Consider the humble book. It has a book block printed on an offset or digital device and is bound to a cover using technologies as diverse as glued perfect binding, sewing, spiral binding or drilling to put into a binder. A growing challenge for book producers is the changing run lengths demanded by publishers and self-publishers. While the bestseller you picked up at the airport may still be produced by the tens of thousands, more books are moving to short-run production across all segments. Your shop may be trying to manage everything from single copy production to mega runs.

Changing needs are an excellent reason to look at the current book-finishing solutions in the market. Every vendor can point to case studies and success stories, but not every shop operates in the same way. When considering book finishing options, start with a walk through your shop and a conversation with your team to identify bottlenecks and sticking points in your finishing. Look at the footprint your current machines occupy and how many people are needed to produce finished goods. If you can isolate the utility cost by machine, that is good data to have in your pocket.

Now, you are ready to talk to vendors. Start by developing a concise description of your environment. Are you a continuous web or cutsheet shop? Or do you support both? Do you print in-house or only provide finishing services? Are you a casebound specialist, or do you support perfect binding and other solutions? How tight are your deadlines? What are your average volumes? Are you considering adding capabilities? Help the vendors you approach by drawing a box around your current environment and the one you are trying to evolve into.