Bookletmaking: Looking To Book In A Profit

If you were to ask a printer to name the different services they offer, nine times out of ten they are going to include booklets. One of the most common forms of prints, booklets offer print service providers (PSPs) a steady revenue flow throughout the year.

However, while this may be true, what is also apparent is the level of competition for this type of print. Yes, work may be plentiful but with so many PSPs offering this service, it is crucial you can deliver superior prints. Investment in new technology is one way to achieve just this, with the latest solutions allowing you to produce more pieces at higher quality.

In this article, Print Monthly speaks with several manufacturers and suppliers about their latest and most popular offerings within the bookletmaking sector and learns how these advancements can support PSPs.

Trust Your Supplier

One brand that is synonymous not only with bookletmaking but print finishing as a whole is Morgana, part of the Plockmatic Group. Ray Hillhouse, vice president of sales and marketing for the Plockmatic Group Offline Business Unit, believes that bookletmaking is very much still a growth sector, with more printers seeking routes into the market.

However, when it comes to new investment, Hillhouse says that it is important not to view bookletmaking as a “one size fits all” activity. He explains that Morgana, with its offline solutions, and Plockmatic, with online solutions, provide bookletmakers in a variety of configurations and an equally varied range of price points.

So, with this in mind, what should PSPs be looking for when investing? Hillhouse advises: “First and foremost, any print business seeking a new, or used, bookletmaking solution should look for a name that it can trust. Quality is important. Questions about your specific requirements are key; suppliers such as Morgana have a range of bookletmaking solutions to suit the range of work printers want to produce.

First and foremost, any print business seeking a new, or used bookletmaking solution should look for a name that it can trust

“Go see real life demonstrations of several machines before deciding. A well-equipped and tidy show room is another positive point for any supplier. Take samples of your proposed jobs if possible. Kit can be made to look great using canned demos on pre-printed samples – you need to know that your work can be produced on the proposed machine, not a tried and tested demo job.”

Hillhouse also advises that the lowest priced product should not be your deciding factor. He says the post-press sector is full of stories detailing printers that have imported low-cost binding equipment from China, only to find that service and support was minimal, and hardware that was not up to the task.
“If the supplier only has one possible solution, they may try and shape the discussion towards that machine, rather than offering you the best method for producing your work,” Hillhouse adds.

As to how Morgana can help, Hillhouse says A4 landscape and oversize booklets can now be produced easily and cost-effectively with Morgana’s latest bookletmaking products in the BM5035 and BM5050.

With the ability to handle sheets of up to 620mm in length, and equipped with the latest stitching heads from Morgana, these two machines have been engineered for mid-to-high volume customers.

“I should also add that the entire Morgana offline and Plockmatic inline range of booklet makers can produce booklets with the unique, patented ‘SquareFold’ spine,” Hillhouse says, adding: “This gives the booklet the look and feel of a perfect bound publication, where the spine of the booklet can be printed on and the finished product is much easier to store, pack, and ship.”

Also from Morgana is the PowerSquare 224, a heavy-duty option for higher page counts or higher volume users that can produce books up to 10mm in thickness and up to 100,000 books per month peak volume. Soon to be added to the same range is the PowerSquare 7000 series, which, built with the same characteristics of the PowerSquare 224, will offer higher productivity and landscape A4 / oversized book capability.

Meanwhile, Morgana’s three core bookletmaking platforms – the BM4000 Series, BM5000 Series, and PowerSquare products, can be fronted by the latest in vacuum feeding technology: the Morgana VFX vacuum feeder.

“The VFX is a dual bin feeder where up to 5,400 sheets can be loaded across two bins,” Hillhouse explains, continuing: “Automatic bin switching allows one bin to be loaded whilst the feeder continues the run from the other allowing for long uninterrupted runs. The VFX feeder can also be equipped with barcode reading (BCR), which is a growing demand from users.”

Smart Automation

Another diversified print finishing supplier is Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS). Managing director Eric Keane says when looking to invest in new bookletmaking technology, PSPs should consider affordable automation that elevates productivity and profitability.

“Smart automation will continue to move forward and enable operations to embrace systems and solutions that link as many processes as possible to create a highly streamlined end-to-end production,” Keane says.

While print runs have become shorter, the demand for high-quality, professionally finished booklets remains strong and is even increasing

“Fast set up and easy to operate solutions deliver high quality results quickly and effortlessly. They enable operations to reduce production costs, improve delivery times and margins, and deliver workflow efficiencies that ensure maximum uptime and ultimate productivity.

“The latest systems have been specifically designed for minimal operator intervention, perfect for when finding skilled employees is a challenge, and light indicators provide real time production status that can be easily viewed from a distance. Jobs can be programmed, stored, and queued for seamless production.”

