22years to th
rvice stry
Increased demand for adhesive
bound books in India
K C Sanjeev, Managing Director, Welbound Worldwide
Many more domestic publishers are turning to adhesive binding
aka perfect binding, as the preferred form of bookbinding. The
increase in demand for educational books is putting pressure
on existing capacities, across the country.
In India, more than 250 million students attend schools and
colleges. This has slowly but steadily seen the demand for books
rising. This trend has been confirmed by many of the leading
educational publishers and exercise notebook manufacturers.
Leading book printers like Repro India Ltd have increased their
adhesive binding capacities. Also, recent entrants like HT Burda
Media Ltd, a joint venture between HT Media Ltd, India and
Burda Druck GmbH have set up book binding plants that rival
some of the European facilities. The company is in the news
because it has bagged a 16 millon Euros printing contract with
the exclusive printing partner with a French company for the
next two years. This means printing of 100 million catalogues
every year for the company’s three brands.
L-R, Sunil Pandita and Ajay Madan of HT Media
Cover Story • Increased demand for adhesive
INSIDE
bound books in India
Head Band • Books v/s E-books
of se ng Indu
Printi
e
T I M E S
010
r-April 2
Vol 5 • No. 02 • Ma
HT Burda won the contract despite competitive pitching by
printers from Italy, France and Germany. HTB will print 20
different types of catalogues. The company is in an advanced
stage of negotiations with two large international retail brands
for annual printing of 12 million catalogues.
All this will require very high-end post press kit. And the
point is, today companies like HT Media Ltd have realised
this. Their independent venture into commercial print, have
installed Welbound’s 12 clamp perfect binder and trimmers to
supplement their high-end Manroland R700 HiPrint sheetfed
press at their Noida plant.
Likewise Repro India Ltd - the leading book printer exporter,
installed a WB 3600–12 clamp perfect binder in addition  to
book binding lines from Europe. Temple Packaging  Ltd., a
leading specialty packaging converter, installed a  WB 3600 for
pad-making at their Daman plant. (continued on page 5)
Santanu Roy - Repro India Ltd, Surat with the WB 3600
Signature • Paul Parisi to Book Binders Bookmark • Hardcover book cases
Centre Spread • Welbound Knowledge Yatra Tail Band • my DEAR FOLDER
End Paper • New Installations
Books v/s eBooks
Bimal Mehta is the Executive Director Vakil & Sons Pvt Ltd and
Mentor of the BMPA Share To Benefit Forum
2009 saw significant developments in eBooks and tablet
device, and this has indeed been the fastest-growing segment
of the publishing market. This is as per the new survey of US
consumers and their attitude towards eBooks conducted by
the Book Industry Study Group. The survey also suggests that
eBook readers are altering their purchase habits with nearly
20% of respondents saying they’ve stopped buying print books
in favour of buying eBooks. Affordability was indicated as the
main reason for this trend.
There have been many new e-books that have been introduced
over the last year. The most popular amongst these are:
Amazon’s “Kindle”, Barnes & Noble’s “Nook” and the Sony
eBook reader. Kindle is a watershed event in ePublishing. It is
not the first eBook device, and may not ultimately be the one
that will prevail. Yet, Amazon’s Kindle is touted as one of the
most ambitious projects after the Gutenberg’s printing press.
The latest to hit the market is Steve Job’s iPAD, the $600 plus
tablet computer.
The single most interesting component of eBooks is its paper-
like display. Rather than the LCD displays used in previous book
readers, this display uses E-Ink technology invented at MIT’s
Media Laboratory. Another notable feature of E-Ink is that it can
be laid onto a plastic substrate, even a flexible one! This means
that devices such as Kindle are very resistant to the greatest
threat facing LCD display in laptops – cracking and shattering.
Factors contributing the growth of eBooks:
Improved display technology will be a positive catalyst of
change and will help contribute to the development of eBooks.
Developments in XML (eXtensible Markup Language), will help
in repurposing data into cross-media platforms.
Environmental considerations will also have an impact on the
choices people make. Printed books are supposed to generate
about six times more CO2 emissions compared to eBooks. This
kind of data would push policy makers to increasingly produce
more content electronically.
There are arguments in support of the printed books, too: Kindle
does not give you the “holding, feeling, smelling” experience.
Nor is it convenient to read to your children in bed.
Several book buyers step into bookstores to buy a specific
title, but in the process, end up buying books that grab their
attention, for future reading. With eBooks however, users will
only download a book when they actually want to read it.
