Cover Maker And Binder Fuel Schoolbook Print

Ashgate Automation's Casematic hard cover maker and a Fastbind Elite perfect binder are helping fulfil the potential of the growing short run, digitally printed school year book market for BCQ Print.

The Casematic is a table-top machine that produces personalised short-run hard covers of a quality that previously could only be achieved by a trade binder, according to Ashgate Automation.

The cover is printed on to a self-adhesive outer sheet and laminated for durability.

The Casematic at the Buckingham (UK) company is used to mount the cover on to the grey boards and spine.

The finished hardcover can then be bound on to the text block using the Fastbind Elite hot glue, perfect binder.

The Elite has a spine roughening system to open up the fibres in text block, prior to the glue being applied to the spine, which produces high quality bind strength across a range of stocks, it is claimed.

Julian Daniels, digital print manager at BCQ Print, said: "Previously we outsourced the case making but this type of works tends to come in peaks with a fast turn-around time.

Besides the logistics of sending the finishing out and getting it back, we had to send three books together to make it cost effective for both parties." And he added: "Now we have the equipment situated next to the two Xerox Igen digital printers, so that we can finish and despatch each book immediately it is printed.

This is important because in the last year we have quadrupled the number of year books we have produced and we are using the equipment every day." Daniels explained: "Although in the ideal world, it would be great to automate the process, it wouldn't make commercial sense because our run lengths are only between 50 and 200 books and there is a very significant price difference between these table top manual models and an automated machine.

The table top machines are very simple and reliable to operate.

Our finisher is very adept at using them and produces 200 good quality books a day from making the hard cover to the finished binding." He commented that if the company continued to expand in its current market, it may look at buying another Casematic and an Elite binder, which would still be cheaper than purchasing an automated machine.

BCQ Print would certainly go back to Ashgate because the company provides good service and supplies the consumables.

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