It’s been said that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it. I discovered this to be true when as a bindery supervisor it fell on me to train new folding machine and bindery equipment operators.
It’s been said that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it. I discovered this to be true when as a bindery supervisor it fell on me to train new folding machine and bindery equipment operators.
This week we have a video tip to help folder operators with the loading of continuous feed folding machines. Continuous feeders are easy to learn and operate. Yet I’ve seen novice and experienced operators alike suffer big production losses because they were lax in their loading technique.
In last week’s Bindery Success Blog article we talked about how the hidden complexity of paper affects printing and print finishing operations. Sometimes this mysterious fusion of paper, ink, toner, varnishes, coatings, and environment is enough to agitate the best, most experienced bindery equipment operator. Although there isn’t a magic pill to eliminate all post-press paper problems, here are five simple tips that will make your print finishing life easier.
It’s no surprise when newcomers to print finishing are thwarted by its hidden complexity. The simplest of folding jobs can generate all sorts of problems and questions. Heck, after 35 years working around bindery equipment I too am often surprised. When I encounter “simple” paper folding problems with no solution it reminds me what it was like to be an apprentice.
So why does it get so complicated and what can we do to simplify things? After all, most printers work with paper that varies just several thousandths of an inch in thickness.
One effective way to get fresh ideas and inspiration for improving our productivity is to look at other industries. While I was watching a recent video about the latest Red Bull Air Races, it dawned on me that there are several similarities between the printing profession and competitive air racing. Because of the competitive nature of both industries, I figured there was bound to be something we could take away for our own personal and professional use.
The speed at which things happen in bindery equipment sometimes makes it difficult to troubleshoot a problem. But with experience, we learn to follow the clues that problems leave behind. The way a wire stitch is misshapen can tell us what piece of the stitcher head is worn or broken. The location and direction of a bent corner in a folded brochure will lead us to where the problem is happening on a folding machine. The sounds of a folder or a saddle stitcher also help us to find and fix problems.
Imagine a pressman from the 1940’s being transported to a modern digital printing department. He wouldn’t know where to start. Now imagine a bindery equipment operator from the same era dropped into a post-press department today. It probably wouldn’t take him or her long to find their way around the guillotine cutter, the folding machine, maybe a saddle stitcher, and start producing work. There would be questions, but the underlying technologies, despite being decades apart, are similar.
If you work in a print finishing job, your first question might be, “Why would I want to become a print finishing expert?” One reason is that if you’re not perceived as an expert, colleagues and customers simply don’t care what you think. As an expert, people trust you and are eager to believe you. This makes it easier for you to do your job effectively. For instance, it’s more likely that when you suggest a change in the production schedule it will be accepted if you are looked at as knowledgeable.
If you’re new to running 16-page signatures, you might feel a bit overwhelmed with the workload, even with an automatic stacker on a new folding machine. I know I did. Folding 16 page signatures, or any signatures for that matter, requires a lot of effort and attention to detail. There is a lot of stuff going on that you have to keep an eye on. You’ll be doing quality control for multiple folds, loading and unloading, and stacking it all neatly on a skid for the next guy in the production process.
I can already hear the protests: “I’m a creative person, comfortable in my clutter. I can find anything I need in seconds.” Or, “I can’t be something that’s opposite my personality.” The excuses are OK if you work alone and clients will never see your work area. But if you work on bindery equipment or in a print shop environment, all the excuses have to give way to seven reasons why you should be organized.