With this, Keane highlights significant demand for next generation Horizon iCE StitchLiners, which are available through IFS. Among the latest offerings from Horizon is iCE LiNK, a cloud-based workflow that offers enhanced production reporting provides clear status updates.

“iCE LiNK uses cloud technology to automate workflow from upstream to post-press,” he says, adding: “It provides access to an intuitive easy to use dashboard that reports real-time production analysis for improved efficiency and profitability, remote update capabilities, and scheduled maintenance resulting in less downtime.”

Taking a closer look at Horizon’s hardware, Keane flags the new Horizon iCE Stitcher SPF-2000, a next-generation, fully automated bookletmaking system that runs at speeds of up to 4,700 cycles per hour. The system is equipped with a 15-inch control panel, while new covers allow for easy access to achieve fast maintenance and minimise downtime.

Also now available is the Horizon iCE StitchLiner Mark IV, which boasts a top speed of 6,000 booklets per hour and incorporates iCE LiNK workflow as standard. Other features include a new stitcher for variable thickness production with automatic stitch length adjustment, a new jogging mechanism, and four-direction jog guides and two-layer accumulation and air assist for precise sheet alignment.

Another option is the Horizon iCE StitchLiner Mark V, designed to run inline or near-line with high-speed, roll-fed digital presses. The automated saddlesticher produces high-quality booklets at up to 6,000 booklets per hour, while individual sheets are tightly folded along scoring lines for consistent quality, even with high page counts or variable page count applications.

Crucial Segment

Also backing bookletmaking is Craig Harry, head of sales for Duplo UK, who says this remains a crucial segment within the UK industry.

“While print runs have become shorter, the demand for high-quality, professionally finished booklets remains strong and is even increasing,” Harry comments adding: “Businesses and organisations are prioritising personalised, premium-quality booklets to enhance their branding and communications. To meet this demand, Duplo's automated solutions ensure consistent quality and high efficiency across all levels of production. The market trend towards personalisation further strengthens the need for versatile, high-performance booklet-making solutions.

“Technology and efficiency are at the heart of modern print production, and booklet-making is no exception. Keeping up with advancements ensures businesses remain competitive, with enhanced automation, improved finishing quality, and seamless integration with digital and litho presses.”

Harry leads on from this to pick out the options Duplo. These include the DBM-150 bookletmaker, which Harry bills as ideal for smaller print operations. The compact system supports hand-fed and automated workflows with the ability to integrate with intelligent towers and digital feeders.

Also from Duplo is the DBM-350 bookletmaker, a scalable solution suited for digital and light commercial print runs, offering square spine finishing and modular expansion options to meet growing business demands. Then, for high-speed, high-volume booklet production, the DBM-700 bookletmaker can process up to 60 sheets and incorporates a square spine module that Harry says creates flatter, more presentable booklets.

Another Duplo option for high-production, heavy duty working is the iSaddle Senshi, which, with multiple tower collators and a high-speed folding system, it can produce up to 120-page flat-to-finished booklets with minimal setup time.

“Duplo’s range of solutions ensures businesses can meet evolving customer demands while maintaining superior quality, operational efficiency, and long-term profitability,” Harry adds.

New Developments

Concluding our round-up is Encore Machinery, which recently became the UK distributor for the CP Bourg range. Paul Davidson, UK sales and business development manager at Encore, picks out an upcoming launch from CP Bourg, which was shown at Hunkeler Innovation Days 2025.

Based on the successful BMe platform, the BBM 40/60+ bookletmaker can create booklets up to 12mm thick, using up to 60 sheets, 240 pages of 80gsm paper, with or without a square back finish. For those who do not require more than 40 sheets, a 40-sheet version is also available, with an option to upgrade to 60 anytime.

“Renowned for its reliability, CP Bourg’s equipment supports variable digital short runs for single copies and multi-shift long production runs,” Davidson says adding: “The BBM 40/60+ is also capable of corner, head or side stitching documents, and is an effective alternative to tape or mechanical binding.”

The modular system on the machine can be configured to meet customer needs and scaled for increased productivity, while additional features such as full bleed, perforation, cutting, creasing, and folding can be integrated into the Bourg Preparation Module (BPM) and Bourg Perfect Stack (BPS) can be added to enable automated book block production for perfect bound applications.

On top of this, CP Bourg is also introducing Bourg Analytics to enhance visibility into all equipment performance. This approach, Davidson says, will allow customers to measure production output and proactively manage service needs, helping to improve the overall equipment performance.

Clearly, there is plenty going on with bookletmakers. There are lots of ways printers that are involved in this line of work can evolve their offering to deliver even greater quality to their customers, especially if they can work with reliable manufacturers and suppliers to identify the most effective and suitable solution.