MBO America, together with 20 other industry power houses, welcomed hundreds of attendees to Innovation Days November 7-9, 2007

Recognizing the value and individualized attention that a smaller venue can offer business owners of any size, MBO America has hosted or co-hosted an annual Open House for nearly a decade. This year, Innovation Days Open House represented a growing list of important exhibitor partners that reflects MBO’s commitment to the market’s demand for cooperative solutions from market leaders.

MBO Addresses Key Factors

“Printers don’t turn to suppliers to buy a piece of equipment,” comments Klaus Beckbissinger, Executive Vice President of MBO, “they require comprehensive solutions that could include two, three, or even more suppliers who need to seamlessly blend multiple products, technologies and services to meet the needs of their business, and anticipate tomorrow’s needs as well. With over two dozen of its own machines, MBO  demonstrated not just traditional applications, but also advancements in digital manufacturing with Buskro, Delphax, Muller Martini, Oce and Ricoh/IBM Info Print Solutions to name a few.

Line A: The Ehret SVC-520C roll sheeter, the MBO DIGI-Folder DFT-560/6 folding unit with Navigator control, automated fold roller and plate setting, plus an MBO Perfection 16-page unit performed sheeting and folding at 500 fpm for a 160-page on-demand brochure in line with the Delphax CR220 digital press and Muller Martini’s Sigma book finishing line. MBO accelerates automation with its computerized Rapidset make-ready system with motorized and repeatable adjustments from the feeder to the delivery. Navigator intelligent machine control, integrates production monitoring and machine adjustment, calibrates jobs based on production speeds, and monitors functions to prevent incorrect data entry.

Line B: The Ricoh/IBM Info Print Solutions 4100 twin digital printer worked in conjunction with the Ehret unwinder and an Ehret SVC-520C sheeter that cut the web into 46” long sheets.

Finishing of a 16-page 8 ½” X 11” booklet, with round corners and 3 file holes, was completed with an MBO Perfection folder to accordion fold the sheet and glue the spine from the top and bottom. An MBO Z-2 knife folder performed the cross-fold and fed into a Bograma Eco 350S for face trim and into a Bograma 450S plus for head and foot trim and 3-hole punching and delivered into an H&H 701-52 delivery.

Line C: MBO collaborated to highlight more digital solutions with two Oce VS7650 digital printers, Ehret unwinder, Ehret PFS-520 plow folder folded the length of  a 17” wide web and the MBO DIGI-Folder DFT-560/6 with Navigator control and automated roller and plates setting folded the form into a #10 size and delivered it into the MBO ASP-66LME.

Line D: On hand with a Kodak #9100 9” print-head integrated into an Ehret VC-520 C high speed sheeter with an Ehret SPM520 split + merge unit was an MBO B26-S 8-page Perfection folder with 6 plates and a Palamides delta502 automatic delivery for pressing, counting, stacking and paper banding to produce a 2-form letter folded at a speed of almost 50,000 forms per hour.

Line E: The 32-page Innovation Days program brochure, printed on 3 different paper stocks by HP, included an insert and a variable data cover that gave attendees an instant and unique entry ‘ticket’ to win HP gift items during the event. The brochure was finished on the MBO HSB-7000 DIGI-Finisher consisting of the MBO TT-530 folder with Navigator control, pile feeder with bar code reader, Hohner HSB-7000 saddle-stitcher with 2 signature feeders, 1 cover feeder, an insertion-feeder and a trimmer with automated thickness adjustment.

Traditional Folding and Mailing Innovation Also a Focus at Innovation Days

Recognizing the significant importance of traditional printing, as well as partnerships that improve production and profitability, MBO also featured several separate folders performing various jobs, some with other Innovation Days exhibitor partners.

Line F: Having generated a tremendous amount of excitement, including a “Worth a Look” award at Graph Expo 2007, MBO’s K800.2/4 Super-KTZ Perfection-combi folder premiered for the first time at an east coast event. With the ability to fulfill critical operation requirements for flexibility and fast turnaround at a speed of 8300” per minute, the three knife station of the Super-KTZ, including the buckle plate and slitter shafts, pivots 180◦ from left to right and back, without time-consuming change-over.

Incorporated with the ability for a multitude of configuration set-ups, Super-KTZ easily changes from the left-exit to right. Included on the Super-KTZ is another MBO exclusive, the slitter shaft cassette, comfortably and ergonomically docked in a retractable cassette to be equipped and/or adjusted for shorter set-up times and faster availability of the folding machine. In addition to speed, quality, economy and versatility, the Super-KTZ adds another important dimension; it saves space compared to its buckle folder equivalent with a 16-page unit. A Navigator controlled ASP-66ME delivered the job.

