home Magazine How notebooks are made. Business for the production of school notebooks, notepads and notebooks What equipment was used to make the notebook

How notebooks are made. Business for the production of school notebooks, notepads and notebooks What equipment was used to make the notebook

Competition in the school notebook market

Domestic companies occupy the leading position in the notebook market. Of the foreign manufacturers of these paper and white products, Ukrainian enterprises are best represented. However, according to analysts, capacity Russian enterprises sufficient to satisfy the existing demand for these products. In general, Russian products are presented in various price segments and are of very high quality, not inferior to imported notebooks. For the production of both, the same machines are used, Consumables, allowing you to create various effects on covers (glitters, varnishes, etc.). At the same time, Russian-made paper also has good characteristics. For these reasons, the share foreign manufacturers on domestic market small. Their products cannot compete with notebooks of a similar price category due to the cost of transportation, customs clearance, etc., and parents buy more expensive paper and white products much less often, because a lot of notebooks will be needed during the child’s schooling, and in these there is no point in spending extra money. Therefore, foreign manufacturers have relied on the segment of office products, rather than school ones. Of course, there is competition in the notebook market, but among domestic companies. It is most clearly manifested in the segment of general notebooks, which is already quite saturated. Among the players here there are both major federal companies, working throughout the country, as well as small regional ones. High level competition has its advantages. Companies are constantly fighting for the quality of their products, expanding their range and even acquiring licenses to produce products featuring famous youth idols, TV series and cartoon characters. The larger the company, the larger the circulation of its products. Such enterprises can afford to purchase expensive equipment: machines for applying various special effects, for multicolor printing of covers, and high-quality ruling. Small companies prefer to work in a certain segment in one or several regions. They cannot compete with the giants in terms of quality and variety, but they are able to install more low prices for your products.

It is believed that the production of school notebooks is highly profitable, but in fact this is not entirely true. The cost of the notebook is really small, as is the retail markup. But the sales organization finished products requires considerable investment - at least 30-40% of the cost of the notebook itself. Small factories cannot “take” in volume, so to increase their profits they begin to produce other types of products with the possibility of a higher margin. These include, for example, the production of envelopes, business diaries, notepads, office paper, etc. At the same time, as experts note, the market for paper and white products is very volatile, and the situation on it is difficult to predict. Companies that have existed in our country since Russian times gradually realized the need to update equipment, expand and adapt to consumer needs. They finally have marketers on their staff who research public opinions and try to take them into account when compiling their product range. These large enterprises With rich history, as well as leading book publishing companies, are still leading the notebook market. Among the main manufacturers are: APPM (the undisputed leader), BG, Hatber, KantsEksmo, Poligrafika, PZBF, Voskhod, AST, Academy Holding, KTS-pro, etc.

The interest of new participants (including book publishing houses) in this segment is understandable. It is difficult to find another product that is equally “convenient” to produce and sell. School notebooks have a limited lifespan. They are often changed several times a year. There are no strict requirements for them. The main criteria for choosing a notebook, as surveys show: price and appearance(design). Although buyers still pay attention to the quality of products. For elementary school students, for example, great importance has paper on which they write. It should be perfectly white, fairly dense and have a smooth surface. Although the notebook itself has a very short term service, but its manufacturers are trying to make their products more durable. After all, notebooks are often stored for more than one year even after use. The generally accepted standards that manufacturers adhere to when manufacturing the indoor unit are as follows: paper density 65-80 g/sq. m, straight line, clear margins, whiteness 92-95%.

The target audience

The main consumers of such products are schoolchildren aged 6.5-7 to 18 years. Therefore, it is not surprising that the demand for notebooks largely depends on the demographic situation in the country. For example, during the demographic decline, the production of thin notebooks decreased by more than 4%, while the production of general notebooks, on the contrary, increased by almost 6%. Since the early 2000s there has been an increase general coefficient birth rate, therefore, the number target audience paper and white products also increased. When determining the range of notebooks produced, it is very important to choose the right cover designs. They directly depend on the age of the target audience. For example, for primary schoolchildren, designs are created with images of animals and cartoon characters, modern cars and robots. The brighter and more colorful the picture, the better. On the other hand, it is worth considering that many teachers strongly recommend that their students’ parents purchase thin notebooks (12-18 sheets) without multi-colored drawings on the covers, which, according to teachers, distract children from studying. Therefore, your assortment should also include notebooks with plain covers (not necessarily the traditional green color). Middle and high school students prefer notebooks with images of characters from popular TV series, movie actors or musical performers. In addition, notebooks with more formal covers are no less in demand among older children. Students choose notebooks with a business style design.

