There has been a shift to feeding technology for pre-collated digitaly produced sets. (Image:Duplo)
A winning combination
The right feeding and collating kit can be the difference between enhanced efficiency and productivity and a system that cannot keep up with the ever-increasing speeds of production today.
Over the last five or six years, there has been a shift from traditional collating technology to more of a focus on feeding technology that is geared up for pre-collated digitally produced sets.
As a result, suppliers have shifted their research and development in line with this and are now offering sophisticated feeding technology that works alongside the latest kit such as bookletmakers and wire binding systems.
In this feature, we speak to manufacturers and suppliers about what’s new in this market and how the right technology can help to boost a print business’ capability.
Constantly evolving
A wholly owned subsidiary of Plockmatic International and part of the Plockmatic Group, Morgana Systems supplies a wide range of offline post-press equipment.
Fresh in the company’s line-up of feeding technology is the Morgana VFX vacuum feeder. Ray Hillhouse, vice president of sales and marketing for the Plockmatic Group Offline Business Unit, explains that advances in this kit means it can be integrated with a wide range of Morgana’s production line.
The Morgana VFX Feeder features a barcode reader for variable data printing
These include the BM3035, BM3050, BM5035, and BM5050 automated bookletmaking systems, and the PowerSquare 160 and PowerSquare 224 high capacity bookletmaking systems, Morgana’s DigiCoater Pro, and the DocuBind Pro VFX wire binding system.
The Morgana VFX can feed a wide range of pre-printed media on different paper types and weights at up to 15,000 sheets per hour thanks to highly automated vacuum feed technology. Key features include two loading trays featuring vacuum feed technology and double sheet detection sensors, anti-static bars as an additional extra, and automatic tray switching allowing for long unattended runs.
Ultrasonic and optical detectors ensure any sets that go out of sequence are stopped. The two feed bins can also be fitted with barcode readers for the production of variable page counts or for matching sets from one bin to a cover in the other. As well as this, the VFL Feeder is provided for long sheet applications.
Morgana also provides a more traditional feeder/collator tower in the form of the ACF510 air assisted smart tower feeder/collator. This is a ten-station machine which can be used either as a straight collator for printed sections or as a smart programmable feeder for the BM3000 series.
Another company that offers a one-stop solution for paper and board conversion machinery is Encore Machinery. An international and domestic provider of commercial paper/board finishing and packaging products, the company supplies a range of MB feeding and collating technology.
One example is the MB-System 438 accumulating folding machine. Designed for reading, accumulating, and folding personalised mail, the machine is known for its compact design and simple operation. Documents are either fed by a shingling pre-loader or a bulk loader with high stacking capacity. Data is matched with an integrated read system and all standard optical codes can be handled.
The MB-System 438 accumulating folding machine is supplied by Encore Machinery
Another product supplied by Encore is a range of new feeder options from MB. These include an Insert Suction Feeder, a Catalogue Feeder, the multifeed 3602, the top-loading, bottom feed suction feeder PBA, the suction feeder SF with bulk loader BSA 5000, the Flat Pile Feeder FSA with alignment table ART, and the Flat Pile Feeder FSA 52-Online.
All of this kit is designed for different requirements and versatile applications with technology ensuring a wide variety of materials and formats can be processed. “Thick or thin products, glossy or matt surfaces, single cut sheets or signatures, open or closed edges, cards or brochures are no problem for the feeding systems from MB Bäuerle,” the company says.
In terms of how far this technology has come, Paul Davidson, director of Encore Machinery, says: “MB has constantly been evolving its technology as new substrates and applications come along. Some of the technology from the original designs have been developed as stand-alone feeders incorporated within systems used for anything from the manufacture of flags to complex logistic systems used in large distribution centres.”
A digital route
Terry Cooper Services (TCS) is the exclusive UK agent for C.P. Bourg which supplies online and near-line digital finishing solutions. The manufacturer stopped producing collating machines around ten years ago when the industry began moving towards a more digital route. “Digital press suppliers such as Canon and Xerox were printing documents and books in sheet order which did not need collating but still needed to be finished into a stitched book or document,” explains Dean Stayne, head of sales at TCS.
The C.P. Bourg BSF sheet feeder supplied by TCS can be configured in four modes such as BSF-BCMe-BMe
Designed as an alternative to in-line finishing, the BSF model from C.P. Bourg is a high-volume sheet feeder able to manage a range of media widths and can be used in conjunction with certain bookletmakers.
Equipped with large suction belts, the paper feed device can reliably feed a broad range of media and can handle stacks that are not perfectly flat.
Describing the benefits of this kit, Stayne says: “As the optimal alternative to in-line finishing, the BSF is a high-volume sheet feeder designed to match today’s market demands. Coupled with the capability of using trollies, carts, and pallets from your printer, stacks of pre-collated documents – whether from digital colour, digital monochrome, or from offset presses – can easily be fed into post-printing equipment.
