The need to increase our booklet-making capabilities
took us to the IBIS Bindery Systems factory outside London UK
and also to printers who already use IBIS's unique 'Smart-binder'
saddle-stitcher. We were impressed by the Smart-binder's durable
construction, its innovative design features and the many performance
improvements compared with IBIS's older model 'Digi-stitcher'.
As a result of this we purchased last year two new off-line IBIS
Smart-binder systems which IBIS installed at our facility in Long
Island, NY. Both machines are fed from IBIS high-pile sheet feeder.
One was fitted with an in-line Knife folder and Tabbing system,
and the second line directly feeds a CMC Inserter and enveloping
system. IBIS customized both machines to meet our specific needs
relating to our direct mail applications.
Our new Smart-binders give us some unique benefits compared with
other more conventional saddle-stitchers. The fold quality is
second-to-none because the Smart-binder individually folds each
sheet, instead of folding 'groups' of sheets as our other stitchers
do. That means that the finished booklets lie flatter and are
easier to insert into an envelope. IBIS's 'patented' ISG cold
glue binding option replaces the need for wire stitching. This
provides numerous benefits, in addition to helping the booklets
lie even flatter and giving a stronger bind. ISG cold gluing allows
the book thickness to vary from minimum to maximum on-the-run
and has a much lower maintenance cost compared with wire stitching.
For short run jobs, and particularly when making books of one,
book thickness must vary continually on-the-run. The IBIS Smart-binder
is designed very much with this in mind by reading a bar code
on each sheet and then tracking sheets and booklets through the
machine. The Smart-binder trimmer is capable of handling all book
thicknesses without needed any adjustment and so is ideal for
our VDP workflow. Other saddle-stitchers available in the marketplace
require to be stopped for adjustment if the booklet thickness
changes by more than a few sheets.
A further advantage of the Smart-binder is its ability to stop
and restart without losing any booklets that are in the machine.
This is essential for individually-personalized booklets which
have to be reprinted if rejected. Other saddle-stitchers purge
themselves automatically and can reject quite a large number of
booklets on restart which makes them unsuitable for personalized
booklet production.
Overall the Smart-binders perform well. We will certainly look
to IBIS when we require further finishing solutions in future.
