Mark Pellman

Purchasing a new floor-model folder with automation features can lower your operating costs and improve the quality of your folds. by MARK SMITH WHEN BUSINESS conditions get tight, it's natural to think about hunkering down and waiting for the market to turn around. This may hardly seem like the right time to make a significant investment in new equipment. However, doing just that can provide both short- and long-term benefits. Postpress operations are prime targets for performance improvement, since they traditionally have been labor-intensive and highly mechanical. Folding falls into that category. Purchasing a new floor-model folder with automation features can provide a big

Automation in setup and changeover make today's folding machines easier to use than ever. Learn how your in-plant can benefit. NICHOLAS MONELLO has been in printing for 40 years. He knows what to look for in a folder. "A state-of-the-art folder, with computerized and electronic input controls," he says. "Also, very important is having quick changeover capabilities to different sizes or features." As print shop director for the New York City Department of Health Graphic Services, it's Monello's job to know the industry. His supervisor, Graphic Services Director Bruce Krueger, says the in-plant uses an MBO B-18, an MBO T-49 and a Baum Ultrafold

Computerization is making cutters easier to use and helping in-plant managers deal with the steady decline in skilled operators. For cutting machines, technological innovation seems to have reached a point past which most further improvements and features seem superfluous. Indeed, today's machines operate about as quickly, efficiently and safely as anyone can reasonably expect. One factor, however, promises to influence the design of these machines for the foreseeable future: The lack of skilled operators to run them. "I haven't yet spoken to a single plant manager who hasn't said it's hard to find skilled help," says David Spiel, vice president of Spiel

Before picking a new folder, research your options. New capabilities are boosting productivity, putting workhorse equipment at your fingertips. Do you know what kind of folding equipment you want? You may think you know—but sometimes your equipment vendor knows even better. "I just had a customer that started out wanting a tabletop folder but wanted the capabilities of continuous feeding," says Mark Pellman, sales engineer for Baum USA. "He didn't realize he needed a floor-model because a tabletop is what he always used. He just didn't know." Not knowing could prove a problem for your shop. In order to combat that, know

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