Digital Paper Pitfalls
Ames uses four Xerox DocuTech 6180 digital presses to print books two-up on 11" x 17" paper. The pages are then trimmed to 8.5" x 11" size, and plastic coiled or perfect bound.
The paper is bought on long rolls, which may be 19" wide. As many pages as possible are printed along the roll, to minimize waste. Then the pages are trimmed.
But after receiving a job request to include perforations on textbook pages, Delano discovered Ames couldn't buy 11" x 17" sheets with twin perforations. They'd have to pay for more costly perforated 8.5" x 11" paper.
Rather than drive up his client's cost, Delano decided to invest in a DocuSheeter DT roll feed system from Roll Systems, in Burlington, Mass. The DocuSheeter perforates the paper before it's sheeted and fed into the printer.
Ames continues to purchase the less-costly unperforated 11" x 17" sheets, and perforates using the DocuSheeter.
IRONING OUT MAKE-READY COSTS
Paper vendors are keenly aware switching papers for different jobs can be a time-consuming process, driving up costs for the printer and, by extension, publishers.
One paper vendor, Glatfelter, has attacked that problem in an innovative way. The company took its most popular trade book grade, Writers, and adapted it for digital applications.
Dubbed DigiBook, the paper can be used for both offset and digital printing. This can eliminate the need to swap paper grades when jobs changeover, a huge boon for busy printers offering both offset and digital—an increasingly common scenario.
"Just a few years ago, printers were searching for an effective business model that could take advantage of this new emerging market," says Mark Pitts, director of printing and converting papers for Glatfelter, in York, Pa. "In 2003, it appeared that printers were beginning to reap the benefits of their hard work."