That being said, though, Kindle-like devices pose a serious
threat to printed books in the years to come. EBooks will also
change the existing business models in publishing. According
to Steve Kessel, Amazon’s vice president for ePublishing, about
48% of book sales in the US now happen via Kindle. He expects
products like Kindle to replace physical books in the future.
According to the Association of American Publishers, eBook
sales had gained 150 per cent since April 30th 2009. This is to
be contrasted with overall book sales, which dropped over 4%
Overall, $112 million worth of eBooks were purchased last year,
a figure predicted to rise to $400 million in three years time.
My brief on eBooks and the inroads it has made into publishing
are more western economy centric. According to the Sunday
Edition of “The Times” (UK), more than half of all books will be
electronic by 2020. Amazon said that on Christmas Day, sales of
eBooks outstripped print for the first time. Recently California’s
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed legislation that
all textbooks would go electronic. Based on this one policy,
several companies in Silicon Valley are likely to be doing R&D to
develop technology for cheap and efficient etext books.
Indian perspective
Such trends are kindling worries for traditional publishers and
printers. However, from the Indian perspective, do we need to
feel threatened? There are contradicting views on this.
India’s per capita consumption of print is one of the lowest in
the world. India’s GDP growth rate is predicted around 10%
and within the next 10 years India is poised to become the third
largest economy. But India cannot achieve this unless we focus
on education. For this, we could need more schools, more
universities, and therefore MORE TEXTBOOKS. This segment
will be one of the drivers of the Indian printing industry.
India has already taken steps in moving documents to an
e-platform, especially in the financial sector. Over the years,
stock certificates, annual returns, tax returns have gone
electronic. With the advent of XBRL, several financial documents
(including Annual Reports), will go electronic.
Cross-media platforms
Printed publicity material will also see pressure from the
e-segment. Magazines are moving to the online media. In
the UK, many niche publications have stopped their print
version. Companies such as Pressmart offer a full suite of
online publishing services to the newspapers and magazines
and deliver them on Web, Mobile, eReader, Podcast and other
digital channels seamlessly.
The Smart Phone will play a pivotal role in ePublishing, as it has
done so in other segments. My domestic help was mentioning
that till recently, his village in Jharkhand did not have phone
connections. No PCO booth. It still does not have a PCO booth.
However, several villagers have a mobile connection.
The point I am making is that today, we may skip intermediary
technologies to move directly to the latest available one.
Wireless technology has changed businesses dramatically.
From my own personal experience, with the advent of SMSes,
our greeting card business is on the downswing. This did not
happen with the internet (in fact with the internet, printed
greeting cards were booming). The Smart Phones (especially
iphone apps) are making its impact on ePublishing.
To summarise, eBooks are here to stay, but are currently no
threat to the Indian Print industry. Hopefully, we have another
decade or two before us of business. Nonetheless, I have started
working on my golf, just in case I need to retire early.
Paul Parisi to Book Binders
A basic lesson on how to communicate with your customers
Paul Parisi is president of Acme Bookbinding, the Massachusetts-based, oldest continuously
operated book bindery in the world.
In the print industry, we have six common pitfalls for job
rejections. These are:
(a) Incorrect instructions to the printer . . . 39%
(b) Colour mismatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30%
(c) Improper converting. . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
(d) Breakdown in customer contact . . . . . . 5%
(e) Layout issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4%
(f) Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2%
Incorrect instructions have wrecked many books. A few
examples of errors made while planning:
(a) Books that are to be perfect bound, stripped for
saddle stitching
(b) Thread sewn books provided with more gutter space
for grind-off (back milling)
(c) Trim margins that are either too low or too high.
Bookbinders are often left with little or no manoeuvrability
when a print job arrives on our shop floor. In the race to do
additional jobs, one might be tempted to accept the job with its
entire shortcomings – only to lose the client once the binding
fails. My advice is: caution the customer; provide him with a list
of “to do” things. One needs to make an extra effort in making
the client understand that ‘there is huge saving for him / her’ in
a job, well planned.
Given below are a series of instructions that a bookbinder
should communicate to the print buyer or planner.
(1) Provide the publisher or the printer various folding
impositions that your machines support. Ask him/her to
call you “when in doubt”.
(2) Insist on using stepped/numbered spine markers to assist
in proper signature collation.
