Trimming booklets

[andy1]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone has some advice on how to trim short run booklets on a hydroulic guillotine? I generally run small jobs and it's not worth investing in any sort of in-line finishing, and I don't have space for a dedicated trimmer...especially considering the jobs are 2-3 a month.

What I'm after is advice on technique for guillotining the booklets. I'm having to do 5 at a time very carefully as they tend to shift from the spine outwards (28pp A5) and when trimming the long edge they tend to slide during clamping and all come out different sizes. I'm using an Ideal 5221A.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks,
Andy

 

[RGPW17100]

Check with Pitman or Fuji for book clamps for your cutter. They are brass and screw into your back gauge on your cutter. They are designed to hold the spine in place so you can face trim

 

[andy1]

Thanks, much appreciated.

Can't seem to find any in the UK but I'll have a look around, maybe buy one in from the US.

I managed to get the job done with a bit of improvisation but ruined a few booklets.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[OkiTech]

Hi, I've seen someone placing a farely large magnet from a speaker on the stack on the spine side. It would hold the booklets by being attracted to the metal base of the cutter.
Just an Idea...

 

[RGPW17100]

Hre is a link to a place that sells them They call them book guidesCutting Supplies

 

[andy1]

Hi, the magnet idea sounds good. Three hands would be a great help! I'll see if I can find a magnet before going for the clamp idea.
I'm not a fan of putting my hands right to the back of the guillotine (to wedge the booklets under the book clamps) as even the best guillotines can fail...or have I got the wrong idea of how to insert the booklets?

The method I used was to cut 10 booklets at a time, first clamp only on the spines to compress a little, then perform the required cuts face-down, i.e. so the curl lifted the centre of the booklets away from the base rather than in a U shape. Not perfect and very time consuming so I will look into those clamps, thanks!

Andy

 

[RGPW17100]

The booklet clamps screw on to the cutter clamp with a wrench. You move the back clamp back to a comfortable area to work like 15 inches and install them then move the back gauge back to where you want to trim

 

[dabob]

For the head and tail cuts cross stack the piles . . . it helps level out the stack and the book clamps are the way to go . . . also see if you have a split back . . . then you can make all three cuts at the same time

 

[Rikkie]

An easy work-around your problem, is to lay a piece of green-line board on top of your stack, which will help somewhat to 'flatten' the spines under the clamp. Using a 'knocking block' on the trim edge to hold the spines up against the backgauge also helps. If your machine has a false clamp, use it. You'll probably not get perfectly consistent dimensions out, but a lot better than what I guess you're getting now.