Notebooks can hardly be called a super-profitable product, but, first of all, this applies to products up to 48 sheets with a one-color cover (the most budget option). According to players in this market, prices for cheap products today are set too low. The reason for this is the policy of large wholesale companies who make high markups on cheap goods, leaving no chance retail companies make money by selling it. In turn, such a low-cost policy for notebooks is explained by fierce competition and the desire of sellers to attract customers by any means. But the production of general notebooks with bright covers, on the contrary, is considered profitable. After all, the main target audience of such products is consumers with an average level of income (of which the majority are in our country). In addition, such notebooks are purchased less frequently and are designed to last longer, so buyers are willing to pay more for them.

Production of notebooks

Making simple book notebooks from prints obtained on sheet paper printing machines ah, it includes several stages at once: colliding, trimming, cutting sheets into pieces, folding, pressing, tying notebooks, storing them. For the production of notebooks, the raw material comes in the form of compressed cellulose, which is then mixed with water and various chemicals and fed into a special unit that turns the liquid mass into sheets of paper. In another workshop, a line is applied to the resulting paper, after which it is cut into separate sheets. Pushing sheets of paper is done manually, on semi-automatic pushing machines and on automated lines. The first option is too heavy and expensive, so it is practically not used these days. Some small printing enterprises use simple and inexpensive pressing machines for collating. This machine is equipped with a massive base, a table with two low support walls, a sheet blowing system and an electric drive that ensures vibration of the table during the pushing process. A stack of sheets of future notebooks is aligned against the side walls of such a machine. Most modern printing companies use automated complex systems, which perform the entire range of operations - from pushing to cutting. After collating, the sheets of paper and prints are counted and stacked in stacks of 500 on pallets in stacks. In this case, each stack is separated from the other by strips of colored paper. In its design, a notebook is similar to a brochure: it consists of a cover and sheets fastened together with the cover. Sheets can be stapled different ways: fastened with metal staples, threads or glue. Notebooks can be folded in different ways and have different numbers of pages, but most often 16 and 32-page notebooks are produced using the perpendicular folding method. With another method, the penultimate (third) fold is perforated. There are also notebooks with perforated margins, which are fastened with spiral wire or a special fastening device, thanks to which individual sheets can be easily changed. High-quality notebooks must meet the requirements of GOST: have the correct geometry, margins, pastel-colored rulers, and opaque cover. They are made from white paper with a density of about 60 g/m2. m.

Licensing issues

General notebooks are constantly in demand, and thin school ones are sold most actively on the eve of the school season. Moreover, buyers rarely remember the brand and have extremely low brand loyalty. The main thing for them is price and design. Therefore, to increase sales, manufacturers are trying their best to attract consumers by offering them exclusive products and new collections. When developing a notebook design, it is necessary to take into account a large number of different nuances, taking into account not only the age category and preferences of children, but also their social status. It is especially important to choose the right time to release licensed products (when a particular series is especially popular or the premiere of a cartoon or movie is expected). At the same time, even the most experienced marketer cannot be 100% sure that the second edition of notebooks with images of their favorite characters will be just as popular high demand, as the first one. According to notebook manufacturers, collections should be changed at least once a year, and some companies replace them throughout the season. To place a cartoon picture on the cover of a notebook, the owner of a printing company must enter into an agreement with the cartoon company and purchase a license from it. You can pay for the license immediately, or you can take it as collateral. In the latter case, he will deduct part of the proceeds from the sale of his products to the copyright holders. The license is usually valid for several years, but in most cases the actual period of use will be much shorter, because the preferences and tastes of children change very quickly. Small firms sometimes illegally use other people's images because they cannot pay $15,000 for a license, but this is fraught with a number of troubles and problems with tax service. Notebooks with photographs of youth idols, cartoon and TV series characters on the cover are somewhat more expensive than usual, because their price includes the cost of the license.

