High-Speed Book Signatures

The StreamFolder 5152 system features the StreamFolder f50, which plow-folds the printed web and advances it to the single-knife Cutter c51. With tack-gluing, jogging and pressing stations ensuring the creation of top-quality signature blocks, this system operates at up to 656 fpm/200 mpm to take advantage of the latest generation of high-speed inkjet printers.

The StreamFolder f50 plow-fold module provides unprecedented reliability for short-run digital book printing jobs of varying run lengths, including “books of one.” StreamFolder folds the web once or twice, enabling efficient use of a web-fed press at its maximum print width. This folded web is very strong as the paper is up to four times thicker and has demonstrated dramatic increases in system reliability feeding through the cutter and stacker.

When compared to book blocks created from single cut sheets, the StreamFolder system’s signatures eliminate common problems coming from inevitable variations in paper quality. Slight changes in web width will not impact page registration with the StreamFolder’s unique Z-fold design ensuring pages are always precisely registered to the spine edge. In addition, any paper curl is effectively canceled as pages are folded back against each other, resulting in very flat, premium quality books.