Trimming

365 Days of Incredible – The Fedrigoni Annual Calendar Amazes All Year Long

June 11, 2021

By Brittany Willes, writer, PostPress

Every year, the release of the Fedrigoni 365 Calendar is eagerly awaited by designers and creatives. When it came time to create the 2021 edition, Fedrigoni UK – in collaboration with design agency TM, data management company Ricoh and Meccanotecnica Book Finishing Solutions – assembled to create a piece that would “explore digital printing capabilities, variable data technology and state-of-the-art finishing at their limits,” said Stefano Formentini, marketing manager for Meccanotecnica. The result was something truly special.

To start, designers were asked to contribute a design for a randomly assigned date of the year. Using Ricoh’s data management solution, “Each book then was composed algorithmically, with designs pulled at random and assigned to a date,” Formentini explained. Every book comprises its own combination and sequence of designs, with a unique cover produced from a random placement of two-color gradients and wrapped in a translucent paper with the names of the designers featured in that version in white toner and the remaining set in a light tint. The result was 4,000 entirely unique calendars.

“Digital printing has enabled print-on-demand and variable-data-printing to generate a new range of books, as well as allowed opportunities unthinkable only a few years ago,” said Formentini. The Fedrigoni 2021 calendar made full use of these new opportunities.

“This project shows the tremendous potential of digital print finishing,” affirmed Manrico Caglioni, president of Book Automation – the US branch of the Meccanotecnica Group. “If you can think it, you can do it, and it can be a testament to your creativity far into the future.”

To create the calendar, a combination of three diverse paper stocks was selected from the Fedrigoni digital range of papers. The cover was done with Fedrigoni Splendorlux Premium White stock, the jacket with Fedrigoni Golden Star K Extra White and the inner pages with Fedrigoni Freelife Vellum Premium White stock.

The calendar was digitally printed on a five-color Ricoh Pro™ C7200x digital color sheetfed system, chosen for its ability to print with neon, white, clear and invisible red toners. “For Fedrigoni 365, its ability to dramatize print with neon pink and yellow, as well as white, was exploited to full effect,” Formentini said.

When it came to the binding, Fedrigoni UK called on Meccanotecnica to produce cost-effective, high-quality books. The calendars were bound using Meccanotecnica’s UNIVERSE^TM automatic book folding and sewing machine.

Meccanotecnica’s INLINE back gluer was used for the book block – both gauze and cover – to make the spine less rigid, thereby improving the lay-flat property of the paperback book. The binding for the calendar was accomplished by nipping the spine of the sewn book blocks, then gluing the back and sides before applying the gauze and cover.

To complete the finishing process, the 2021 calendar was trimmed using Meccanotecnica’s automatic three-knife trimmer.

Given the final product consisted of 4,000 unique calendars, it comes as little surprise the production process experienced some challenges along the way. According to Formentini, “The main challenge of this project was the management of the extreme level of personalization of the books. Each calendar was bespoke and unique, dynamically created by a Ricoh end-to-end workflow.”

Meccanotecnica had to consider this dynamic when it came to the binding process. As a result, it had to monitor every single production step. “A reliable control system was essential to produce the Fedrigoni 365 Calendars,” Formentini said.

To that end, during the book sewing process, a GigaLynx™ camera system was used to verify sequence integrity by reading barcodes or images, avoiding errors well before any given section was sewn – allowing the saving of the books.

Furthermore, “In the back gluer,” Formentini continued, “every book block had to be matched with its unique cover. During this, the GigaLynx^TM control cameras – positioned at the in-feed of the machine and at the cover feeder – played an essential role.”

When the 4,000 calendars were complete, each participating creative received a copy, which included their design and their name personalized on the back cover – an impressive level of personalization. As Formentini noted, a number of the calendars can be purchased online via Counter-Print, with profits donated to charity. “The 2021 edition supports Teenage Cancer Trust,” he said. To date, more than 750 copies have been sold.

In the end, pushing the limits of digital printing certainly paid off for all involved in the project. “Due to the pandemic, the usual launch event was unable to take place,” Formentini stated. “However, the online reception was absolutely fantastic. Designers’ social media were flooded with neon gradients, and we received many heartfelt words of appreciation from contributors.”