(3) Trim allowance for the signatures – they should provide at
least 3mm on the head, tail and fore-edge. The untrimmed
covers of thread sewn or perfect bound paperback books
should be 3mm longer at the head and tail. In addition to
this, if the end papers are to be glued solid to the covers,
then insist on the cover being at least 3mm wider (binding
edge to fore-edge) than the untrimmed signatures.
(4) Head margins for all pages must be the same to ensure
proper registration. This includes inserts that may be
trimmed for tipping or wrapping as well as signatures and
covers. Printed endpaper should bleed to the untrimmed
signature size.
(5) All signatures for Smyth sewn books must be the same
size. Uneven signature lengths will require pre-trimming
and you must charge for it.
(6) There should be grind off allowance provided for perfect
bound books. This is normally about 3 mm. There is
absolutely no grind off allowance on Smyth/thread sewn
books.
(7) Printed cover stock for hard bound books: Allow 15 mm
turn-in on all four sides when printing cover stock for
hard cover binding. This cover buffer enables the bindery
to turn the cover stock over the board, onto the inside
surface of the cover. Remember that the trim size of the
book is smaller than the size of the cover. It is advisable
for you to produce a binding dummy to ensure correct
stripping once you’re supplied with materials and
information. Suggest that the paper cover stock be film
laminated for strength.
(8) We need to ensure that crop marks and colour bars are
removed by trimming. The signature marks are hidden
by folding and sewing. For this all marks should be left at
least 3 mm (preferably more) outside the final trim area.
(9) For cross-over, strip copy about 1.6mm short of grind-
off area (grind off margin+ 1.6mm). Cross-over should
appear to meet at the spine. As the accuracy of folding
required is very high, insist on folding at your bindery.
As for cross‑over images, you cannot be responsible for
alignment if you are not involved at the planning stage
(10) When printing books with bleeds that run into the binding
margin, as with art or photography books, please leave
3 mm unprinted and unvarnished glue trap (blank, non
printed area) in the gutter between signatures. Without
the glue trap, you cannot guarantee that the adhesives
will penetrate into the paper fibres. This will also prevent
solvents from printing ink migrating into the glued area.
(11) If the job involves thread sewing and if the paper is not
heavy, then you may have to insert an 8 page into another
8 page to make 16 page signatures for sewing. The
planning has to bear this in mind.
(12) If the job has odd signatures, 2, 4 or 8 pages, then it will
involve either tipping or wrapping. Never have them at
the beginning or the end of the book.
• 2 page Tip it to outside of back (rather than front) of
any signature other than the last signature.
• 4 page Wrap around any signature (in case of
automatic thread sewing) or insert into a
signature (in case of perfect binding).
• 8 page Collate with other signatures but never place
them at the end of the book as this will cause
problems.
You may be wondering: will my customer run off, if confronted
with such a big list of “do this and don’t do that”? Perhaps some
of them may scorn you; but try and reason about the benefits
and the gains. Every process or step or instruction will result in
(a) Reduction in raw material consumption
(b) Lower wastage and
(c) A stronger, durable book.
You might take more time in convincing the customer about
the benefits of job planning, but in the end the customer will
remain – happy and satisfied.
Welbound Knowledge Yatra
Empowering book printers and publishers of India
Ramu Ramanathan, Editor - PrintWeek India
“Books may not change our suffering, books may not protect us
from evil, books may not tell us what is good or what is beautiful,
and they will certainly not shield us from the common fate of the
grave. But books grant us myriad possibilities: the possibility of
change, the possibility of illumination.” — Alberto Manguel
It is said, each book is a world unto itself, and in it we take refuge.
For that to happen, these books have to be created, perfectly.
It is with this aim that Welbound Worldwide has been hosting a
series of technical sessions on bookbinding across the country.
The three-hour sessions, discuss “planning to trimming to
perfect binding to adhesive handling.”
The past two months have seen bookbinding evangelists from
Welbound conduct workshops at Pune and Hyderabad in
multiple locations. And later, two special sessions in Noida.
All India outreach
The session at Pune, in January 2010 – held in association with
the Pune Press Owners Association – was attended by more
than 80 printers and binders. Anil Krishna, the CEO of Henkel
CAC India Pvt Ltd conducted the session on characteristics of
hotmelt adhesives and their application. He highlighted the
importance of applying adhesives at the right temperature,
handling the application tools safely, not resorting to mixing of
two different types of adhesives and the post-binding handling
procedures.