Lines G, H, I: Several Perfection folders – the high speed, ‘marble-less’ flagship of the MBO line – operated at Innovation Days with various levels of automation. The B30-S/44 C Perfection folder with continuous feeder and slitter shaft cassette and a Palamides alpha N stacking delivery system were demonstrated with Navigator control’s production, monitoring and machine adjust system plus Rapidset automated make-ready for the fold-roller and buckle plates. Shown also were a B26-S/4 with continuous feeder and a Palamides delta703 automatic delivery with chip board feeder for the top and bottom of the paper banded stack. A B30-S/444 folder with continuous feeder included an RFE sheet return device that shortens the distance from the feeder to the delivery for cost-effective one-person operation.

Line J: An MBO B123/4 C folder with continuous feeder folded a 2-up job fed with an H&H 850-52 conveyor into a H&H 392-52 transportation system with vacuum belts. Together they  worked with a Baumer hhs fugitive hotmelt system and a Longford high-speed tipper tipping o cares at a speed of approximately 24,000 per hour.

Lines K + L:  A B21/6 folder with continuous feeder, gatefold plate and A-56 delivery. A B118/44 folder with edge-trim devices, Baumer hhs cold-glue system for spine gluing and an SE-460 delivery produced an 8-page pasted booklet. These folders demonstrated the width of the MBO line to address printers in all categories and markets.

MBO introduces the NEW FOLDMASTER 14” Wide Modular Folding System

Line X 1-5: Innovation Days also marked the premier of MBO’s new modular folding system – FOLDMASTER. The MBO FOLDMASTER addresses the growth-minded print shops who want new sales and profit opportunities, as well as providing greater customer satisfaction with faster turnaround by having in-house folding and creasing capabilities that can be upgraded and changed to respond to growth. The FOLDMASTER line consists of automated and manual buckle folders and knife folders, feeders and creasing and perforating units. Demonstrated at the Open House were the 200 SA and 400 SA folders, both with suction feeders and 2 or 4 automated fold plates and the FOLDMASTER 400 STA with pile feeder and 4 automated plates with the 200 KM 8-page unit with manual fold plates. The DCM-45 Creasing and Perforating unit with suction feeder and the MFK-35 knife folding unit with roller guides, perfect for heavier stock, demonstrated more versatility of the FOLDMASTER line.

Line Y: The MBO DF-23/4 Document folder with accumulator section accumulated several sheets and folded them. On site at Innovation Days it worked with the H&H F-530 mobile pile feeder and the MBO FA-46ME delivery.

Mailing and Gluing Equipment

Line M: An MBO’s B26/444 Efficiency folder with continuous feeder and H&H ILS in-line gluing system, Baumer hhs cold glue system and MBO A-56 delivery demonstrated the efficiency of MBO folders in conjunction with Baumer hhs gluing equipment.  Produced was a 16-page pasted booklet, folded with a regular imposition.

Line N:  Among many highlights at Innovation Days was MBO’s use of a 40” long sheet, accordion folded and cross-folded together with the cover, to produce a 16-page pasted and die-cut booklet with a cover. The MBO B26/4 C, Baumer hhs cold glue system for top and bottom spine gluing, the new H&H X-KN-C cover merger station, a Bograma BS 450S plus die cutting machine with hole punching device and H&H 701-52 delivery, operated in a relatively small space to produce this 16 page die-cut pasted booklet with file holes. The new X-knife unit X-KN-C, expands the versatility of MBO folders as well as the capabilities of printers responding to the market with the new capacity of merging a cover with a folded and glued signature.

Line O: MBO’s B21/44 P Pile feeder folder, an H&H 850-52 conveyor and an H&H 291-52 transportation system with vacuum belts, an H&H ‘paper lift,’ a Baumer hhs hotmelt system, an H&H Pick + Place basic tipping device for card tipping, a Lake Image Systems’ card reading system, plow-folding, gluing/closing, Buskro inkjet system and H&H 701-52 delivery produced a self mailer with credit card and matching address.

Line P: MBO B21/44 folder, H&H 382-52 slitting/scoring unit with time-perforating head and Baumer hhs remoistenable glue system, 8-page folding unit with cold glue system for envelope gluing and mailer sealing.

“Speaking for the entire coalition of exhibitors,” said Beckbissinger, “our single greatest goal was to help attendees build business and profits by exposing them to this exceptional opportunity. In order to serve that important goal, many of the exhibitors held informative seminars directed to key decision makers.” Although innovation was the theme, MBO did not break with tradition and hosted an authentic Beer Garden buffet during the entire Open House.