Choosing the Right Three-Knife Trimmer

September 2, 2020

Britt Cary, vice president of marketing and sales, The Challenge Machinery Company

Book manufacturers understand the importance of a good final trim to a book. Although few customers will ever take notice or fully appreciate the clean, straight, square cut of the book in their hand, book manufacturers know that a quality trim of the book is critical. A trim cut that is not square, or straight or doesn’t match the print design of the cover becomes quickly noticeable by the consumer, and there is nothing more costly than to scrap a book at the final trimming process when all of the costs of printing and binding have been spent. Selection of the right three-knife trimmer for individual businesses and their unique workflows is more important than many anticipate. So, how to know which one to choose?

The first and most obvious consideration is the average run volume of the titles being trimmed. If a bindery is handling more of the traditional publication run sizes, ranging from a thousand to tens of thousands of copies, it will need to find a trimmer that is built to handle that amount of volume. These machines typically require manual set-ups for the knife locations and clamping pad sizes, but with the volumes they are made to handle, the time it takes to set up the trimmer is not as important as making sure the set-up is done correctly and the trimmer consistently will perform to those settings. Consider only brands that are well known in the marketplace and have a proven history in manufacturing quality three-knife trimmers.

With the revolution of digital print and its capacity to economically produce smaller run sizes, the digital book manufacturing process demands more diverse capabilities from the three-knife trimmer. With the run sizes being much smaller – such as 100, 20 or even one – the demand for automation becomes critical without jeopardizing the quality of the trim. With digital book manufacturing systems, production speed capability from the trimmer is less important because of the slower performance speeds at which the digital print engines operate. In most cases, the trimmer will be waiting for the next book to be presented to it. This increases the importance of other features that should be considered in choosing the book trimmer.

Automation – the more the better

If run size counts are very small, every operator intervention that is required to change parameters for the next job is going to quickly become a bottleneck in the workflow. Areas to take note of in this topic of automation include the following:

Required specifications for set-up: To successfully handle and trim a book block, the three-knife trimmers generally need to know several specifications of the job. These specifications can include the starting book block dimensions (length x width), finished book dimensions (length x width), book block height (thickness) and the location of the required cuts in reference to the edges of the starting book block. The more dimensions that need to be inputted to set up the machine, the longer the process will take. Some book trimmers automatically can detect many of these required specifications as the book enters the machine so that only three dimensions need to be inputted to the trimmer from the operator or from stored memory. This makes it simpler and faster for the machine operator to program for each job.

Book Clamp Pads: In an effort to ensure a book lays flat before it is cut, a center book pad is a device in three-knife trimmers that helps prepare the book before cutting, especially for larger books. Since book trimmers have a range of books sizes that they can trim (compare those specs as well), some manufacturers will recommend different-sized center pads to be manually changed when the size change is significant between jobs. If the clamp pads need to be changed out between jobs, that is downtime that will hold up the trimmer. The smaller the quantity of the run, the more often the trimmer will be down. Look for a trimmer that does not require changes of the clamp pads.

Barcode reading capability: Choose a trimmer that has a barcode reading system either included with the standard machine or as an option at additional cost. Since the job requirements for cutting books are uniform in the number of specifications needed, it is easier to take advantage of the benefits that a barcode reading system can offer. If a trimmer only requires a few dimensions to set up for a job, the full job requirement can be included in a simple barcode and printed to the cover of the book. As the book enters the machine, the barcode can be read, sending the needed inputs to the trimmer to set itself up. Such automation will be a feature businesses will want to take advantage of at some point, even if it is not a goal with the initial acquisition.

Flexibility

Potentially consider the flexibility of the three-knife trimmer in regard to how it fits into book production flow. While researching the costs associated with three-knife trimmers, consider how the investment will be able to adapt to changes that may occur to the shop. For example, when first deciding to buy a machine, investors may want the trimmer as a standalone system. They might plan to use two or three different binders to feed books to the trimmer or they also may have a desire to let the glue cure overnight in newly made books before they are cut. In either case, a book feeding system with a stacking delivery on the back of the machine will let the trimmer run unmanned after a pile of books is loaded by the operator.

