Quickly, which of the piles of mail in the photos at the right would you want to open first? The top photo is machine processed. The lower photo shows mail that required assembly by a human being. If you picked the “human touch” mail, you’ve tapped into an idea that can increase profits and make you a hero to your customers. Allow me to explain.
One of the most useful questions we get is when someone asks us to settle a dispute about the right way to do something on a folding machine. A Bindery Success™ Blog reader recently asked us to settle a discussion in their shop about the correct way to lock a fold plate. This sounds easy to answer, but let’s take a look.
One universal truth about producing perfect bound books is that hot glue should be handled with extreme caution. Reaching temperatures of 350-400 degrees, it will burn your skin on contact. It’s messy too, which makes it challenging to change a glue pot neatly and safely.
In a recent Bindery Success Blog article we talked about the importance of folding dummies. One reader asked us if there were any generally accepted practices for marking a folding dummy properly. As with most print finishing processes, there isn’t a single, universally accepted practice. Even so, there are a few proven techniques I’ve seen in practice which will prevent trouble in the bindery.
If you’re a saddle stitcher operator or bindery supervisor, here’s a tip that might stop you from bad-mouthing those graphic designers who love to create step books. Step books get their name from the obvious step-like appearance as shown in the drawing at right. When complete, they’re eye-catching, clever, and useful. You can instantly see the contents of a booklet and turn to the section you need.
Thinking about a career in the printing industry? Are you an aspiring print service provider? Then take a walk in one printer’s shoes as he lives through a week’s worth of adventures. Is the story true? Is it from this century, or the last, or the one before it? Couldn't happen, you say? Probably not in most places, but it did happen, in a print shop near you, somewhere close to the Twilight Zone.
Although I sometimes feel like one, the term folding dummy doesn’t refer to me. Nor is it a description of your least productive folding machine operator. For our purposes, we’ll define folding dummy as “a sample page layout sheet which has been folded into its designed format to indicate page sequence or other binding and finishing information.” We could also add that it’s best if done at actual size, but as you’ll see, it’s not always necessary.
To paraphrase Confucius, the way a double gatefold plate works is really simple but our explanations make it sound complicated. Words just don’t cut it. Many processes in print finishing are easier to understand with a decent photo, video, diagram, or analogy. The action behind a double gate fold (also called a closed gatefold) running automatically on a buckle folding machine is one of those things.
In the latest Bindery Success Blog video here we review a frustrating folding machine problem—nicking or tearing at the lead edge of the sheet. This primarily happens when you’re creasing or scoring a single sheet, but it can also happen when you’re perforating. The good news is if the crease looks good except for that nick you’re very close to where you need to be.
You might call this A Tale of Two Pepys, both of whom were involved with printing. The famous Samuel Pepys lived in the 1600’s. The other lived around the early 1900’s. The latter may or may not be real. He could well be an editor or writer for The Printing Trade News using the pseudonym, and writing in the style of Samuel Pepys.