Print Solutions
Inchinnan, Renfrewshire based HDC (Homework Diary Company) has announced its third installation of a PowerSquare 224 bookletmaker. This latest machine is an off line Morgana PowerSquare 224VF, complete with high capacity dual bin feeder. The machine was sold by Canon UK, an authorised dealer of Morgana off line and Plockmatic in line finishing units.
HDC produce a wide and versatile range of high quality printed book products for the educational market. These include both student and teacher planners, personalised exercise books, and primary and secondary yearbooks.
The first of the finishing machines installed at HDC was a Watkiss branded hand fed off line unit some five years ago; the second, two years ago, was installed by Canon in an in line configuration, integrated with a VP6250 digital printing machine. This third unit, now branded Morgana, is again off line but with its own high capacity feeder.
Commenting on the latest addition, Robin Clark, managing director at HDC, said: ‘Whilst the in line unit has been a great success, the latest Morgana PowerSquare 224 with the VF feeder can be much more efficient and more versatile in an off line configuration, where it can handle the output from two or three of our mono and colour Canon presses. This will allow us as a business to be much more productive – which can be critical for our especially busy periods, such as before the start of the new school year.’
The PowerSquare 224VF bookletmaker, with its high capacity dual bin feeder, offers a flexible solution for a wide range of booklet types and sizes. The system is fed by the VF vacuum assisted feeder which has a loading capacity of up to 540 mm, giving long uninterrupted production runs.
Pre-collated printed sets can be placed into both bins for longer runs, or covers can be placed into one of the bins when they need to be merged with collated sets. The feeder can also be loaded on the run with automatic bin switching. Optional barcode readers can be fitted to the VF for variable page count jobs or to ensure set integrity. In a single machine the PowerSquare 224 combines the four processes of stitching, folding, spine forming, and trimming, to produce SquareBack books of up to 224 pages thick.
Commenting further, Robin added, ‘We know the robustness of the unit and could appreciate the productivity of having it installed as an off line system, so we didn’t need to look anywhere else before we made our choice.
‘Canon has been our supplier of choice for many years, so it was easy to deal with the company regarding the latest order. The machine build of the finishing units has been excellent. The reliability of the finishing products has been exceptional, and the unique squareback finish that they produce really helps our products to stand out.’
Another of the unique feature of the PowerSquare 224 is that is can add up to six staples in one printed set, meaning that smaller format products can be printed and finished 2-up or 3-up, increasing productivity significantly. The proven SquareBack process produces a superior quality of finish, delivering professionally finished booklets.