However, maybe next year the investors decide they want the trimmer inline with a binder so the books come out of the system already trimmed. Or they may decide they want to feed the books directly from one binder but manually introduce books from other sources as well. Select a system that can adapt to the needs in the shop as they change. Try to avoid having to buy an altogether different trimmer in three or five years. Select a trimmer that can adapt to the business’ needs instead of the business adapting to it.

Other trimmers

There are some quality book trimmers available in the market that are not technically three-knife trimmers because they utilize only one knife to cut the books. These three-sided book trimmers rotate the book block for each cut. Since these trimmers need to cycle three times for every book block presented to them, their capacity volumes are about 50% or less than the true three-knife trimmers. Having said that, the quality of their cut performance is very good, and they are, for the most part, capable of keeping up with the production volumes that are typically presented by one floor-model single-pocket perfect binder. The considerations of automation, barcode capability and flexibility previously mentioned will apply to selecting one of these single-knife machines as well.

Britt Cary is the vice president of marketing and sales for The Challenge Machinery Company – a manufacturing company that has supplied cutting and print finishing equipment to the printing industry for more than 130 years. His experience includes multiple senior management positions in manufacturing, and he has served multiple roles in his 24-year tenure with Challenge. For more information, contact Cary at bcary@challengemachinery.com or visit www.challengemachinery.com.

Book Trimming in the On Demand Age

May 20, 2013

The Binding Edge

Book trimmers from Challenge Machinery feature modular pieces to adapt to a variety of configuration needs.

Historically, book trimmers were designed for long-run production environments; however, today’s on demand marketplace is dominated by short-run productions, which carry distinctly different production requirements. Trimming technology needs to be able to reduce or eliminate makereadies so that book size changes can occur on the fly, with little or no human intervention, said Britt Cary, director of marketing/sales for The Challenge Machinery Company in Norton Shores, MI.

In today’s on demand environment, the efficiency and versatility of automated trimming technology is much more important to on demand book printers than fast production speeds. Cary offered his opinions on the latest technology in book trimming and a glimpse into what the future holds in this arena.

How has book trimming equipment evolved over the years?

The old book publishing business model focused mainly on titles for which publishers expected to sell thousands – if not millions – of copies, and typical trimming run lengths were correspondingly large. High-volume three-knife trimmers meant that manual set-up was required every time you changed the trimmer to a new book size position, which could take hours. This method of production was acceptable at that time because typical run lengths were so long and the need for size changes were relatively infrequent.

As on demand, digital, variable data and similar print models began to flourish, the need has shifted for quick makereadies and size change technologies to accommodate the much shorter runs – down to quantities of one.

How has the popularity of digital print impacted book trimming needs?

Primarily, digital printing has driven the need for book trimming technology to evolve. Digital printing allows book printers to cost-effectively print titles in very low volumes. This has created a corresponding need for trimming equipment that can keep up with the ultra-short-run, quick-turnaround demands of todays digital markets. Therefore, trimming equipment has evolved to offer automated technology that creates makereadies very quickly with little or no need for operator intervention. This feature helps digital printers efficiently produce ultra-short runs to meet the quick-turnaround demands of their customer base.

Automated workflows are critical to increased productivity in the bindery. How has book trimming technology kept up?

Book trimmers now are available with full automation features. Using barcode reading technologies, certain trimmers now can read the trimming specifications from a barcode on the book block and can completely set up the job without direct operator intervention. This technology is ideal for digital printers that produce dozens – if not hundreds – of different book jobs each day and need to reduce makeready and book size change times down to the absolute minimums.

What advantages do modular solutions offer?

Trimming equipment must adapt in response to changing on demand book printing technology, as well as adapt to the changing needs of individual publishers. Book trimmers have adapted by providing inline, nearline and offline configurations. Each configuration features modular pieces, which create a perfect fit for current trimming needs and will adapt to future needs. With this modularity, customers purchase the configuration that best fits their current production demands and then they have the ability to adapt to future needs without purchasing a whole new system. We recognize that our customers trimming needs are constantly changing, and our versatile CMT series is designed to accommodate this reality. Being able to adapt through modularity is a key competitive benefit that Challenge provides.