Costs and payback

To produce notebooks, the following equipment is needed: a crimping press, wire stitching and sheet-cutting machines, three-knife paper-cutting machines (at least two), a punching machine (or a punching-creasing machine), a folding machine, equipment for foil stamping, printing machines. For the latter you will need special shafts. You can purchase used machines, saving up to half the cost, however most of Used equipment, sold by the same printing enterprises, has long been obsolete. In addition, most of these machines were purchased in the 70s of the last century, and their wear and tear today is too great. It is also worth considering that printing production is considered harmful, and all equipment you purchase must have appropriate certificates confirming its safety for environment. New equipment can be manufactured to order from Russian machine-building enterprises or purchase abroad. The total cost of the equipment is from 5 million rubles (calculation is based on the cost of domestically produced high-performance machines). To place the equipment, a room with an area of 1000 square meters is required. meters (for a workshop) plus areas for administrative premises and warehouses for storing raw materials and finished products. The total number of employees of such an enterprise is 75-80 people, most of whom are employed in production. To open a printing company average productivity more than 10 million rubles will be required. The average payback period for a project is 3 years.

Of course, those who want to start own production notebooks, will not become pioneers of this business, nevertheless, it will be quite easy for them to succeed. It is impossible to imagine a single person without a notepad, notebook or other stationery products, regardless of whether he is a housewife or a schoolboy, an elderly person or a young man. They are in every briefcase, backpack or handbag. That is why a business such as the production of notebooks in Russia is in demand.

Start of activity

To begin with, an entrepreneur needs to enter into a long-term agreement with an organization engaged in paper recycling.

Thus, he will get rid of problems with the supply of raw materials for his notebook production, which is important in conditions of great competition in the stationery market.

Not only future turnover, but also expected profit depends on this. The larger the assortment of notebooks, the more clients or buyers will buy it from a particular manufacturer, which means that business income will increase.

Organizing the production of school notebooks or notebooks is not so difficult, although, of course, it is impossible to carry it out at home. To work, you will need special equipment that works with computer precision.

Market Features

The production of notebooks, according to experts, is a very profitable business. After all, notebooks, regardless of the number of sheets, are always in great demand. They are sold constantly, and they are most actively purchased on the eve of the opening of the school season.

At the same time, buyers very rarely remember the name trademark, in addition, they are not demanding of brands in this area. For them, the main thing is price, design and quality. Therefore, in order to increase the level of sales of their products, many manufacturers are trying by any means to attract consumers to them, offering them not only exclusive products, but also new collections.

In the process of developing the design of notebooks, it is imperative to take into account a fairly large number of different nuances. It is necessary to take into account not only the age category or preferences of young buyers, but also their social status. It is very important to choose the right time to start releasing licensed products, when the popularity of a particular series becomes unusually high, or, for example, the premiere of a sensational cartoon or film is scheduled in the coming days.

At the same time, even the most experienced marketers cannot be one hundred percent sure that the production of notebooks with the image of these favorite characters (the second edition) will be in the same demand as the release of the first. At the same time, according to the heads of large companies producing stationery, the collection must be changed at least once a year, although some players in this market update them two or three times during each new season.

Notebook production technology

Manufacturing includes only two stages. First, notebook sheets are printed in accordance with designer layouts and folded. The second stage is their fastening. Using staples, notebooks with a small number of pages are obtained.

Whereas with their large volume, the connection is carried out with both staples and springs. When creating covers, we use ultraviolet ink printing technology, which makes it possible to use the entire color palette. This makes them even more attractive. In addition, the production of notebooks sometimes involves the use of continuous or selective varnishing technologies, as well as surface embossing.

Licensing issues

To place cartoon pictures on the cover of the notebook, the owner printing organization must obtain consent from the animation company or purchase a license from it. You can pay for the license immediately, or you can take it as collateral.

It must be said that many small private enterprises that do business with schoolchildren do not even think about this, placing any photo or character on their products. These small firms illegally use other people's images because they don't want to pay high enough license fees. However, although this is practiced everywhere, this approach is fraught with a number of troubles, and first of all, problems with the tax inspectorate.

Notebooks with photos of young idols, cartoon characters or characters from TV series on the cover are a little more expensive than regular ones. And this is not surprising, since their price includes the cost of a license, reaching several thousand dollars. Typically, a license is purchased for several years. However, in most cases, the actual period of use is much shorter, since the preferences or tastes of children and young people change quite quickly.

Equipment

Like any production, the production of notebooks also requires the presence of machines and other equipment. To begin with, of course, you need to rent or buy the appropriate premises where they can be placed. The equipment for the production of notebooks is as follows: a crimping press, a wire sewing and sheet-cutting machine, a three-knife paper cutting machine, it is considered optimal to have at least two copies of it, a punching and scoring machine, a folding machine and units for foil stamping. In addition, in some cases you may need printing devices, for which you will need to purchase special rollers.