Later, there were two sessions at Hyderabad on two consecutive
days. The first one was conducted at Pragati Offset, which the
technical team from Pragati and key book printers from the
twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad attended. The
presentation on bookbinding workflow was made by Sajith
Pallippuram and moderated by P Narendra.
The second event was hosted at the corporate headquarters of
the country’s leading educational publishers – Orient Blackswan
Pvt Ltd (OB). This was attended by the Directors of Sales, Finance
and Editorial, Vice President Production and their Production
Officers from Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai.
The senior management of Orient Blackswan
These presentations had a user perspective; in order to make
it relevant to the ‘print buyer’. The planning team at OBL felt
they should pay a bit more attention on the procurement of
text and cover paper, especially related to grain direction. They
discussed the unrealistic pressures on production since a very
short time is available between planning to delivery.
After the session, J Krishnadev Rao, Director Finance of Orient
Blackswan seemed pleased: “Welbound provided us with a
very educative, interactive session on issues related to adhesive
binding”
Capital gain
The next stop was Noida, in the National Capital Region. This
session was attended by more than 100 printers and binders.
Then there was an ‘interactive workshop’ at Pearson Education
India, at their Noida office. The production officers of both
Pearson and their group company Penguin India joined
this session. A few members from their editorial team also
participated. According to Subhasis Ganguly, VP‑Production,
Pearson Education: “My team members enjoyed the workshop.
We hope that we could work together to implement a better
work flow and improved technology at our print partners”
All the Q&A sessions, across the various venues, had a few
common concerns: Many printers objected to the insistence
on specifications about grain direction. The reason being:
they buy paper or board in large stocks, due to cost benefits.
Sometimes the information on grain is not provided. In fact
these are labelled as GAW (Grain Any Way) in jest. However it
was concluded that if printers demand the grain that they need,
they will get it.
During the Q&A sessions, there were questions on varnishing
and coating of the inside of covers. Dinesh Ingawale explained
that if coating is necessary, it will will have to be spot and
localised coating which can be done using a UV printing unit
(either offset or screen).Participants were shown the sample of
books to link the problems to causes. (continued on page 5)
Pearson Education team
(continued from page 4)
Perfectly bound
The session on perfect binding machine and ideal settings were
popular among users of such machines. Most of them noted
issues related to temperature control, safety and handling of
the book soon after binding. They agreed that it was imperative
to implement better material movement within their plants
once they understood the issue related to wastage.
At some sessions, the costing of perfect binding was discussed.
The majority opinion was that binders do not estimate the costs
correctly – thereby incurring losses on their print job. Typical
case-studies were examined. The findings were a revelation. An
adhesive binding job, according to calculations which should
cost Rs.1.7 per book, a publisher was offering Rs.1.1 and there
are takers. In most cases, the cost of investment and rent were
not calculated. Plus there were antiquated methods of pricing.
This included multiplying the variable cost to arrive at pricing.
Or else, if “A” book printer can do at Rs X, then of course, “B”
book printer can do the same job at Rs. 0.8 X.
(continued from page 1 )
Boom in notebook manufacturing
I feel these are the recent trends which are emerging from the
exercise notebook industry as well. This is a segment which
is focused on delivering cost effective books, in the shortest
duration possible. The new trend is to cover-paste the thread
sewn books using adhesive binders – a process which will
deliver flat books that are durable and aesthetically pleasing.
The last three months witnessed a number of WB 2000s being
installed up by exercise notebook manufacturers, in South,
West and North India.
Consider Mumbai’s Shah Book manufacturers (Prabhat), Paris
Paper Mart and Vatican Paper Mart in Chennai , Majestik Impex,
Nadar Press and Micro Fine products in Madurai.Then there are
ARS Stationers in Erode, Staple Paper Products in Hyderabad,
Cee Bee Book Manufacturing in Bengaluru.
Also Pragati Siksha Bhawan – the Lucknow based stationery
manufacturer, who installed a complete book manufacturing
line in addition to a WB 2000. Even though wire stitching is a
cheaper and faster option to bind exercise notebooks, adhesive
binding delivers safe and pin-free alternative. Better product
Aparna Govil, Shree Maitrey Printech Pvt Ltd, Noida
Welbound has agreed to support the book printer community
in India by empowering them with information that will enable
them to “correctly” estimate the costs of their job.