What needs does Challenge anticipate in the future for book trimming?

We anticipate that advances in book trimming will continue to be driven by the growing on demand market. This means that book trimmers will become faster, smaller – in terms of both size and footprint – and more affordable. We also anticipate that barcode or similar automation technology will become more widely adopted as on demand printers realize the significant benefits for their production workflows.

New Technologies in Cutting and Trimming

August 21, 2010

by: Amy Bauer

Delivering high-quality results and offering the best value to customers in print project finishing are the goals underlying a range of innovations for printers and binders. These new cutting and trimming technologies are streamlining processes and reducing labor costs. The fewer times an operator must intervene during a job, the greater the production speeds and the lower the chance for errors. Here are some of the industry’s latest developments.

Hands-Free Automation

Smaller, on demand book orders require a nimble staff and machinery to fulfill the requests quickly and cost-effectively. The Challenge Machinery Company’s CMT series of on demand book trimmers offers fully automated book-of-one production trimming with the new Txe and TxL control systems. Barcodes printed on the precut book blocks send the job dimensions to the trimmer for complete automated set-up. This exclusive feature requires zero human intervention between books, no matter their size differences.

Standard Finishing Systems has designed its new Standard Horizon HT-80 automated three-knife trimmer to trim books of varying thicknesses, one after another, for on demand book production. The HT-80 can trim books off-line or operate in-line with several Standard Horizon perfect binders. It features the “intelligent automation” built into all Horizon post-press products. An intuitive, icon-based, 10.4″ color touch screen assists with automated setup, including the infeed, jogging, and knives. Up to 200 custom jobs can be stored in memory, and the HT-80 is compatible with Horizon’s pXnet bindery management system.

Push-button programming also is a feature of the Baumcut 31.5 and Baumcut 26.4 programmable cutters, from Baumfolder Corporation, which offer ease of operation and minimal maintenance. The heavy-duty, fully hydraulic cutters can store up to 99 programs with 6,464 cut steps, with a large central liquid crystal display indicating the data in the selected language. Safety features include infrared safety beams; two-hand, timed cut release; and covered rear table. A built-in table light and optical cutting line ensure precision.

Muller Martini’s Orbit three-knife trimmer boasts complete changeovers within three minutes with full automation and can process a wide range of book sizes without special kits. SmartPress technology provides constant, gentle pressure on the materials, allowing more time for evacuation of air for precise trimming. Individual servo control eliminates makeready on many functions and improves performance by separating drive line. The Orbit’s controlled transport system includes special belts and servo motors that lift the books and move them into position. Precise control of knives to stick contact reduces grinding costs.

Sizing up the Job

Accommodating jobs of all sizes can be a challenge, especially when a shop’s square footage is limited. New technology is addressing the varied requirements of wide-ranging print requests. Perfecta USA has introduced the 92 AWR (36″) paper cutter with automatic trim removal. The 92 AWR is tailored for smaller shops that have a large amount of printed jobs with gutters but do not have the available floor space that the larger machines require. The 92 AWR joins the list of automatic trim removal cutters from 45 to 88 inches available from Perfecta.

For the past couple of years, an 18 ½” paper cutter has been the standard for copy centers that work with 12×18″ paper stocks. But more manufacturers now are offering print engines that have a 13×19″ capability, which has created new challenges that 18 ½” cutters can’t handle, notes Matt Roth, vice president of Spiral Binding Co. “Spiral Binding Co. does not manufacture cutters, but we only sell the ‘best -in-class’,” Roth says, “including products from Challenge Machinery, Duplo USA, and MBM Corporation.”

