Bookletmaker recommendations

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I am looking for recommendations of bookletmaking systems. We are an all-digital (HP Indigo 7800) shop and need a better way to produce saddlestitched booklets. The booklets are typically 24 pgrs or smaller; runs of around 2000 or less. We have looked at the Duplo DBM150 and a Horizon with a HOF400 feeder. Does anybody have opinions or suggestions on either system?

 

[arossetti]

Horizon is built for 24/7 production. Duplo is getting better and I would trust it for 1 shift operations with 50% utilization.

What is also important is service and how close they are to you. If they are hours away you have to pay that travel charge and deal with the extended down time.

 

[Stickman42]

We've been running a Duplo 350 for 6 months and it's been a good stretch so far. 50% of 1 shift utilization is about the most we put on it. The 2200 is a very reliable feeder, and the machine operating software on our own PC is a great asset. The 150 bookletmaker uses staples instead of spooled wire, if it matters.

We did consider a used Horizon with HOF 400, but that feeder has only one tray. Most of our work has separate covers, so we would've needed a collating tower also. The overall length of the system and the electrical requirements were much greater than the Duplo. But it is a more robust machine, IMHO.

 

[lfelton]

With the HOF you need to also specify a CF-400 Cover Feeder also if you want that (it doesn't come as standard). The HOF is a beast & in my experience very reliable. One thing to note is that the cover feeder won't feed very small booklets, i.e. CDs, so you have to pre-collate those and put the whole thing through the main feed.

I guess you are looking at a 200A or 200L to go with that (plus trimmer, conveyor, accumulator, maybe inline creasing, slitting, etc.). Really, you are not comparing similar items. The Horizon can end up 30 feet or so long and can run all day every day indefinitely. The Duplo 150 Digital Booklet System is a compact little thing that will fit just about anywhere. I've no experience with one, but expect it will be great for light use for a few years. Duplo also make various heavier duty machines BTW that are more comparable to a HOF/200x combo.

 

[Inkscape Print]

We have a Duplo 150 with 2200 sheet feeder installed for about 2 months now. The sheet feeder is awesome but the booklet maker will not feed letter size sheets. Techs say they run fine everywhere else and can't figure out why mine will not run. We also have an older Duplo DBM120 and it will run anything you put into it.