Peculiarities

You can, of course, save almost half the cost and purchase used machines sold by the same enterprises, but most of such equipment, which has already been in use, has long been obsolete. In addition, many of the machines on which these printing plants operated were purchased in the middle of the last century, and their wear and tear may be too great today.

It should also be taken into account that the production of such office supplies is considered harmful, therefore all purchased equipment must be accompanied by appropriate certificates confirming their safety for people and the environment.

Costs and payback

In order to organize the production of notebooks, a workshop will require a room with an area of a thousand square meters to accommodate equipment.

In addition, administrative space will be needed, as well as warehouses to store raw materials and finished products.

The total number of employees in such an enterprise is, on average, fifty people, the bulk of whom work in production.

A business plan for a printing company with average productivity will require more than ten million rubles in expenses. The average payback period for such a project will be at least three years.

The total cost of all required equipment will be from five million rubles, and if calculations are made based on the cost of Russian-made machines with sufficiently high productivity. In this case, you can order from domestic machine-building plants or purchase new equipment abroad, which will cost much more.

Additional profit

The production of notebooks can be expanded by producing notepads. They can be as varied as possible, cheap and expensive, designed to suit every buyer’s taste. In general, office supplies will always be in demand, so such a business has almost one hundred percent success. However, having decided to engage in this type of production, an entrepreneur must necessarily draw up a business plan that will help him avoid many mistakes.

Starting his development, every entrepreneur must make a decision - he will engage in production (supply) or sales. Unfortunately, the trend is such that two out of three entrepreneurs choose what they believe is a simple and easy way to get rich and make money – trade. This leads to sharp increases in prices for goods, a decrease in the competitiveness of trading companies and individual entrepreneurs, the demand for the production of goods and services increases.

The online magazine newbusinessideas.ru offers simple example production and sale of notebooks to understand the prospects and opportunities for individual entrepreneurs.

Market conditions

If you decide to start producing school notebooks, you should choose the right strategy for your development. You can satisfy mass demand, or you can supply unique products to the market.

Notebooks are in great demand, while the cost of their production remains low. There is no need for huge capital expenditures, but notebooks can be quickly sold through various distribution channels (stores, online stores, social media). If you take any direction in business, then, as a rule, the part of sellers (realizers) will be an order of magnitude higher than the share of manufacturers. If you decide to produce and sell notebooks yourself, you can significantly increase your income level.

Who can buy your notebooks:

Trading organizations for subsequent resale;

Pupils;

Students of various educational institutions;

Ordinary people to take notes.

You will be able to give your products for sale to office supply stores and actively promote them on social networks.

To summarize, we can draw certain conclusions:

Your target audience is schoolchildren aged from 8 to 18 years;

If you produce school notebooks, they must fit into the school regulations (they should not contain cruelty, aggression, or pictures of erotic content);

Notebooks are most often purchased by parents, and in order for the cover to be popular, the opinion of this target audience should also be taken into account (use traditional colors);

A notebook is not only a cover; if you want to get regular customers, you need to make a product for comfortable use;

There is an increase in demand for general notebooks, however, for a package offer it is necessary to produce thin notebooks with 12-18 sheets;

Don't forget about students and people who graduated long ago. They often choose business-style accessories.

By the way, did you know that special educational institutions without computers are opening in the USA, since scientists have found that lessons with traditional paper notebooks and textbooks are more effective.

Start of production

It is believed that the production of school notebooks is a highly profitable business. This is true only in cases where the sales issue has been resolved and the production technology has been adjusted. At least 30-40% of the cost of the notebook are sales costs. Accordingly, the lower the costs, the higher the profit will be. Small factories strive for small but profitable orders, while large manufacturers focused on mass production. You will never be able to compete on price with a huge factory, high-tech automation and bulk supply of raw materials. All that remains is to offer an original product and satisfy consumer demand that cannot be satisfied major players market. A high markup with low quality or oversaturation of the market is the path to ruin and bankruptcy.

In parallel with the production of notebooks, it is also profitable to produce diaries, notebooks, notepads, envelopes and other souvenirs. In this niche, originality is highly valued, high prices on goods and low competition.

The production of simple school notebooks is obtained as a result of the following processes:

Printing sheets on special high-performance typewriters;

Sheet cutting;

Folding;

Notebook binding;

Chipping;

Warehousing.