The latest episode of the Knowledge Yatra was hosted at the
hugely popular Printing Engineering college at Pune Vidyarthi
Grah (PVG). More than 80 final-year students thronged to
the lecture hall. While most of them are fresh with the basic
knowledge on planning and workflow, they got a glimpse of
the practical issues on the shop floor.
With every chapter of Welbound’s Knowledge Yatra, it is work
in progress, since the program is evolving in an attempt to
address vital issues which are relevant to a book printer. Be it:
planning, workflow, wastage, safety practices or estimation of
costs.
The Yatra shall continue because Welbound believes, “The love
of books, like most loves, must be learned.”
If you or your company or print association is keen to host
a Knowledge Yatra in your city, you may contact Sajith at
welbound@gmail.com (Ramu Ramanathan)
branding is possible, given the larger and square spine. This
method which is deployed for hard-cover exercise notebooks
is popular in the rural markets.
The demand for the single-clamp binder (specially designed for
the notebook market) has been unprecedented.
Educational Publishing on fast track
The New Delhi capital region saw perfect binders installed by
commercial printers as well as book printers. The publishing
regions of both Meerut and Agra have seen a nod for WB 2000s
in the last two months. North-based educational publishers
like Jyoti Book Depot of Jalandhar installed their third WB 2000,
while Malhotra Book Depot (MBD) picked their fifth. Sahitya
Bhawan of Agra purchased their second WB2000 in three
months.
New Central Book Agency, the leading Book Publisher and
Book Seller of Kolkata, who is a national leader in segments like
medical books, bought a special model of WB2000 that can
handle hefty books.
Clearly, it is an exciting time. Watch this space for more
information... (K C Sanjeev)
Ajay Rai, Ana Print-o-Grafix, Noida
Hardcover book cases
Are you sure they fit?

Werner Rebsamen, Professor, Emeritus RIT / Trade Consultant

The traditional way of constructing a hardcover binding used
to be as follows: First you had to bind the book block and then
take the measure­ments – these are the width, height and bulk
(thickness). Then the binders cut the boards, the inlay or spine-
strip, and the covering materials. A library binder, binding or
½ x 9¼". This should be done on a board shear. If the strips are
cut on a guillotine cutter, one of the edges of the strip is slanted,
often resulting in a poor quality, distorted spine.
�⁄�"

}
�⁄�" �⁄�"
rebinding one book at a time, usually had no other choice but to ¼"
5 �⁄�"
follow this rule. There are just too many variables for each book
to be bound. They have to take much into consideration—trim
or no trim; grinding or not grinding-off the spine; thickness of
the book-block; and type of the hardcover binding (round­ed
and backed, flat-back, endpaper structure). They all influence 6"
the critical measurements required for making a beautifully
Board sizes for square back book
fitting hardcover case.
Now we are ready to calculate the dimensions of the cover and
Paper Caliper – PPI covering material.
Manufactured papers have a caliper. The caliper of the
paper is the measured thickness of a single sheet by the use If the spine strip has a width of ½", add 3/8" on each side. The 3/8"
of a micrometer when a speci­fied static load is applied for a gaps repre­sent the joint areas. Bear in mind when using thicker
minimum specified time. Since papers vary in their thickness boards, you must add a little more to this area, as the covering
and are compressible, the bulking number is measured in a material has to go over the spine strip. An insufficient joint area
manner that predicts the bulk of a book under the conditions may result into unusual stress exerted onto the first and last
of production. Paper companies and suppliers provide this pages of a binding.
data, expressed in pages per inch or PPI. For example if they list
a certain paper to have 500 PPI, it means 500 pages will make
a book-block that is exactly one inch thick. Now watch out and Between the

be aware that a sheet has two pages! In other words, 250 sheets boards
�⁄�" joint areas

of a 500 PPI paper will equal one inch. Let’s take a few examples
and discuss the dimensions needed for hardcover cases.
