Hamburg, Germany; March 29, 2004 -- Kugler-Womako, one of the com-panies in the Körber PaperLink Group, is introducing a new fully automatic plastic spiral binding line for print and stationery products at the upcoming Drupa 2004 exposition. The HS 542 P, is capable of producing products such as bound stationery, college books, time planners, road maps, cal-endars and other printed products bound with plastic spiral. The quality and productivity are equivalent to conventional spiral and double wire binding. The new system was designed using the well-proven HS 542 wire binding machine. This machine has been extended using a new design of binding module and it is now capable of producing products bound with plastic as well as double wire and spiral bindings. The binding process is fully auto-matic in operation. The demand for plastic bindings continues to gain popularity as indicated by its rapid growth in recent years. Several reasons that have contributed to this growth are material costs continue to get more competitive, durabil-ity of the product owing to the flexibility of plastic spirals, safety aspects, particularly with stationery products for schools, and an unlimited range of colors compared with wire. Plastic binding has become an alternative to conventional wire binding processes. With the HS 542 P, Kugler-Womako is offering bookbinders and stationery producers a solution that will satisfy the growing demand for products bound in plastic. The machine will be tailored to each customer's individual requirements.