The main raw material in your future production will be compressed cellulose, which is subsequently mixed with water and chemicals to impart plasticity.

To fully produce notebooks you will need:

Dryers;

Industrial hoods.

The cost of such a kit for the production of up to 300,000 units of product per month can be about $20,000 in a used configuration and up to $150,000 if you buy a modern one new technology. You shouldn’t try to purchase all the machines at once and start working; you can produce notebooks from ready-made raw materials, order perforation services, stitching pages, cutting sheets. Your main task is to develop a unique design and actively develop the distribution network.

Before launching automatic or semi-automatic lines, you can start with the production of notebooks according to individual orders manually. If you can make money from such offers, selling a large volume of your notebooks will become a technical issue that can be quickly resolved.

Currently, the bound book segment, as well as most other market segments, printed products, there is a clearly noticeable trend towards a decrease in circulation. To fulfill such orders, automatic stitching lines, which have remained at some enterprises since Soviet times, are ineffective, and therefore it can be stated that a rather attractive new market niche is gradually emerging - the production of small editions of bound books using semi-automatic equipment.

The production of high-quality bound books can confidently be called one of the highest levels of printing skills. A distinctive feature of the production process of this type of product is complex post-printing processing, which includes three main stages:

making a book block;
production of binding cover;
assembly and finishing of the book.

Making book blocks

To make book blocks, notebooks are formed from printed sheets, which are then assembled into sets, fastened together using a sewing or non-sewing method.

Making notebooks

Notebooks are divided into simple and compound. The former are a folded printed sheet, the latter include additional elements: gluing and/or gluing.

Folding

The folding operation is used to form notebooks of the required format and design from printed sheets (webs).

The number of folds performed when folding book editions usually does not exceed four, which makes it possible to obtain 32-page notebooks, but it is growing in last years The use of very large format sheet and roll machines led to the introduction of 48 and 64 page notebooks with five folds. The number of folds may be limited depending on the thickness and weight of the paper. Thick, rigid papers are folded with fewer folds than thin ones (if it is impossible to obtain a notebook of the required format by folding, cutting the stack is used). Coated papers are usually folded into no more than three folds (16-page notebooks).

The folding pattern depends on the ratio of the format of printed sheets and the format of the book, as well as on the requirements for the design of notebooks. Based on the relative position of the folds, a distinction is made between parallel (each subsequent fold is parallel to the previous one), perpendicular (each subsequent fold is perpendicular to the previous one) and combined folding. Based on the location of the folds on the sheet, folding is divided into symmetrical and offset. In book production, when producing 8, 16, 32 and 64-page notebooks on operating equipment, as a rule, symmetrical perpendicular folding is used, and when producing 12, 24 and 48-page notebooks, combined folding is used.

It is preferable that in notebooks formed as a result of folding, the machine direction of the paper is parallel to the spine. With this arrangement of fibers, the folds have a clear shape with minimal deformation loads on the paper, which improves the openability of the book and contributes to greater strength of the block. It is also recommended that the head of the notebook be closed, since such notebooks are more technologically advanced for further processing (especially in the case of using feeder openers).

Folding can be performed in the folding modules of roll-fed printing presses or on operating equipment that is used to process sheet-fed prints. printing machines. Roll printing machines, as a rule, produce large-run products, so the main equipment for folding medium and small runs are automatic operating machines.

Regardless technological characteristics folding machines include the following main modules: feeder, folding sections, receiving device. A sheet conveying system is used to transport sheets through machine sections. In addition, folding machines can be equipped with additional technological units and modules.

Modern folding machines use two types of feeders: flat-stack and round-strip. Flat stack feeders feed sheets from a vertical stack installed on a flat table, while round stack feeders include two tables: sheets are placed on the upper table with a slight shift relative to each other (inflow), forming a cascade flow, and the lower table is used to feed sheets into the machine. The main advantage of round stack feeders is the ability to load paper without stopping the machine, however, they have large dimensions and a relatively small capacity.

Sheets are transported through the folding machine using roller or ribbon conveyors. Ribbon conveyors are less expensive than roller conveyors, but roller conveyors provide more stable conditions for conveying sheets.

Sheet folding is performed by a pair of steel rollers that compress the folded sheet - the so-called loop, forming a fold. The crimping force is determined by the distance between the folding rollers and depends on the thickness of the paper, the number and relative position of folds and the orientation of the fibers in the sheet. More effort required when folding thick paper, multi-fold notebooks and when forming folds across the grain of the paper.

