Unusual products and the option of a third fold on tabloid newspapers are among options from manroland’s two digital-specific folding systems.

The digital newspaper and book production solutions were shown to trade visitors at the company’s Augsburg factory last month during Océ’s companion event in Poing.

Digital printing vice president Alwin Stadler says manroland is establishing finishing as a central system component in digital printing systems and ensuring integration into the customer's workflow.

The FoldLine system digital newspaper production delivers tabloid, broadsheet and Berliner products inline or off-line, and will also produce brochures, magazines and book signatures.

It has been designed for products of up to 96 pages tablod (48 pages broadsheet) handling a web of up to 1060 mm width at speeds to 300 metres/minute. That equates to a 32-page broadsheet at 2700 cph… or 9100 bound brochures or 14,000 16-page signatures in an hour.

Makeready times for format and paper changes are minimal, and changes to volumes can be made without interrupting production, the company says.

In a presentation in Augsburg, a 32-page tabloid newspaper was produced by collating and folding eight 420 x 600 mm (four page) units. A third, quarter fold was added and the product delivered via the right-angle A4 delivery.
Stadler says ultra-small print runs under 100 copies can be produced one after another, without any interruptions, even if the total number of pages or the book structure of the individual editions vary.

The FormerLine system has been optimised for digital book production. With a VBC collator, it produces folded and stacked signatures up to 100 mm thick at 6000 cph.

In Augsburg, it was shown in offline mode: 38 eight-page signatures were collected for a 304-page book (bleed size 240 x 190 mm) using a double-parallel folding sample. After 100 copies, production was switched to a 42-page magazine within minutes. This comprised seven six-page signatures for a 300-copy run (bleed size 230 mm x 334 mm, accordion fold), delivered as auxiliary-glued book blocks.

The systems use a printnetwork Bridge with a JDF/JMF workflow link. Software connects the preparation, printing and postpress, allowing for the automated finishing and production changeover, networking with the production environment and transferring data to an MIS system. Additionally DigiLink – a module option for PECOM PressManager – connects product planning of digital and offset printed components.

Pictured: The FoldLine newspaper finishing system in Augsburg (Picture manroland web systems, Herbert Gairhos, Cromos)