Faster finishing for quick printers - bindery equipment
American Printer

Entry-level bindery equipment gets sophisticated

The quick-print bindery is undergoing a transformation. Formerly an afterthought to the print shop's main business of offset printing and copying, binding and finishing capabilities are assuming greater importance among quick-print customers. In response, printers are investing in equipment that might be seen in a commercial bindery, including perfect binders and bookletmakers, perforating, scoring and slitting machines, and floor-model folders.

"More and more quick printers are moving up to heavier, more precise bindery equipment," observes Paris Walker, charter member of quick-print group Printimage International (Chicago) and retired owner of a Chattanooga, TN, print shop. "An example is the trend away from tabletop folders to console models with right-angle attachments." Walker notes that the demand for higher-precision bindery equipment is in reaction to quick printers attracting longer-run jobs that demand better quality.

Mark Hunt, director of marketing at Standard Duplicating Machines Corp. (Andover, MA), concurs: "There seems to be a trend toward the 'microbindery'--most basic bindery options in a commercial printer's environment are available for the quick-print environment." He adds that developments in quick-print bindery equipment tend to mirror those in the high-end market, with a growing need for convenience, automation and pushbutton operation.