CHICAGO, September 28, 2003 - Heidelberg unveiled today at Graph Expo/Converting Expo 2003 the much-anticipated inline Probinder finishing system for double-loop wire comb binding, with the highly acclaimed, Bertl winning Digimaster 9110 digital black and white printing system. Combining the Probinber with a Digital Printing system represents a breakthrough in printing technology and is the world’s first demonstration of this technology. At the show, Heidelberg is demonstrating the Probinder system that will become available to the market very soon. Heidelberg also offers an nearline and offline version of the Probinder system, making it ideal for digital print shops, small-format offset print shops, in-house printing departments and bookbinders. "This represents a revolutionary change in the finishing process of on-demand print jobs," said Larry Tanowitz, vice president of Heidelberg finishing solutions. "Our Probinder system concept, with inline, nearline and offline configurations, is designed to meet the needs of digital print businesses worldwide, regardless of their print volumes, workflow needs or the types of jobs they produce." Through extensive studies, Heidelberg has found the need of wire comb binding in professional finishing is increasing along with digital printing. No longer just for niche markets, customers want to use this form of binding on a more regular basis. Print shops often prefer wire-comb-bound books because they are easy to handle, practical and the individual pages of these documents can be turned over a full 360-degrees. This feature is perfect for a variety of applications, including user manuals, training manuals, annual reports, presentation documents and cookbooks. Customers also like the stability and visual quality of wire comb binding. Now with Probinder, Heidelberg offers an innovative finishing solution far superior to competitive offerings. One Wire Coil From a single wire, the Probinder produces the right wire comb for each individual book. The wire coil only needs changing when there is a color change. By eliminating the inventory of prefabricated wire combs in different diameters, lengths, colors and wire thicknesses, space and cost savings are realized. The Probinder is ideal for books-on-demand. It provides the user with a versatile and profitable finishing solution specially designed for shorter runs and more frequent format changes. The maximum book thickness is two centimeters. The Probinder can handle between two and 200 pages of 80 gsm. “As the industry continues to change and more and more jobs become on demand, printers are looking for short run technology and that is one of the many features the Probinder can offer,” said Tanowitz. “Heidelberg understands that not every job is the same and that for printers to be successful they need equipment capable of meeting those demands.” The Probinder features an impressive level of automation and user-friendliness. It performs the whole process of producing the diameter-dependent wire combs for the different document thickness. When integrated into any of the Digimaster digital presses, the Probinder produces documents inline that are ready for immediate dispatch. It is controlled entirely from the front end of the digital press.