Board Spine Board
Flat or square backed books �⁄�" turn ins
Flat or Square hardcover cases are much different from rounded
and backed ones. If the book block is adhesive bound and the Spine strip = bulk + 2 boards

endpaper flexes at the binding edge, such a cover structure is Cover dimensions for square back hardcover
different from a binding that is side-sewn. If oversew endsheets
are used, treat it like one that flexes at the very binding edge. Cover Size = Board Size + between the boards + board size
Cover Stock = Cover Size + Turn in allowance
For an example, let us assume that our book-blocks have a trim
size of 6 x 9 in and a bulk of approx. 3/8". An average, median Cover dimensions
board is used (0.080"). The calculations of board, spine (inlay) Board size 57/8" X 91/4"
and cover dimensions for a square back hardcover flexing at
Joint area 3/8"
the binding edge is calculated as follows:
Inlay strip plus ½"
Board Sizes Joint area plus 3/8"
+ Between the boards equals 1¼"
Trim size 6" x 9"
+ Board size 57/8"
Hinge area Less 1/4"
= Cover size 13" X 91/4"
Extensions plus 1/8" plus ¼"
+ Turn-ins 5/8" /8"
Board size 5 7/8" X 9 ¼" (all four sides) plus 5/8" plus 5/8"
Width of Inlay Strip Cover stock dimensions 14 ¼" x 10 ½"
Board thickness 0.080" Side-sewn book blocks with Singer-style end­sheets require
Spine thickness plus 3/8" different calculations because the cover board must flex further
inward. This and more in the next issue.
Board thickness plus 0.080"
Width of inlay strip ½" (Please mail to welbound@gmail.com for “board and cover size
calculator for square back books’ )
That is the width of the spine strip. Therefore, cut the spine strips
my DEAR FOLDER
Dave Trutzenbach is the CEO of www.partsforfolders.com an online site which is a hub for ordering folding machine
parts. He has 52 years experience in the industry and has worked as operator of folders, managed bookbinding units,
besides imparting tips about bookbinding before his retirement from MBO.
The life of a folding machine operator can be exasperating. It is
perhaps the most stressful jobs in the printing trade.
The complexities of how the paper is folded are not difficult but
to produce the best and most accurate folding is very difficult.
To achieve maximum productivity without sacrificing the
accuracy is a humongous task.
Patience is the most important qualification of a good folding
machine operator. The operator should have an in-depth
understanding of paper, print and the folding machine.
The grain of the paper, imposition, climatic conditions, and
machine settings – the list of topics that the operator should
master is a lengthy one.
If one writes an instruction handbook for the folding machine
operator, it will be much of a tome as an operating + spare parts
machine-manual. Today’s folding machines try to provide tools
to simplify settings and operations on the folding units, feeder,
delivery. Sometimes it includes an electronic control module
which ensures the operator can control quality and manage
the job.
The BASIC RULE in folding is NEVER let your adjustments on the
machine be adjustments which originate out of a frustration!
If you set an adjustment and it doesn’t work then return to the
original settings. Too many operators “play” with the settings
and then get lost in the maze of settings (and re-settings).
During my fifty two years of experience in bookbinding, (which
began in 1957 as an apprentice bookbinder for six years) I
learnt hand booking and also operated many different binding
machines but finally stuck with the folding machine. Then as
an instructor and then as an application specialist for MBO, I
have come across instances where a folding job was ruined due
to the incompetency of the operator. I do not blame them, as
they are supposed to master an entire range of technicalities
(like parallel folds, right-angle folds, combination folds) that
can come with training and experience.
When I address my dear printer-binder friends, I ask them to give
as much importance to the selection of the operator as they
would give for the selection of the machine. Before handing
over a machine to the operator, they should ask questions on
paper, impositions, machine adjustments and so on. If they
do not know the answers – please train them. I am sure your
machine supplier can assist you in the process.
We can address this either by looking at a problem and tracing
the source or by starting from basics. In the past few months,
Welbound Times has published tech-articles on paper in
relation to binding and most of the basics are common. An
experienced folding operator investigates a folding problem
like a detective and finds the source. He will try and examine
things from the point of paper, grain, the weather, speed of the
machine, roller settings and isolate the issue.
Many of the fault finding traits come with knowledge and habit.
Let me try and understand a few basics through a Q&A format.
While folding, why is that long grain for thinner paper and
short grain for thicker paper are preferred for accurate
folding?
This has no relation to the folding requirement for a book –
wherein the direction has to be parallel to the spine. What
I’m trying to highlight is a problem that happens either in the
case of too thin or too thick sheets. When we run the machine
at maximum speeds, we notice variations. Why? What goes
wrong?
buckle stop
collapsing sheet
buckle plate
sheet infeed
folding rollers
Sheet collapsing in a buckle plate
During the folding process the paper needs to be as rigid as
possible. This is particularly with the first folds so that the sheet
does not collapse in the fold or buckle plates. In case of thick
paper, the grain should be such that it bends or buckles easily
necessitating the need for short grain. On the other hand, with
thin paper, the sheet will collapse with the minimum of frictional
contact with upper and lower inner plate rails in the fold plates.
