Nipson, Delphax or Kodak Versamark.

The MBO DIGI Finisher TT 530 uses a combination MBO folder with a Hohner stitcher to feed and fold flat, digitally printed sheets into four- or eight-page signatures. These are then plow-folded and placed onto the saddle of the Hohner unit. This section of the machine has a number of vertical pockets so that offset-printed material can be combined with digital. Barcode scanners control sheet and signature integrity.

Standard Horizon's StitchLiner 5500 is another successful entry into this market. It can run from a series of tower collators, or from Standard's HOF (high-output feeder), which can feed flat sheets at a rate of up to 27,000 sheets per hour. The 5500 has a full three-knife trimmer, and verifies booklet assembly by barcode. It can also run two-up smaller booklets with an optional center-knife assemble for the trimmer.

Lastly, the IBIS Smart-binder is the only digital saddlestitcher designed to actually run inline with a digital web. The Smart-binder accepts sheets as they are cut on the exit end of a continuous printer, and folds and scores each sheet individually before collecting them prior to stitching.

A separate cover feeder takes care of cover feeding. The Smart-binder has a number of other tricks up its sleeve, including the ability to cold-glue books instead of stitching and to transfer glued signatures into an integrated C.P. Bourg BB3002 for hot-melt binding. The Smart-binder's maximum rated output depends on the web input speed, but it can be as high as 6,000 books per hour.

Most but not all stitchers will be shown at Graph Expo. On Demand Machinery is not exhibiting at the show, but its inline Super Sewer is worthy of mention. Designed for on-demand publications (6×8´´ minimum; 11×14´´ maximum) such as photo books, yearbooks and journals up to ½´´ in thickness, the Super Sewer features patented Back Tack Technology that ensures a strong side-sew via reverse lock-stitches on the book block's head and foot. The machine can sew up to 600 books per hour.

Perma-Bound, a division of Hertzberg-New Method Inc. in Jacksonville, IL, is using the ODM Super Sewer to pre-bind educational/juvenile books for schools and libraries.

www. mullermartini.com, gossinternational.com, vijukequip.com, us.heidelberg.com, bestgraphics.net, mboamerica.com, sdmc.com, ibis-bindery.com and odmachinery.com