Chicago,IL – C.P. Bourg and Xerox Corporation – the companies that joined forces in 1989 to develop the first in-line signature booklet maker for the Xerox DocuTech – now are collaborating on technology to develop the printing industry's first fully automated hybrid document finishing workflow, C.P. Bourg announced today.
 
The new workflow approach taps C.P. Bourg's new, large-format BSF Sheet Feeder as the production gateway to a versatile and super-efficient finishing production line comprised of C.P. Bourg finishing modules. The technology being developed allows this modular production line to accept collated output from a single, Xerox digital press as well as from any number and type of near-line print processes, to maximize equipment utilization while enabling fully automated finishing on demand.
 
Such hybrid finishing workflows could be used to produce a broad range of finished documents in quantities of one or 1,000 from single sheets to 120-page booklets that are stitched, folded, trimmed and square-edged, and in print environments containing virtually any number of different types and kinds of print workflows – whether monochrome or color, analog or digital, or mixed.
 
Demonstrated Live at PRINT 09
A hybrid production finishing line showcasing the new technology is being demonstrated live at the C.P. Bourg booth (# 3400) at PRINT 09 in Chicago at McCormick Place, September 11-16, 2009. A modified Bourg BSF Sheet Feeder connected in-line to a Xerox Nuvera 288 EA Perfecting Production System is serving as the production gateway to a functioning finishing line comprised of Bourg's versatile BCM Bleed Crease Module and compact stitch-fold-trim BDF Document Finisher.
 
Collated print output sent to the Bourg BSF Sheet Feeder from the Nuvera system as well as on stack carts from off-line print workflows will be fed to the finishing modules at high speed, then trimmed and creased by the Bourg BCM and saddle-stitched by the Bourg BDF to produce high-quality finished booklets containing monochrome and color content.
 
In near-line mode, the Bourg BSF sheet feeder will operate without modification, relying on its innovative air-table design that lets the operator automatically load and easily center up to 20-inch stacks of collated pages from stack carts common to Xerox and many other manufacturer's printers. An upper, cover-feeding compartment accepts stacks up to 6.3 inches for covers or other content. Paper sizes can range from sheets for finished products smaller than a CD-ROM booklet to 14.33 x 22.5 inches – the largest sheet size currently handled by digital presses.
 
The BSF Sheet Feeder can supply the Bourg finishing production line with collated content and covers at rates up to 15,000 sheets per hour. Optional barcode scanning with a flexible positioning scanner allows Bourg BSF users to read a bar code placed anywhere on the sheet, eliminating traditional "hard fixed" bar code placement, and also enabling the use of manufacturing integrity software to ensure workflow quality, accuracy and efficiency.
 
A Bourg finishing production line can consist of several modules. These modules can include the BCM Bleed Crease Module and BDF Document Finisher as well as the award-winning, large-format BME Booklet Maker and innovative Bourg Square Edge. The modules can be "mixed and matched" to enable small or large printing environments to bind and finish a broad range of pre-collated documents in a variety of ways – from simple folds and trims, to three-sided bleed-trimmed booklets with creased covers and inside sheets that lay flat and stack with ease.
 
"Customers in multi-press environments are often torn between putting their finishing solution in-line, physically connected to the printer, or bringing collated output from multiple printers – including offset – to an off-line finishing solution," said Jerry Sturnick, manager, Finishing Strategy and Business Operations, Xerox Corporation. "This unique hybrid workflow allows print professionals in a wide range of printing environments to take advantage of both types of workflow while maximizing finishing efficiency and return on their equipment investment."
 
Richard Trapilo, Executive Vice President and General Manager, C.P. Bourg Inc noted, "To maximize efficiency and cost-effectiveness across the broad range of production environments, the print on-demand revolution requires the availability of tightly controlled near-line finishing alternatives that allow many print engines to feed one or more high-speed production finishers.
 
"It's only natural that the companies that pioneered on-demand printing and finishing 20 years ago and many innovations since then have joined forces in developing technology enabling the world's first fully automated hybrid document finishing workflow. This innovation draws on the strengths of both companies to promote the utmost in versatility and efficiency in finishing documents produced by multiple print workflows," Trapilo noted.
 
An award-winning supplier and Xerox Business Partner since 1989, C.P. Bourg most recently was named as the Xerox Overall Finishing Business Partner of the Year for 2008 for the fifth consecutive year, and as the Xerox Monochrome Finishing Business Partner of the Year for 2008.