According to Michel Hunkeler,this year’s Innovationdaysevent signaled a new levelof openness and cooperation withleading manufacturers such asHorizon and Muller Martini.
Theimplication is that this new level oftechnical exchange and agreementhas meant better integration of thepaper finishing modules with thebinding and end-process modulesof these manufacturers. Smart binding systems, designed to handle consecutive productive productionof single books with varying formatand pagination, is one area where thisintegration is paying off even in India.Horizon showed a fairly elaboratesmart binding system similar to whatthey showed at drupa 2016, includingthe BQ 480 perfect binder which is now shipping. A newer version of theBQ480 4-clamp perfect binder withmore powerful stepping motors thatimprove its milling, sizing, pressingand creasing capabilities was shownat Hunkeler Innovationdays.
Horizon’s Indian representativeOm Prakash HR explained thatwhile the leading Indian digital bookprinters cannot always go in for theentire automated system at one time,they are keen to have smart bindingsystems for the dynamic productionof single copies and short runs. Inone case, a leading book printer whosaw a similar solution at Horizon’sstand at drupa has been able toimplement the solution in the pastyear, by only buying some of theessential modules and leaving out acouple to save costs.
