Digital

Prepress

Proofing

Offset

NexPress

Letterpress

Finishing

Mailing

Professional finishing solutions

Finishing includes everything we do after a job comes off the press. Being able to put the correct finishing touches on any project starts, however, with proper planning at the beginning. This is part of the added-value that we bring to a project — making sure we consider how what we do to a job at steps 1 and 2 affects the outcome at steps 5 and 6.

While it is often taken for granted, cutting can have a tremendous impact on quality. Paper must be cut square and consistent to maintain proper image registration on the press. We utilize three commercial-grade, programmable cutters for the right combination of accuracy and speed. We can accommodate sheets of up to 50 inches.

Folds come in two types: parallel and right angle. The folds you make before you put a standard-size sheet of paper into a business envelope are good examples of parallel folding; two creases in the same direction, ideally along the paper grain.

A right angle fold is two or more folds, with each fold at right angles to the one before it.

To make clean folds, many jobs require small variations in panel size. While they may look similar, individual panels are sized at slight differences to accommodate paper thickness.

It's also worth remembering that the more folds you have, the lighter the weight of paper required. That's because heavier stock may build up too much thickness to roll into itself a number of times, or may require wider scoring to minimize possible cracking.

Don't be offended if we ask if you'd like to see a paper dummy. We're not implying anything — we're just offering a preliminary layout made from blank sheets of paper folded and bound with the correct number of pages and folds, in the weight, texture and color you desire to give you an accurate representation of the final piece.

Following are illustrations of some of the folds we produce on our equipment. Our folders accommodate sheets of up to 26 x 40. Click on the illustration you would like to view.

Binding Illustration Folding Illustration

Binding is the ultimate step, the final hurdle. You have many options, but they must be weighed early in the design process. Your layout, printing, folding and trimming — and not least of all, your budget — depend on it.

Saddle wire stitch
For an example of saddle stitching, pick up just about any magazine or catalog. With this method, pages are spread open at the center, and then hung on a saddle to be stitched through the fold line at the spine. Ideal for projects with no more than 60 to 80 pages — depending on sheet weight — this is the simplest and most economical way to bind.

Advantages: Allows the book to lie flat for reading ease; can be bound with either a self-cover, or a separate cover; economical.

Disadvantages: Page count must be divisible by four, restricting number of pages; least flexible of all binding options.

Equipment options for saddle wire stitching:

Duplo
With 10 bins the Duplo can make quick work of collating, stitching, and face trimming books or booklets. This unit can be used in two configurations, one for simply collating, the other for stitching. Ease of set-up makes the Multibinder ideally suited for short runs.

Collating
Maximum sheet size: 12 x 18 inches
Minimum sheet size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
Maximum sheets to collate: 10

Stitching
Maximum sheet size: 12 x 18 inches
Minimum sheet size: 5 x 7.5 inches
Smallest Folded Size: 3.75 x 4.75 inches
Maximum sheets to stitch: 20

Muller
The Muller utilizes six units, each of which feeds a folded signature. A separate unit is used for covers. This configuration enables the Muller to produce a book of up to 48-pages plus cover in a single pass assuming a page size of 8.5 x 11 on a 19 x 25 press sheet. Using a page size of 6 x 9, the Muller can assemble a book of up to 96 pages plus cover in a single pass. Working with folded signatures, the Muller gathers, stitches and three-knife trims in a single pass.

Maximum folded size: 13 x 10
Minimum folded size: 6.5 x 3.5

Answers to the following questions help us determine where a job should be finished when choosing between the Duplo and Muller:

1. Page count and quantity.
Lower page counts (8 to 20) at quantities of up to 2,500 favor the Duplo. The same page counts at quantities of 5,000 and above favor the Muller. Page counts above 24 pages almost always favor the Muller.

2. Size
Booklets that are smaller than 5.5 x 8.5 must be finished on the Duplo.

3. Registration
Any jobs with critical registration, crossovers, borders or color breaks will be finished on the Muller. These items also require special attention during cutting and folding.

4. Stock
Coated stock runs especially well on the Duplo, as does heavier offset and text weight.

Wire-O, spiral and GBC

Wire-O, spiral and GBC are types of mechanical binding in which pages and cover are held together by a metal or plastic coil. Though more expensive than wire stitching, mechanical bindings allow their contents to open wide and lie perfectly flat.

Advantages: Lies flat; pages can be removed without deletion; adaptable to different paper types; offers singe-sheet insertion for flexible page count; bindings come in a wide variety of colors.

Disadvantages: Expense; can detract from project aesthetics.

Perfect binding

Many annual reports and larger catalogs use this binding method in which pages are assembled in groups, or signatures, and bound together with flexible adhesive, then covered. Perfect binding accommodates books approximately 1/8" to 2" thick.

Advantages: Accommodates greater number of pages and higher page weights than saddle-stitch; accommodates multiple sheet weights and sizes; allows intermix of stocks; provides clean finished edge.

Disadvantages: After pages are collected into signatures, binding edge is ground off to improve adhesion. That, along with a three-knife trim, takes approximately 1/8 inch from each side of a document. Does not lie flat; crossover images and type may be hidden somewhat by the binding edge.

Case or edition binding

Case, or edition, binding is the conventional method used in most hardcover books. Sheets are folded into 16- or 32-page signatures, pasted with end leaves and sewn together. This process culminates in a hard cover, which ensures durability for years to come.

Advantages: Provides perfect crossover of images page to page; archival quality.

Disadvantage: Most expensive binding method.