Long grains would help prevent this. Sometimes the format of
the signature demanded short grain (for the grain to be parallel
to spine). I used to overcome this problem by hand creasing
very lightly the leading edge of the sheets each time I loaded
the feeder. Not too much as to put a permanent crease after
folding but just enough to add some stability for first folds. So
before you go and start adjusting the rollers or any part of the
machine, please check the grain.
Why does coated paper crack during the folding process?
What can you do to prevent this?
This is another issue created and associated with grain and
dry paper. Paper needs moisture to fold without “breakage”
or “cracking”. Another reason is, when the layout team try to
produce maximum number of pages on a sheet of paper. Now
you have a problem of too many folds being squeezed and
under pressure between the folding rollers. This is worse with
coated text of 80lb -100lb. If you think that it may be a problem
then cut the impositions to 2 x 16 pages instead of a single 32
page imposition. There is too much bulk and excessive push
out. Once, I remember my stack of paper was so badly curled, I
told the paper merchant to stock it in a very damp environment.
After a couple of hours of absorbing moisture it helped to de-
curl the job. It was now possible to run with less problems.
We will address many more related issues in folding in the next
issue.
Installation News
Trident Three Knife Trimmers

Fardeen Ikram, Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi Santasil Basu, Anil Printers, Nashik

Fr Jacob Korackal, St Joseph’s Press, Thiruvananthapuram
The resurgence in the economy has seen print companies
make a prudent investment in three knife trimmers. The two
models of Trident, E 20 and E 15, from the Welbound family saw
innumerable installations across India.
Ana Printo Graphix has set up a full-fledged bindery to support
their book print export activities in Noida. This unit has selected
the heavy duty trimmer, Trident E20, with speeds of 20 cycles
per minute.
HT Media Ltd, the media group who publishes Hindustan Times,
Hindustan and Mint, have hand-picked Welbound to support
their high-end commercial print activities. Along with the
state of the art printing machines from Manroland, HT Media
has chosen Welbound to bolster the bookbinding equipment.
Trident E20 is a part of this. Repro India Ltd, the leading book
printer in the domestic and export book market showed faith
on the E20 to be the “offline trimmer” at their facility in Sachin,
Surat.
The E20 can handle extra large formats up to 44 cm x 30 cm,
at 20 cycles per minute. E15, the younger model, which is
gaining popularity, has a smaller footprint. It handles the most
popular book formats, up to 35 X 30 cm, at speeds of 15 cycles
per minute. Both of these follow the stringent European safety
standards and provide diagnostics through PLCs.
Chaman Enterprises, the Darya Ganj, Delhi-based book printer
All Trademarks belong to their respective owners
Fr Justin Puthussery, Viani Paper, Kochi
installed a E15. According to Fardeen Ikram, the focus while
selecting the equipment was on quality and consistency of
trim as well as operational safety.
Anil Printers Ltd, Nashik, a leading supplier of paper and
PVC-based scratch cards for cellular and internet services have
selected a Trident E15 for the trimming of small-sized booklets.
St Joseph’s Press in Thiruvanthapuram is the leading
commercial printer in Kerala’s capital city. The press was started
in 1948 and owned by Carmelite Fathers of Malabar Province,
a registered Charitable Trust. They added an E20 to their print
finishing department. Likewise Viani Printers, a newspapers
and magazine publisher-printer, managed by Ernakulam
Archdiocesan Publication Trust, also opted for an E20.
Other top notch printers in South India have also migrated
towards a Trident. These are: Chennai Micro Printers in Chennai,
Trivikram Technologies in Vijayawada, who picked Trident E20.
Last quarter saw the Trident brand of three knife trimmers
establishing the presence in the Saudi Arabia book printing
market.
Meanwhile, National Printers Ranchi, the leading book printer
from Jharkhand got their second Trident E20 installed in
January. And even as we go to press, Gita Press of Gorakhpur
has added one more E20 to their bindery. This is their second
Trident.
Published by K C Sanjeev and P Sajith • Printed at Jayant Printery, Mumbai • Editor: P Sajith
folded and glued on the Diploma folder at India Printing Work, Mumbai.

Mumbai: 112, East West Ind. Centre, Safed Pool, Kurla Andheri Road, Mumbai 400 072. INDIA Tel.: 91 (22) 2859 6960/7919 • Fax : 91 (22) 2851 4852
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