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Volume 3, Issue 2 New
Perfect Binder Puts the Finishing Touch on ULI's Latest Equipment
New
Perfect Binder Puts the Finishing Touch on "Now
here's something interesting," said Chris Azbill, vice president
of operations at United Litho. "I'm holding in my hand a ball bearing
that fell out of the old perfect binding equipment, and it has a stamp
on it that reads 'USSR.'" Azbill explained that the Soviet ball bearing
is a perfect example of how far United Litho has come with its latest
acquisition, a new Kolbus perfect binder. "With the old equipment,
we had to machine our own replacement parts, and our throughput would
suffer," said Azbill. "Now we'll have faster throughput without
the down time." This
step is the most recent in a reinvention process that began in 1997 with
the relocation of United Litho's facilities. "With the installation
of the perfect binder, ULI will have no primary piece of equipment more
than three years old," explained United Litho president Ken Garner.
"We have invested substantial time, money and energy to make sure
we're providing top-notch publication capability to our customers. It
now gives us the most modern short-run magazine plant in North America." Other
recent improvements cover the entire printing process, from the press
and digital prepress workflow to computer-to-plate
(CTP) technology to other finishing features like in-line mailing and
high-speed saddle-stitch binding. These technical
improvements, however, do not detract from United Litho's commitment to
customers.
"Through
this, I've been very pleased by our ability to strategically think through
improvements while keeping an open ear to customer needs and responding
to those needs," said Garner. "The new perfect binding equipment
is an excellent example. We see an increasing percentage of our current
and prospective clients needing quality perfect binding, and we're committed
to bringing that to them." The
new perfect binder features a much higher rated speed than the old equipment,
producing about 12,000 books per hour. "This particular machine also
has in-line mailing capabilities, including ink jet and paper labeling,"
Azbill explained, which also increases production speed by eliminating
the need to do mailing functions offline. Aside
from increased speed, the new equipment boasts a number of quality-control
features, including a mechanism that optically recognizes the correct
book signatures and stops the binder, alerting the operator if a signature
is misplaced in a single copy. Other quality features include a divert
gate to kick out any bad books; squarebook detectors that check for proper
trimming; and a bundle loader, which reduces errors and labor hours in
loading signatures. Now
on the floor and installed, the new perfect binder brings with it many
benefits for United Litho customers. "With these quality and speed
improvements, we can do even better meeting customers' schedules, experiencing
less down time and moving along with the rapid pace of our growth,"
said Azbill. Hoeckele Joins United Litho as Dedicated Proteus Trainer "My
job is to make sure that everything is in place for a transition that
goes as smoothly as possible for our clients," said Rebecca Hoeckele,
United Litho's new Proteus liaison and trainer.
"We want it to be a thing of beauty." The
Proteus software package, previously cost-prohibitive for smaller publishers,
automates the publication process from page imposition to job tracking
through printCafe.com. After deciding to bring Proteus into its operation,
United Litho was looking for someone with extensive background in the
editorial workflow - someone intimately familiar with the challenges clients
face on a daily basis. After
more than 16 years as a United Litho customer, serving as the managing
editor of Police Chief, Hoeckele has joined the client support team here
as the dedicated staff member for Proteus training and support. "Proteus
is not a difficult program to learn or to use," said Hoeckele. "My
challenge is to look at the software through the eyes of a smaller publisher—like
most of our clients. Their needs and issues differ from those of the larger
publishers, who used to be the only market for Proteus," she said. "Because
I'm familiar with the demands our clients face, I can approach Proteus
from a user's standpoint and train our clients with that knowledge,"
explained Hoeckele. "In fact, I'm now flight-testing the software,
putting together a publication—as
I have done manually for years—but
this time with the help of a great program like Proteus." "Our
clients face enough challenges on a daily basis getting their publications
out the door," said Hoeckele. "Proteus is designed to make their
lives easier. I'm making sure that any potential questions are answered
before we roll the software out to everyone." Hoeckele
said that Proteus makes the entire production process simpler, faster
and safer. "One of its neatest features alerts the publisher to placement
conflicts and other issues that arise as the publication comes together,"
she explained. "The ability to avoid such conflicts and respond quickly
to a variety of last-minute changes is invaluable." Proteus
training is still being developed at United Litho, but initial plans include
a one- to two-day onsite implementation and training class. "We've
also discussed having small-scale seminars here at United Litho where
we introduce Proteus to several clients at a time," said Hoeckele.
"Then, the clients who decide to move forward with implementation
have preparation work to do on their end before I go onsite for the training."
