Want to instantly look like a hero, make life easier at your print finishing job, and boost productivity all at the same time? Then take a minute to review these simple and very effective hands-on tips for bindery equipment operators. Included are suggestions for folding machines, guillotine cutters, scoring machines, and perforating machines. They cover the type of bindery equipment you find in both large and small shops.
If you’re new to the Bindery Success Blog or new to print finishing equipment, the following select articles provide insight and tips you might not get in your training or anywhere else. If you’ve been following us, then check them out to be sure you haven’t missed anything. Use this page as a resource for yourself or for newcomers to your bindery department.
Here we go.
1) Jigs and Fixtures
The use of jigs on bindery equipment is a huge time saver that most bindery operators neglect. Once you learn about how to use them, you won’t be able to stop coming up with new ideas for your own shop.
Go here for the first article and then here for a video that shows how simple it is to dramatically reduce folding machine setup times. In the video we set up a right-angle folding job with zero waste, and we do it in a fraction of the time of a conventional make-ready.
2) Conquer Dog Ears (Bent Inside Corners)
This is one of my favorite tips and judging by reader feedback, is one of yours too! Dog ears, or bent corners inside a 3-panel brochure, will frustrate you for hours on end if you can’t fix it. This seriously simple old-school technique will get rid of the problem every time. Watch the video here.
3) Be Ready for the Day That Hand-Folding Will Save You
One day your ability to do a hand-folding job will save your bacon, or at least make your boss and/or customer very happy. If you need to do a gatefold but don’t have the proper gate fold plate, check out How Can I Do Gatefolds without Gatefold Equipment. Video included. If you’re involved with any kind of short-run digital folding and finishing, then this Hand Folding Video Tip will save the day when you’re in a serious rush. The technique has been passed down for generations. It’s old-school but I guarantee you’ll eventually see someone in a multi-million dollar digital shop doing a job in this old-fashioned way.
4) Guillotine Cutter Productivity Tips
Guillotine cutting is at the heart of most print finishing operations. Here are six articles that can save you a lot of headache. It’s a lot of reading, but that’s how important we feel it is to have good cutting practices.
Ten Timeless Tips for Guillotine Cutters
Are Your Work Habits Outdated?
Faster Cutting with a 2-Step Technique
Do You Make These 3 Mistakes with Your Cutter?
A Simple Tip for Using Jogger Boards
5) Bindery Equipment with Direct Infeed – Tips for Better Register and Feeding
These go hand-in-hand with the cutter articles above. The first article here talks about how cutting affects register quality. The second article and video here demonstrates ways to improve feeding on various types of direct-infeed scoring, perforating, and folding machines.
6) Folding Machine Delivery Tip
This will help you deal with a problem that happens to everyone at some point. You get a bulky or spongy folding job set up perfectly, but no matter what you do, you can’t get it to deliver properly. If you don’t have an automatic stacker, here’s a low-tech tip that will work on almost anything, once you get the hang of it. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re a fan of old-school because so much of it still works!
7) Learn How to Count Fast and Accurately
We all know how to count…I hope. When you do bindery work, you have to know how to count fast and accurately. Here is an article that shows a couple of simple counting techniques.
8) Getting in the ‘Flow’
Here we talk about a sure-fire technique to help you work like an expert. Learn how to set up a machine faster and with less effort. Things will ‘flow’ smoothly.
9) How to Get the Most from Your Folding Machine Operators
Here are 6 simple steps which when understood and put in to practice, are guaranteed to boost folder productivity significantly. These ideas are culled from decades of hands-on experience by the staff of Technifold, from our customers, and from loyal Bindery Success™ readers just like you. You can download the book here.
We cover tons of stuff in the articles mentioned above and you won’t get through all of this in one sitting. You’ll be too busy trying out new ideas! So be sure to bookmark this page and come back to it.
And in the meantime if you have any questions, feel free to share them below or use the Contact Us form to send us a private message. We do our best to answer them all, or find someone who can.