Bindery - Finishing

PrintXcel, Montrose, Ala., recently updated its RDM image qualifying software to ensure compliance with requirements of the Canadian Payments Association. The updated software has been installed in all locations and will allow PrintXcel’s plants to design and test check documents for image compliance, so that the documents will meet the Canadian standards for imageable micr-encoded checks. RDM is the leading manufacturer of testing software and equipment for checks produced throughout North America. Said Deanna Day, senior brand manager, “PrintXcel’s ability to verify Canadian image compliance is a benefit to distributors and end-users who have questions about this technology. And, we will again provide free

Headquartered in Hauppauge, N.Y., Muller Martini’s newly developed inline laminating and matrix waste removal stations for self-adhesive labels make its Alprinta-V web offset press even more versatile. During production, a UV-curable laminating glue is applied via the flexo unit to the substrate. Then, in the laminating station, a film is dispensed onto the web that runs through a UV lamp where the glue is cured. Muller Martini’s new Alprinta-V laminating station is ideal for: • Unwind units for rolls with diameters of up to 311⁄2" • Machine speeds of up to 1,200 fpm, depending on substrates • Film widths up to 291⁄8"

Technology has been both boon and burden to the printing industry. It has streamlined manufacturing and workflow, and has made many arduous and traditional press duties parts of the past. But, it has also aided quick printers in continuing to slip in and swipe short-run jobs, as more printing shops are closed, bought or sold every year. Clearly, we exist in a different, online world—sending some paper-based products the way of the dinosaur. Regardless, there are still a number of ways to increase profits. For instance, post-press services offer ways to secure client loyalty and increase efficiency. From folding to binding and gluing

Headquartered in Edison, N.J., Prodigital Printing—a trade-only digital printer, lettershop and fulfillment center—has added a Hamada DCPS (digital color printing system) to its growing equipment list. The state-of-the-art Hamada DCPS is a four-color offset press with a digital front end. A near-line plate-maker produces plates mounted on the press automatically. The system also registers the plates, and uses information from the electronic file to make initial color settings. For more information, visit www.prodigitalprinting.com.

our infatuation with all things electronic will never diminish our true love for books. They provide us with a full sensory experience, immediate gratification and sometimes, the inclination to cherish. In comparison, CDs and Web browsers, as Ms. Ella Fitzgerald would opine, just “ain’t got that swing.” In fact, a 2005 survey by Phoenix-based Publications Management indicated that custom publications grew for the fourth straight year, increasing by 18.7 percent. The survey noted companies are using custom publications as direct-response marketing tools to communicate to a variety of external audiences, reaching out beyond employees and current customers. Not only are page counts climbing, but

Distributors new to book and booklet sales can get the full story from Wichita, Kansas-based ADR Book Print & Multimedia. The company’s Five Minute Guide to Selling Books and Manuals is an easy-to-use tool to help make the selling process efficient and effective. Convenient 3x5" laminated cards offer tips on target markets, specific departments to contact, types of publications frequently requested and key questions to ask on sales calls. In addition, ADR Book Print & Multimedia provides a guide distributors can offer to end-users to assist them in successfully preparing their book and booklet projects. The 12-page guide covers topics such as page sizes, print margins,

Eerbeek, Holland-based Drent Goebel demonstrated its Vision offset press in Virginia Beach, Va., during an open house at the Christian Broadcasting Network’s corporate support building, June 5 to 7. The first servo-driven press in the world, the Vision is an eight-color litho press with a 201⁄2" web width, and it’s equipped with a sheeter and UV curing. It allows for short make-ready times, and combines shaftless technology with near limitless inline options. The Vision press can be used for a wide variety of products—including commercial printing, direct mail, labels, pharmaceutical inserts and various flexible packaging applications. In addition, the modular design makes virtually

As digital book production continues to evolve, so does the need for equipment with greater productivity and flexibility. Muller Martini, Hauppauge, N.Y., and Océ, with North American headquarters in Trumbull, Conn., teamed up at this year’s On Demand Conference & Exposition, held from April 17 to 19 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, to demonstrate the benefits of inline digital book manufacturing. Muller Martini featured the next generation of its SigmaLine OnDemand technology, and Océ highlighted its powerful new VarioStream continuous feed printing system. The two companies demonstrated a complete inline book printing and finishing system configured to optimize versatility in two distinct

It has been a year since Hazelwood, Missouri-based Bernadette Business Forms was purchased by local investor J. Paul Behrens, and became Bernadette Print Group. Under his direction, the company has significantly upgraded its facility and equipment. To provide the latest in four-color flexo processes, Bernadette Print Group purchased a new Mark Andy 13" 220 Series flexo press, as well as an Anderson Vreeland digital 20-watt laser plate engraver. On the offset side, the company has upgraded three additional presses to eight-color capacity, for a total of six eight-color presses now in operation. Each press has been equipped with GMI cip three-color controls, and CCI

In response to ever-increasing turnaround times, direct mail printer Freedom Graphic Systems, Milton, Wis., has installed 15 BBH 400 inserters from Böwe Bell + Howell throughout its facilities. The heavy-duty BBH 400 inserters can process even the most complex direct mail and lettershop products efficiently and effectively at speeds up to 20,000 cycles per hour. “We were looking for equipment with a good productivity-to-labor ratio and ease of operation,” said Bill Sloyan, vice president of special projects. With the new inserters in place, Sloyan reported that productivity has improved while labor costs are being reduced. Freedom realized initial savings of approximately 35 percent in