One of the best and most expensive lessons I ever learned was taught to me by an unprofitable saddle stitching job. I was reminded of it, and of the unchanging nature of humans, as I read a short article in a printing trade publication. It was written exactly one hundred years ago in 1914 yet it’s still timely. First the article, and then the story of a good idea gone bad.
A Bindery Success™ reader recently sent us a story that illustrates the sometimes amusing difficulties of troubleshooting bindery work. In this case they were saddle-stitching a book with a reply envelope inserted between the pages. Stitcher operators know it’s a bit of a tricky job. It’s a delicate operation getting the envelopes to feed accurately, to remain in position, and to remain in the book so as not to cause rejects. Yet once the feeder is set correctly it tends to run all day without problems.
Fold plate indicators don’t always tell us the truth. Set one at any given length and then fold a sheet. You might get the dimension you want on the first sheet if you’re experienced on that folder. More likely you’ll have to adjust it once or twice.
In recent years digital printing has spread out into the world, with many small businesses taking on the role of mini in-plant printer. Designers, wedding invitation specialists, funeral homes, boutique printers, promotional item manufacturers, and realtors are just a few types of companies who have added printing to their operations.
One frequently asked bindery question we get is “How can I produce multiple scores, very close together, on my folding machine?” These scores might be for a few different purposes such as perfect bound book covers, product cases and wraps, tray inserts, table tents, raffle ticket booklets, or other specialty folded items.
When you run cover stocks on a buckle folding machine, you can end up with a curl that affects how well the job will run. Naturally, to get maximum benefit from your folder you want the ability to run as big a range of cover stocks and card stock as possible.
A recent email caused a bindery flashback, uh…I mean memory…about a piece of bindery equipment that I hadn’t thought about for years. Perhaps it was the stress of running that machine more so than the passage of time that banished the experience to the far corners of my memory.
This is, without a doubt, my all-time favorite bindery tip. I say that because I struggled with this particular issue for many, many years. Then one day an old-timer I was working with said, “Hey, all you have to do is this…” and he shared the technique shown in the video below. Just like that, my problem disappeared!
Here’s a ‘scoring’ technique borrowed from the greeting card industry. It might seem a little old school, but it’s still used quite often, and it’s a great technique to have available when you need it.
Once again I find myself, late at night, standing over a folding machine scratching my head. I flash back to many late night struggles in the bindery, only this time I’m upset because the folding machine is working TOO well.