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sumer, but it must get to the consumer in the most efficient manner possible. By offering in-line solutions, by combining functions to eliminate 'stops' and 'touches', by delivering finished products in perfect mail-sort order, I'd say the bindery equipment manufacturers have been vital in the explosive growth of the direct mail market." QP: Are you seeing an increased interest in more sophisticated or specialty bindery/finishing capabilities? "This is an interesting question," says MBO's King. "As the product increases in complexity, the machine must still be easy to set up and operate, while also efficiently producing a wide range of products, from the most basic to the most complex. At the end of the day, the finishing solution needs to increase the efficiency and profit earning potential for the print finisher." "All of the advances we are seeing are in short-run set up," says Spiel. "The days of the journeyman in the bindery are long gone. We are selling more and more machines that can be run by unskilled employees after 10 minutes of training. That's where our customers' interests lie." "More and more the postpress finishing equipment is evolving from being less 'knobs, dials, and switches' to having control panel touchpads," adds Spiral Binding's Bossard. "This trend will definitely continue, and the touchpad's user interfaces will control more and more. Just speculation, but we're probably not too far off from seeing the control panels with the ability to connect to our mobile devices via downloadable apps." "Standard Finishing Systems is seeing an increased interest in sophisticated or state-of-the art technology and binding equipment in order to reap the greatest benefits of the short-run market we are now living in," says Standard's Dubuque. "Profit leaders in the industry realize that investing in equipment that delivers intelligent automation helps lead to greater profitability through quicker setups and changeovers, which have become increasingly important as job lengths have continued to decline. One example is the need for in-line verification, inspection, and integrity analysis, as this continues to become more and more important to our customers. Folding also is an area where we have seen increased interest, particularly from printers that have invested in w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m the newer technology that allows folders to be changed over from job to job so quickly." "In-plant printers and commercial printers are realizing that the need for customizing high value products for their customers has never been more important," says Rollem's Sherwood. "The biggest hurdle for these companies is the ability to produce these products efficiently and in a cost effective manner." "Digital presses have allowed folks to be more creative with the products they want to produce," adds Rollem's Hammer. "Without finishing capabilities, these creative ideas don't get seen by their intended markets. Over the last several years, the bulk of the customers that we are talking to have very application-specific needs—whether inline, near-line, or off-line, whether with Rollem equipment alone, or with other partner manufacturers." ◗◗ For more information, visit MyPRINTResource.com/10005029 August 2013 / QUICK PRINTING 23