Depending on the method of loop formation, folding machines are divided into two types: cassette and knife. The cassette folding machine includes a system of three rollers and a cassette. The rollers are designed to feed the sheet into the cassette, form a loop and fold the sheet. They form two pairs: feeding and folding (one roller is common). The cassette has a cavity for the entry of a sheet with a stop stop and is installed at an angle to the horizontal plane.

The cassette section can contain several cassettes arranged in a staggered pattern, which can be used to form parallel folds, including winding and accordion folding.

In knife folding machines, a loop is formed as a result of deformation of the sheet by a knife. The depth of lowering the knife is selected so that it reliably inserts the loop between the rollers, but does not touch their surface.

The main advantage of knife folding machines is the high folding accuracy when working with materials of various thicknesses, including those with a large number of folds. Knife folders are compact, but they are Maintenance and manual adjustment are difficult due to poor accessibility of the mechanisms. Significant disadvantages of knife folding machines include a limited choice of folding schemes (parallel folding is usually impossible) and limited productivity due to the presence of a reciprocating knife in the mechanism.

Cassette folding machines offer a very large selection of folding patterns and are characterized by high productivity, since all their mechanisms either rotate at a constant speed or are stationary. They have a relatively simple design and are easy to set up. However, the accuracy of cassette folding is lower than knife folding and largely depends on the thickness of the sheet. Folding very thin and very thick papers in cassette devices, as well as producing multi-page notebooks, is usually technologically difficult or impossible.

Currently, combined folding machines are widespread, in which the first folds are formed in cassette sections, and the last ones in knife sections.

Folding machines can additionally be equipped with punching devices for cutting, creasing and perforating sheets, gluing devices, as well as a thermothread sewing device (see below). Cutting with a circular knife can be used in the production of double notebooks and makes it possible to increase the utilization rate of the machine format. Creasing and perforation are used to facilitate the formation of folds when working with dense materials or with a large number of folds.

The receiving devices of folding machines form a cascade flow or horizontal stack of folded notebooks.

Gluing

Composite notebooks are a folded printed sheet equipped with additional elements: flyleaf, illustration inserts, inserts with geographical maps, etc. Additional elements are glued to the outside of the notebook or glued inside.

Endpaper is a paper or combined part that connects and fastens a book block with a binding cover. The flyleaf is glued either to the first and last notebooks of the block before collating, or to the collated and stapled block.

Based on the design and method of attachment to the block, there are about ten types of endpapers, but in practice, in the vast majority of cases, a simple glued endpaper is used, which, if the book is large, can be edged with paper or fabric.

The flyleaf is made from special break-resistant paper. When using dispersion cold glue, waterproof paper should be used. The weight of the endpaper should be greater, the larger the volume of the block and the weight of the block paper. The cutting of the endpaper must be longitudinal so that the fold is made in the machine direction.

The position of gluing a simple endpaper to the notebook depends on the method of fastening the block. With sewing binding, the endpaper is glued 12 mm from the spine, with seamless binding with cutting of the spine folds - at least 5 mm from the spine, when binding notebooks with thermal threads - without indentation. The width of the glue strip should be 45 mm.

The edging of a simple adhesive endpaper can be done using narrow paper or fabric tape in the case of sewing the block together. It is recommended to use paper tape in cases where the block volume exceeds 400 pages, and with fabric tape when the block volume exceeds 640 pages.

Gluing additional elements inside the notebook is usually done manually; semi-automatic and automatic equipment. There are machines for gluing endpapers (or other elements) to notebooks and machines for gluing endpapers to blocks.

Automatic notebook gluing machines include a notebook feeder, endpaper feeder (or other elements), a conveyor, a gluer, a crimper and a take-up device. The glue is applied to the notebook or the flyleaf, depending on which of these elements is supplied first. After aligning the notebook and endpaper, which are located at different levels of the conveyor, they are fed into a roller or belt crimping section, where gluing is performed. After gluing additional elements, the glue must be dried.

Automatic machines for gluing endpapers to a block have a similar principle of operation - with the difference that two endpapers are glued simultaneously, which requires two endpaper feeders, two glue machines, and the conveyor must have three levels. Such machines, as a rule, are aggregated with other equipment for processing blocks, and therefore do not have their own block feeder and receiving device.