Flexible Features

New innovations are improving the way paper cutters accommodate jobs. Heidelberg has introduced a new generation of POLAR high-performance cutters and cutter models in widths from 26″ to 69″. These machines offer an array of new options for cutting and paper handling, including swivel/tilt back gauge; down-holder in front of the knife to prevent mixing and shingling of multiple-ups; down-holder at back gauge, which holds down curly sheets; and Fix-o-Mat for correct alignment of irregular lifts. Autotrim provides automatic waste removal to increase productivity, and its air knife handles plastic sheets or static-loaded materials, while the AntiStick Knife prevents residual material from sticking.

Duplo USA Corporation also has addressed varied needs with its 800PA Hydraulic Cutter, which is designed to offer precision cutting for documents on a wide variety of paper stocks and weights. Its special low-friction surface aluminum alloy cutting bed requires no polish or waxing and won’t rust over the life of the cutter. It comes standard with an air-cushion table, allowing heavy paper stacks to be moved easily across the cutting bed. A color touch-screen control panel allows for ease of programming. Safety features include a large working area with side table, full light beam curtain, and dual-palm-cut buttons.

Multi-Tasking Machines

Printers and binders also are finding flexibility with machines that perform multiple tasks, sometimes even within a single step, thereby reducing the need for separate operations or outsourcing. Technifold’s Multi Tool originally was made to produce either guillotine-quality trimming or die-quality micro-perforating on any popular folding machine. It now can perform these two functions simultaneously, adding more flexibility in finishing single- or multiple-up jobs on the folder. A slight change to the construction of the perforating anvil allows the cutting and perforating operations to be conducted at the same time. The distance between cut and perforation can vary from ¼” up to 1 1/8″.

Rollem International also is focused on multitasking. The company has introduced its new 2D digital finishing system for multiple-up photo cards, postcards, greeting cards, and more. The two-directional system edge trims the press sheet in both directions, slits each card, and applies fine-quality score and cut-score. This method eliminates the need for guillotine cutting and additional labor as the cards are finished in one process. A folder can be added for complete automation from press sheet to finished product.

Clean Cuts

The condition of a book’s spine, or backbone, is among the first things customers notice, and a strong, unmarred backbone helps ensure a book’s longevity. Jorson & Carlson Company spent about a year of research and development in creating the Back Bone Buster, which eliminates backbone chips and tears. The Back Bone Buster is a unique side knife application for trimmers that pre-cuts the bind of the backbone prior to the side knife cut. The product works for both saddlestitched and perfect bound books and is ideal for any binder that cuts books ½” or less.

Industry innovation, as seen through these companies and their products, reaps rewards for printers and binders, who can use these tools to provide higher-quality printed materials more quickly and more affordably to customers.

New Technologies in Cutting & Trimming

May 1, 2006

by: Dianna Brodine

A complex printed project begins with consultations between customer, printer and binder. The possibilities are discussed, printing and folding options are weighed, and a plan to reach the desired outcome is developed. Once the printed material reaches the bindery, an inaccurate or ragged cut can compromise days or even weeks of work and material. Since paper cutting is a repetitive process that can be automated with little to no operator assistance in most cases, new technology developments in the machinery used for cutting are catching the eye of bindery employees. A reduction in the number of times human hands intervene in a project can lead to a reduction in errors.

Before the First Cut

Before a machine can effectively cut the printed material, the material must first be loaded neatly into the machine. Colter & Peterson has recently installed its second BASA automatic jogging system from Baumann in the United States at a Florida commercial print shop. The BASA is the world’s first totally automatic jogging system that works without operator intervention. Skids of sheets are placed directly from the printing press into the system. They are then automatically counted and jogged. The air is squeezed out of the reams, which are then stored on racks or brought directly into the back of the paper cutter for cutting.

Automated Cutting Technology

Advances in automation can reduce the number of operators needed to finish a project, thereby reducing personnel expenses. To meet the automated cutting needs of binderies, Standard Finishing Systems offers the Standard Horizon HT-30, a three-side trimmer featuring automated job set-ups and quick changeovers to meet the requirements of the short run print-on-demand book market. The HT-30 operates off-line to trim perfect bound books at speeds up to 200 cycles per hour with the ability to store up to 40 different book jobs in memory. A touch screen operator console allows all set-ups to be performed with full automation. Precision stepper motors accurately position all guides and clamps to insure professional quality paper cutting. Up to 12″ of books can be loaded into the in-feed hopper, where books are automatically fed for unattended operation.

