MGI-Meteor DP8700 XL Digital press with long format (1020 mm), envelope and plastic card printing capabilities
A3 landscape photobooks, layflat books and brochures produced on panoramic paper will be among applications produced on the joint MGI/Perfect Bindery Solutions stand.
Those looking for something different, something innovative, at North Print & Pack will be well advised to stop by the stand belonging to MGI Technology and Perfect Bindery Solutions (stand M300).
The two companies’ combined presence incorporates a great many technologies and a great many applications, but everything on the stand will have one thing in common – that spark of distinction that will allow a forward-thinking print provider to set him or herself apart from the crowd.
Layflat books, A3 landscape photobooks, and brochures produced on panoramic paper will all be among the fruits of a workflow centred around MGI’s highly versatile Meteor DP8700 XL digital press – a press that can print on all standard paper formats such as SRA3 sheets, extended formats up to 1020 mm long, all envelope formats, and on a variety of substrates including plastics.
There are consequently many applications that the Meteor can tackle – panoramic photos or banners more than a metre long for example – which makes the machine unique in the world of sheetfed digital production presses. It will be printing a wide range of applications at North Print & Pack, but its party piece will be the A3 landscape photobook. ‘We’re looking to highlight the long format capability of the machine,’ said MGI director David Evans. ‘Most digital presses can only do a 2-page portrait onto an SRA3 sheet.
Others can do A3 landscape but the Meteor is available at much less investment cost and you can also print things like plastic cards and envelopes on it.’ In addition, MGI will be showing samples of output from its JetVarnish 3D digital spot UV coater at North Print & Pack – visually stunning and tactile pieces that provide true differentiation for printers and their customers. Flat sheets need finishing though, and that’s where Perfect Bindery Solutions comes in.
The company will be showing a wide selection of equipment on the stand, including some exciting new post-press technology. Palamides’ new Smartliner 240 layflat binder will be used to finish layflat A5 notebooks on the stand. This machine has a cycle rate of 240 books per hour and uses a patented adhesive that enables the books to have that layflat quality, as well as page pull that is equivalent to PUR binding.
The machine has two glue application nozzles, a cover feeder with integrated scoring, and spine preparation unit that roughs the spine to expose the fibres. The book block has a thin layer of water-based glue applied, which is immediately dried with an infra-red unit, before a thicker layer of glue is applied. It can handle almost any kind of book, both case-bound and soft cover.
Smyth’s F1088 semi-automated sewing machine will be processing the A3 landscape photobooks before casing-in on ODM Sticker and Smasher units. The Smyth machine was launched at drupa, and is notable for the ‘oversize’ formats it can handle, with a maximum size of 510 x 550 mm.
The manufacturer is soon to launch a more automated version of the F1088 which also incorporates the folding process. Mohawk Panoramic papers, which measure up at 460 x 320 mm and are available through Premier Paper Group, are going to be used for a 12-page pocket-sized brochure, printed in advance of the show.
They will be creased and folded at the show, and combined with a cover sheet in a Convertible Solutions Jig to ensure accurate register, which is then placed into the ODM Smasher.The pressure causes the adhesive to react and binds the pages together.
These machines are not the end of the story: also on the MGI/Perfect Bindery Solutions stand at North Print & Pack will be the Tech-ni-fold CreaseStream mini Auto-feed and CreaseStream plus creasing systems; The Finishing Point will show Ideal’s new 4860 ET guillotine and the Multigraf Touchline CF375 folder; and at the start of the whole process, Taopix software. And there will also be the worldwide launch of a new laser cutter – the Motioncutter – that has been developed by German company TheMediaHouse.
While the machine itself will not be present, samples of output and a video of the machine running will be on the MGI/PBS stand. The system runs on a unique bed and cuts at six metres per second (360 metres per minute) with a conveyor speed of 40 m/min.
It not cuts paper into intricate shapes but is currently being used for personalised direct mail campaigns where individual children’s names are cut out from the paper. It can perforate and also crease. It is perfect for personalised packaging as it can cut crease and shape in one run but can also etch a name or address from a pre-printed substrate.