For
more information on the advantages of Proteus software for your operation,
see the Spring 2000 issue of PressProof or contact your account executive. Extraordinary Service Experience: Village West Publishing "Be
like everybody else? No thank you!" said Susan Salls at Village West
Publishing. "Our work is a very strong reflection of who we are as
a staff." As publisher and co-founder of the Gilford, N.H., publishing
house, Salls produces monthly, biannual and annual four-color publications
for the hearth, barbecue and patio industries. These
publications are highly customized for different retailers, keeping the
staff at Village West on their toes to pull it all together. "For
example [for] one of our titles, Hearthwarming, we have 90 to 100 customers
around the country," explained Salls. "Each of those retailers
has its own logo and store information printed on the covers and they
can choose up to 15 manufacturers' inserts from a pool of 29." Finding
the right combination for such customized work takes time and thought,
explained Salls. "When you've got an advertiser who has a special
request, they can't wait a week to find out if we can do it for them,"
she said. "With the team at United Litho, we never have to wait days
for an answer." United
Litho helps Salls to find the most cost-efficient way to print and bind
these individualized publications. "They even put together proofing
copies for us, and the bindery team makes sure that we get what the retailer
ordered," she said. Going
into their third year of working with United Litho, Village West finds
it a wonderful partnership. "The most important relationship you
will ever have is with your printer," said Salls. "From the
beginning, I have felt that we are very important and special to them,
as if we are their only client, even though I know we're not." Salls
also points to United Litho's technical expertise and quality printing
capabilities as benefits. "They're always improving on an operation
that already works very smoothly," she said. "I'm very fortunate
to have such competent, professional help in making difficult printing
decisions." The
phrase Salls used to describe United Litho's service was "customized
timeliness." And, she explained, time is truly of the essence. "The
Internet takes up so much time and energy and space these days, it's nice
to see such dedication to the printed word," said Salls. "You
can pause. You can go back to it, take it to the beach with you and read
it by the fireside. In an age where information is poured on your head
every second, there's something personal and comforting about the printed
piece." With
the quality, customized service and time from the staff at United Litho,
Salls and the staff at Village West Publishing have found a place where
their unique style receives unique attention—an
extraordinary service experience. Fluting
is a condition in which paper, after being passed through a heat-set web
press, takes on a wavy appearance. It is caused by differences in moisture
evaporation along the web and is greatly influenced by paper type and
weight, as well as the design of the
content being printed. After
three years of study, the Web Offset Association has published a technical
report, which concludes that there is virtually nothing that can be done
on press to minimize or eliminate the condition. As
a publisher, you should be aware of the things that affect fluting:
The
chances that fluting will occur are influenced most by paper selection
and by the design of content. Once fluting occurs, there is nothing a
printer can do to eliminate it. So it's important to take these factors
into consideration before you go on press. For more information on fluting,
including copies of the Web Offset Association technical report, please
contact your account executive. TechTips:
Calibrating Your Monitor One
of the questions most often asked of me is, "How do you calibrate
a monitor?" Well, this column is dedicated to answering that question,
so that you can have a handy reference any time you want to check your
monitor's profile. First, there are a few things you should know. One,
every monitor is different: We have a bunch of monitors that were purchased
at the same time and made at the same plant, at the same time, and their
display colors vary widely. Calibrating a monitor is a way of profiling
or characterizing a monitor in order to get the closest possible match.
If the monitor is old, the best possible match might not be that good!
Be aware that the ambient light of the room your monitor is in should
be standardized. If you're by a window, the color of the light coming
through the window will greatly affect your perception of your screen.
Close the blinds and turn on the lights you plan to have on all the time.
Also, make sure your monitor is on at least 30 minutes before beginning
this process, as a cold monitor will change as it warms up.
Finally, set your desktop pattern to something that is neutral
gray. Having
a big blue background graphic on your screen all the time will make everything
else look much less blue than it should. Calibration
is done through the use of one of two programs: Adobe Gamma (for Macs
and PCs), or the Apple Monitor Calibration Assistant (for Macs).
They can usually be found in the control panel (check the monitors
module), but also may be found in the help menu from Adobe Photoshop. Once
started, you will be presented with the following screens. Save your
completed Profiles to System Folder: ColorSync Profiles (Mac) or
Windows\System\Color (PC). The
Apple Monitor Calibration
Assistant This
program's menus strongly resemble those of Adobe Gamma. Be sure to click
on expert mode. 1.
Adobe Gamma. Use the step-by-step version. It's much easier to use than
the standard control panel. 2.
You'll start off with a default profile—whatever
happens to be loaded at the time. If you are able to change the description,
rename it to something personalized. Then click "next." 3.
Adjust the contrast on your monitor (the physical buttons or knobs) to
the highest setting, and then adjust the brightness to where you barely
see the innermost square. In the Apple program, you'll be trying to see
an oval. If you cannot see the square or oval with the brightness all
the way up, your monitor cannot be calibrated (that is, it's time for
a new monitor). 4.
Most monitors I've seen have Trinitron tubes, so that should be your choice
unless you know your monitor has a different set of phosphors. Check your
monitor's manual for information. 5.
Now comes the fun part. Squint your eyes and move each of the three sliders
until the innermost box appears to blend in with the background. Take
your time with this step. You might want to have someone
agree with your decision before clicking "next." 6.
Most monitors these days have a default hardware white point of 9300 degrees
K. If you know it to be different (again, consulting the monitor's manual),
change it here. 7.
Make your adjusted white point 6500 degrees K. A closer match to ink on
paper is 5000 degrees K, but not many people
I talk to are willing to sacrifice their nice bright whites to
this effect. 6500 degrees brings you pretty close. 8.
You can toggle back and forth to see what a difference your calibration
has made. It will probably seem less bright. 9.
Save your profile here. Give it a good name, such as "My Monitor
6/15/2000," so you will remember the date of your last calibration.
Check your monitor's calibration monthly—as
the phosphors age, it will require slight tweaking. 10.
If you are using Adobe Photoshop, run it and check out your RGB Setup
preferences. Your newly created profile should be indicated in the bottom
portion of the window, and the Display Using Monitor Compensation box
should be checked. Windows
98 and 2000 manage color profiles via the display control panel. Click
on the Settings tab, then the Advanced button, and then the Color Management
tab to verify that the profile you created is loaded and activated. *
A note for Windows NT users: Adobe Gamma can be used to create a profile
of your monitor, but it will not calibrate the monitor across all programs.
Only programs that read and use profiles (such as Photoshop) will display
accurate color. See
you next issue!
Copyright 1997 - 2008, United Litho, Inc. All rights reserved. |