Heidelberg USA’s POLAR Automated Cutting for Efficiency System (PACE) is the industry’s first fully automated cutting system from POLAR. By automating the loading, jogging, buffering, cutting, gripping, transporting, and unloading processes, PACE produces high-quality finished products with the least amount of human intervention. PACE increases productivity, lowers costs, and reduces waste. As an added advantage, separate elements of PACE’s technology can be employed to streamline other production runs and requirements.

In addition, WinAmerica, Inc. has introduced the new Pro-Cut 360 36 and 450 45 models. Both models are mechanical knife driven and carry features like double linear back gauges, touch screen Microsoft programmable-based computers, main air table, air side tables, Mitsubishi servo drive, chrome table surface, and heavy duty cast frames.

Small Scale Solutions

There are automated solutions for jobs on a smaller scale, too. The Challenge Machinery Company’s new Spartan 185AEP is a fully programmable 18.5″ table-top paper cutter featuring electric powered knife drive, clamping, and back gauge control. Its software offers the table-top cutter industry its first menu driven controller, enabling the operator to simply navigate the programming sequence. During a program, the 3″ LCD control screen displays the next five cuts, allowing the operator to see where they are in a job at all times. Its memory of 20 programs / 20 cuts per program and exclusive maintenance-free feature makes the Spartan 185AEP a good value in the 18.5″ cutter market.

Rollem International has released the new JETSTREAM, a cutting and collation system ideal for finishing game cards, business cards, and playing cards on smaller formats. The two-directional slitting/perforating system is designed as an economical method for finishing multiple-up products when automated collation is not required. The model includes a manual collating table. Products are processed in one machine, eliminating labor expenses.

Focus on Safety

The Baumcut 31.5 programmable cutter offers high-productivity precision cutting with maximum safety in mind. Infrared safety beams, two-hand timed cut release, and covered rear table help ensure operator safety. The heavy-duty, fully hydraulic cutter features push-button programming and stores up to 99 programs with 6,464 cut steps. Programming is automatic. Simply cut the first ream manually and the cuts are then stored as a program. A large central LCD display indicates data in the selected language. Knife changes are easy, with a front adjustment. Built-in table light and optical cutting line indicator yields more precise cutting.

Unique Solutions

Folded materials scheduled for cutting can bring their own challenges. When planning to run a job two or three up on a folding machine, the folder operator is traditionally limited to slitting only lighter stocks with a limited number of folds. Typical complaints when slitting with conventional tools include ragged edges and crooked cuts. Technifold’s new Multi Tool eliminates these common cutting problems and delivers the capability to get guillotine quality trimming in-line on the folding machine. Using hardened counter knives with a special bevel design, it is now possible to slit or double-trim multiple panel jobs on heavy cover stocks (from 1/8″ trim up to 1 1/8″ trim). The Multi Tool also has a Micro Perforating component available and is made to fit popular MBO, Stahl, Horizon, G&K (Vijuk), and MB folding machines.

For soft cover projects, Zechini has introduced the Zinko, with a unique design that permits a precise trim on the face of gate folded perfect bound, saddle stitched, and sewn books. The Zinko is capable of running at speeds up to 3,000 books/hour in-line with a three knife trimmer or off line.

Start Off Sharp

Of course, for paper cutting machines to work effectively and create crisp, clean edges, the knife blades have to be sharp. GrindTech EdgeSM Technology from Jorson & Carlson is a proven sharpening process in the grinding of knives that has become an effective way of achieving optimum sharpness. The sharpening and honing process is the most important procedure in obtaining sharpness, less dust, better quality of cuts, longer up time, and less change outs. The GrindTech EdgeSM Technology incorporates a custom mechanical sharpening, deburring, and lap grinding process.

With new advances in cutting and trimming technology, binders can insure greater accuracy, reduce the number of operators needed to oversee a job, improve safety levels for their employees, and increase the speed of job throughput for customers. New technology creates a win/win situation for all those involved.