The finishing sector is undergoing rapid change with a new breed of highly automated machines set to provide Australia’s printers with new opportunities, reports Wayne Robinson
So what are the key characteristics of the new generation of finishing machines that are being bought by Australian printers and finishers. Caryl Holland, finishing analyst and Australian Printer’s finishing speciliast at drupa says, “When it comes to conventional finishing equipment, one of the main trends to be seen at drupa was the increasing automation even on the ‘economic’ lower cost models”.According to Holland increasing utilisation by being able to handle a greater variety of products was a main finishing theme at drupa. A good example of combining on-demand digital printing and conventional offset was the demonstration of an automated bindery being given by Horizon at the show. Here, the line consisted of the AFC-566FG combination folder, the StitchLiner 5500 saddle stitcher and the BQ-470 four-clamp adhesive binder with a cycle speed of 1,350 books an hour. Also linked into the system was the CAB 5000, a JDF-ready integrated 15-clamp binding line with production speeds up to 5,200 books an hour. All the equipment was controlled and monitored by the Horizon i2I workflow system which can also share information with MIS and pre-press systems providing start to finish control of all jobs from order entry to completion.
Over at Heidleberg Glenn Plummer says, “We introduced fully automated equipment to our market after drupa 2004 and since then there has been a tremendous up-take of our technology with almost 100 automated Stahlfolders installed, with many being multiple installation of two or more folders. There are also many installations of Polar cutters using Compucut technology to automate cutting programs. The benefits of our automation include greatly increased productivity through reduced make-ready and simplified operation. Some companies have been able to halve their folder numbers without any loss of production. In addition storage and precise repeatability of settings for repeat jobs are allowing jobs to be lifted with minimum loss of production. Further machine settings such as roller gaps always working under optimum settings thereby ensuring highest quality and least amount of waste.
“Our open machine control platform allows further developments in additional functions that can be added by software up-grades. One example is the integration into the Prinect workflow with Post Press Manager referred to above”.
Tom Ralph at Graph Pak says, “We offer high end, user friendly equipment that offers the end user a quality result that requires minimal maintenance and has a good support base, one example being our Autobond Laminators which as standard offer a back to base reading of the PLC through remote diagnostics, this system can be optioned to include a webcam and Skype phone to offer the ultimate security and support”.
For Müller Martini Livio Barbagello says equipment has to be versatile, modular and come with a high degree of automation. He says, “Our customers have to be able to offer whatever the market will require in the future, they want to protect their investment from being obsolete by building on existing equipment and having the lowest amount of people operating the equipment. These are the areas we’re focusing with our latest generation of equipment and it has always been our philosophy. We want to be a partner that can grow with our customers by providing them with solutions that add a value to their bottom line.”
For cost-efficient production of small and medium-sized runs, Müller Martini launched the Presto E90 (9,000 cycles/hour), a new highly automated version of the successful Presto, with the new 1565 three-knife trimmer with tool free set-up, for a neat trim. The new Q stitching heads (Quick Setup) are available for all the saddle stitchers. These have been redeveloped with Müller Martini claiming they boast unbeatably short job changeover times.
The drupa focus of automation was clearly seen at Ferag. Its Australia managing director Thomas Klumpp says, “To automate our finishing and bindery equipment, and especially the Unidrum, has a lot of benefits for our customers. On one hand automated make-ready leads to much faster make-ready times, which gives you a higher efficiency, for jobs with all different run-lengths. On the other hand less manual input and handling involved in the make-ready will increase the quality of the jobs produced because one possible source of mistakes is almost eliminated. The cost per copy will go down and that is what attracted the most interest and is needed in the current market conditions”.
Shaun Thiele at MAN Ferrostaal says, “Our current focus is around giving the market and customers what specifically meets their needs now and into the future. This would include automation and efficiency where required due to work flow activity. Where necessary to more standard needs where the benefit of automation realised such as long run jobs without make ready pressure then we would balance with equipment that caters to this specific need”. One solution sold by MAN Ferrostaal and demonstrated at drupa was from Schneider Senator. It showed how a Senator S-Line 137 H cutter which can trim four sides without operator intervention. Instead, an automatic loading and pile moving system delivers and rotates the stack beneath the cutting blade, while after cutting, the TrimmMaster feature allows the front table to slide away to enable the waste to drop and be carried away. The line also had automatic jogging and restacking equipment.
Some finishing equipment suppliers are now firmly fixing their sights on the digital printing world. An example at drupa was the C P Bourg Book Factory for the Xerox Nuvera and DocuTech high-end printers. Totally automated, the line included a DS5000 stacker, the BPRFx for perforating, rotating and folding the sheets into signatures, and the BBF2005 binder for binding the signatures which can also be three-side trimmed on-line. Bourg also unveiled an on-line version of the BB3002 single-clamp adhesive binder; the BB3502 is available with traditional EVA hot-melt glue or a newly developed PUR glue system.
In fact, an increasing number of binders now have this facility including at the lower end of the market, the main advantages being the high pull strength and the fact that the book can be opened flat without pages becoming detached. It is also more suitable for digitally printed coated or varnished sheets and can be recycled more easily.
Swedish finishing equipment developer Plockmatic showed its increasing range of digital finishing equipment, including the System 1000. This can include from one to three highly versatile VF 1008 Suction towers, plus the BM 2000 Binder, FTR 2000 front edge trimmer, and the SQR SquareFolder. The VF 1008 towers have the ability to operate as either collators or feeders, or as a combination of each function, so that you can assemble booklets from a variety of print sources. Both Bourg and Plockmatic are supplied in Australia by CPI.
Rod Fowler, managing director of Renz Masterbind says the print on demand trend is forcing a bind on demand follow on. He says, “We are experiencing an increased demand for our mid range and low end automated equipment. Digital equipment users want a simple automated solution “that works like a photocopier” as far as practical. They use standard paper sizes, tend to use staff that need to be trained in a short time eg or students on shift.”
According to Bernard Cheong from Cyber the new breed of finishing machines are more user friendly, and as manufacturers are keeping their cost down, it is making the machines more affordable. Cheong says, “Speed is not really important, as most of the runs are getting shorter. Make ready speed and waste are now more important, and are kept to a minimum”. The Shoei folders supplied by Cyber are a case in point, with the company constant focusing on multifunction, miniaturisation, convenience, market-developing effects, and computerisation. At Steinemann Daniel Schlauri says, “We focus very much on automation, efficiency and high availability of the coating and laminating machines. For example, our water based laminating model, the Syrius W, is actually the fastest sheet-to-sheet laminator with the lowest electrical consumption and with the shortest job change-over-time”.
GBC highlighted its commitment to increased productivity in a dramatic way at drupa, setting a world laminating record its newly aptly named Cyclone 8500HS laminator, which whizzed through 100sqm in less than a minute, 51 seconds in fact.
