Recent content by Alex@Challenge

FLEXIFOLDS (I'm pretty sure) are a constant-pressure design. I agree on paper, but I also agree on maintenance being a likely culprit (loose hardware on the fold plates). Have you removed the fold plates lately to clear a jam? Maybe the fold plates are not completely locked in place. Might...

Contact Al Esnaola at Bindery Specialists...616--844-7448

We are an American guillotine and hollow-spindle paper drill manufacturer with 140 years in this industry.

Thank you for the positive posts! It seems that our 140 years of excellence in this industry means something! You can convert a tilt-shield machine into a light-beam machine with a kit. Make sure you have your serial number handy when calling a local Challenge dealer. The removal and...

The tilt-shield safety device is less expensive than the light-beam safety curtains. If a shop will be doing any kind of production cutting, we highly recommend light-beams.

The Titan 200 and Titan 230 are both very nice cutters for the amount of cutting you state you will be performing. The Titan 200 has been in production since 1997, so they are very widely used in digital in-plants and copy centers. The Titan 230 was introduced in 2008 to cover the larger...

Safety is always a concern with guillotines. I cannot stress enough the importance of being careful! Those older machines had nothing in the way of safety mechanisms, so the potential for injury is very high at all times. If there is someone knowledgeable close to you, pay for a one-time...

Curious to hear the responses to this. I believe this is something that people ask for, but less than 1% use in any capacity (with cutters).

I can tell you that this set is very expensive, since it is not commonly replaced (it can be sent out for sharpening as a set). That is also an older unit, and I am unsure the quantity of parts still available for them (I think the last machines were built in Japan around 1996)

The model pictured is the BM61 by Plockmatic. That particular unit can only be used with a collator feeding it (no hand-feeding). If you are hand-feeding it, you need the BM60. Be sure to test your product extremes on the machine prior to purchasing. The thicker books may not be crisp enough...

if the MBO is in good shape ...take the deal and dont look back. It will serve you very well for many years to come.

the advantage of a cutter is its flexibility - it can cut whatever you want besides just cards. If you want something just for BC's, slitters are a nice way to go, but the digital print moving on you will show up with nasty results on a slitter. You can try something like a BC-10 or BC-12 from...

if both machines are in optimal conditions (sharp knives/blades, fresh cut sticks, etc), they should be identical. The problem with the slitter method is with digitally-printed products, the registration moves around a lot, and can have the operator chasing the cut around. Easier to correct on...

If the machine was in optimal conditions (clean, new feed rollers) and the stock was not very static-laden, you might be fine. I would not, however, suggest a friction-feed collator for running coated stocks in any measurable quantities. It may do it for a job or two, but it was not designed...

Well...why not jot down what your expectations/needs for a collator are, and others (myself included) can provide you with suggestions. Please post stocks you will be collating, average run length, finishing process required (criss-cross jogging, bookletmaking, etc).