Finishing & Screen Printing
THE PERFECT BINDING SOLUTION FROM TOTAL PFS BOOSTS PRODUCTION AT NATIONAL BLIND CHILDRENS SOCIETY
Thursday 03. September 2009 - The Planatol PLANAX Perfect Binder FII, exclusive in the UK to Total Print Finishing Services, recently played a major role in The National Blind Childrens Societys (NBCS) drive to boost the capacity and production quality of its CustomEyes book production service.
CustomEyes, based in Highbridge, Somerset, digitally prints many best-selling novels and various educational texts in large format type for children and young people with a visual impairment. Demand for this service doubled between the end of 2007 and the end of 2008, so in April 2009 CustomEyes Fastback paper strip binding system was replaced with the Perfect Binder FII. The FIIs cold glue binding system has not only allowed the organisation to keep pace with this huge increase in production, it can now also emulate the finish of the original copies.
Said Kelly Bambury, Development Manager, CustomEyes: “As an example of the demand placed on the production department at CustomEyes, when re-formatted in a larger font size, the latest Harry Potter book totalled 36 perfect bound volumes of around 200 pages of A4 paper. Consider also that we try to achieve simultaneous release with the mainstream retail outlets and, clearly, the Perfect Binder FII was a welcome boost in productivity. But when investigating the options for upgrading our binding processes the quality of the finish was just as important as any gains in capacity and productivity. Achieving a finish similar to the original book is critical to generating a sense of inclusion for children and perfect binding is the only way to achieve this. We researched the market thoroughly and it was the Perfect Binder FII from Total that met each of our criteria: quality of finish, the right balance of capital outlay versus productivity gains and the quality of the finish.”
As a cold glue binding system, the Perfect Binder FII is unique at its price point of £12,995 and is ideal for finishing digitally printed stocks in the mid-volume production range. The heat of the traditional hot-melt binding process has a tendency to extract the moisture from the toners found in digital inks resulting in warping. As such, cold glue binding is the best way to guarantee the durability of many digitally printed documents. With the Perfect Binder FII, a single operator can produce approximately 170 bindings per hour and two operators can produce approximately 220 documents per hour. The machine can handle paper sizes up to 380mm x 350mm and will bind documents up to a maximum thickness of 36mm.
Said Clive Richardson, Managing Director, Total Print Finishing Services: “Were delighted to hear that the Perfect Binder FII has made such a positive difference to the NBCSs CustomEyes department. The machine is typically robust for a German made piece of equipment and is more than up to the rigorous, and in many ways unique, demands of CustomEyes. There is no other cold-glue binding solution available in the UK at this price point and so its the only machine that could meet every one of the NBCSs production, cost and quality requirements. They now also have the added peace of mind of relying on Total Print Finishing Services renowned after sales care and support; with a team of engineers on standby should they experience any technical problems.”
Large-print books, such as those produced by CustomEyes, are an essential part of NBCSs aim to enable children and young people with visual impairment to achieve their educational and recreational goals. The CustomEyes print department has four full time production staff and printing equipment includes one Sharp high-volume mono press, a mid-volume Ricoh machine, and three colour presses; one Ricoh, one Sharp and one Oki. Each reproduction is made to order, with the cost of producing each volume approximately £50. However, the NBCS heavily subsidises the costs to match the recommended retail price of the original versions for children and their families. The NBCS employs 60 people and supports 3,000 plus partially sighted and blind children and their families at any one time.