O Factoid: C.P. Bourg’s BSF sheet feeder supplied by Terry Cooper Services has a maximum media size of 571.5 x 364mm O
“Output from any engine (digital and/or pre-collated offset) can be placed into the BSF with ease. The content of the BSF will follow an automated bleed, crease, stitch, fold, trim process of up to 120-page booklets (30 sheets).”
Other benefits noted by Stayne include a large paper range, a maximum media size of 571.5 x 364mm and a minimum media size of 203.2 x 120mm. The machine can also be connected to a range of bookletmakers including the BDF Series, BM-e Series, and e-Series. The BSF will also receive the carts, dollies or pallets supplied with a range of digital printers including the Xerox DocuTech and Nuvera DS5000 and DS3500 stackers; Kodak Digimaster high capacity stackers; Océ Varioprint 5000 high capacity stackers; and HP Indigo 3500, 5000, 5500, and 7000 presses.
Driven by trends
A manufacturer of print finishing equipment for digital print finishing, Duplo produces a wide range of booklet production equipment. With this, it also produces high quality modular feeding collating systems for its entire range of booklet makers.
Rob Thurston, head of sales at Duplo UK explains: “For booklet production our feeding towers and digital feeding systems are designed to handle print from litho and multiple digital presses – allowing printers the flexibility to be able to grow with their production. As with all things Duplo, the systems are all modular and automation at the core to match our Booklet systems.”
When combined with Duplo’s range of bookletmakers, users of Duplo’s DSC-10/60i collator towers can finish booklets of all sizes including A4 landscape. Now available with both the 2022 launched iSaddle 5.0 and the 2021 launched 150 Booklet System, the DSC-10/60i can be independently configured to meet any requirement with multiple towers being added to the production process.
Duplo’s DSC-10/60i can be independently configured to meet any requirement with multiple towers being added to the production process
Outlining some of the key features of this kit, Thurston says: “The 10/60i offers superior feeding with the Duplo AMS (Air Management System). Each of the ten bins are fitted with AMS from the PC Controller and the towers. This unique feeding system manages the high power fans that create air flow and vacuum independently for each bin, enabling reliable feeding regardless of the paper weight or size.
“Using the Intelligent Multi Bin Feeding function, operators are able to select each bin individually and feed more than one sheet from one bin. By intelligently linking multiple bins, operators can expand the bin capacity from 65mm to 130mm or more. As an optional extra, our state-of-the-art Ultrasonic Sensor Technology can be added to enable trouble-free feeding of difficult paper such as black and solid colours.”
Also in Duplo’s portfolio is the DSF-6000 sheet feeder, which with the DSF-Twin feeder is given the designation PRO, and can be combined with both the iSaddle and the DBM-600 booklet systems. According to Thurston, the DSF-6000 and DST-Twin Feeder are perfect for integrity and error checking and rejection.
The DSF-2200 is described as Duplo’s most successful digital feeder as it can handle a wide variety of formats and can accommodate sheets up to 610mm long and can be fitted to all Duplo’s bookletmakers.
New to the line-up is Duplo’s 102 Friction Towers. The DFC-101 is said to be the fastest desktop vertical collator available in a ten-station configuration with an output speed of up to 7,800 sets per hour of A4 to straight stacks.
Duplo’s Esper Direct Marketing Collator is another product available and has been designed to meet the growing need for the gathering of assorted unaddressed mail documents prior to distribution. The Duplo DM Mini Collation System is said to extend the productivity and in-line processes of the Esper and was designed due to a trend towards higher volumes and a more diverse range of documents.
Plenty of choice
With such a wide range of options available on the market now with new technology constantly being developed, how can print businesses know which machine is the right one?
Hillhouse offers a few words of advice: “As with so many investments, the purchase of the right feeder and collator technology is all about efficiency and productivity. Systems from five or six years ago simply were not created with today’s print engines in mind, and would therefore struggle to keep pace with the speeds required by today’s printers and their customers.
“Automated bookletmaking, including feeders, has come a long way in that time, and print producers need to take advantage of such equipment. Like all products, developments in this sector haven’t stood still.
“For us, operating almost exclusively with the digital print sector, the demand for traditional collators has dropped significantly and we are focusing our attention on feeding technology designed specifically for pre-collated digitally produced sets, as this is what the modern engine is more capable of producing.”
Hillhouse adds: “The key issues here for printers are ease of set-up and set integrity. We are seeing more demand for control of the pre-collated sets, especially where there is variable data involved, so error detection and set integrity are very important. For this reason, systems with barcode reading are growing in popularity, and might even be considered as essential with a view to future business development.
We are seeing more demand for control of the pre-collated sets, especially where there is variable data involved”
“Printers that do not commit sufficient resources in this part of the process will find themselves being left behind by the demands of their market.”
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