Gluing endpapers to blocks, compared to gluing them to notebooks, has two main advantages: the ability to accurately position the endpaper at the spine, which maximizes bond strength, and high performance gluing, since both endpapers are attached at the same time. The disadvantage is the impossibility of edging the endpaper.

Selection (unit assembly)

Book blocks are completed with a selection: notebooks are placed one on top of the other in a given sequence. This method of assembly, unlike an insert, does not impose restrictions on the volume of the block.

Automatic selection of notebooks is carried out in collating machines, the main elements of which are feeders, a conveyor and an output device. Modern collating machines are built according to a linear horizontal design: notebooks are sequentially fed onto the conveyor table from feeders installed on the same horizontal line. Currently, feeders with notebook output from the bottom of the stack are mainly used, since this scheme makes it possible to replenish the supply of notebooks during operation without stopping the machine.

Each feeder contains notebooks of a certain signature. Notebooks are loaded into feeder magazines in sequence from the receiving device: to last store- the first notebook, in the penultimate one - the second, etc. The last notebook is fed onto the conveyor first, then the penultimate notebook is placed on it, and so on until the block is complete. In case the picking machine does not contain a sufficient number of feeders, manual feeding of partially pre-picked sets into the machine can be provided.

Collating machines can be combined with equipment for bonding blocks, in particular with machines for adhesive seamless bonding.

Bonding blocks

The main methods of fastening book blocks are sewing with threads and adhesive seamless fastening. In addition, an interesting, although not widely used, technology is the technology of fastening notebooks with thermofilaments with further adhesive bonding of the block.

Sewing blocks with threads

Thread sewing is the oldest technology for fastening book blocks, which was used back in the Middle Ages in the production of handwritten books. Its long existence is due to the fact that sewing with threads provides the greatest strength and durability of the block bonding.

There are block-by-block and notebook sewing, but in Russia traditionally only notebook sewing is used. Its advantages include high block bonding strength and good book opening. In addition, tetrad sewing does not impose restrictions on subsequent block processing operations. The main disadvantages of this method of binding are the high labor intensity and the dependence of sewing productivity on the volume of the block: for blocks containing different numbers of notebooks, the binding time is different. This feature of notebook sewing significantly complicates the aggregation of thread sewing equipment with collating machines and lines for continuous processing of blocks.

Thread sewing machines for notebook sewing are divided into automatic and semi-automatic. Thread sewing machines are equipped with self-feeders, notebook openers of cordless and cordless (leafing) types, and in semi-automatic machines the notebook is opened and placed on the machine table manually. The correctness of the notebook number (signature) can be automatically monitored using a photosensor.

During the sewing process, notebooks are connected by several continuous threads that form seams. Each thread is folded in half, pulled into the notebook through one hole and pulled out through the other. The loops form a chain, and the last loop in the seam is tied with a knot.

When sewing blocks using notebooks, four types of stitches are used: simple booklet stitch, simple bookbinding stitch, adjustable booklet stitch and adjustable bookbinding stitch. In bookbinding sewing, the spine material is sewn to a block. Depending on the number of types of stitches supported, thread sewing machines are divided into universal and specialized.

The formation of stitches occurs as a result of the interaction of sewing tools: punctures, needles, hooks and slides. The punctures form holes in the fold of the notebook opened in the middle, the needles bring the threads into the holes, the gates transfer the threads to the hooks, which bring them out. The stitched notebook is pushed onto the receiving table of the machine - to the rest of the notebooks in the block. After stitching a complete set of notebooks, a single stitch is performed to tighten the knots and separate the blocks from each other, and then the thread between the blocks is cut. To further strengthen the block, the outer notebooks can be glued together along the spine (the glue is applied before sewing).

It should be noted that the greatest strength of thread stitching is achieved when binding notebooks with at least 16 pages, and it is strongly recommended that all notebooks have the same volume.

Since automatic thread sewing machines are quite expensive, for most printing houses that decide to equip the post-printing area with thread sewing equipment, a semi-automatic machine will be the optimal choice.

Adhesive seamless fastening

With adhesive seamless bonding (CBS), the sheets in the block are held together with an adhesive film. Compared to sewing with threads, KBS has the following advantages:

high speed;
independence of the performance of the bonding process from the volume of the block, which makes it easy to combine machines for BBS with collating and block processing equipment;
relative simplicity and low cost of equipment.

At the same time, blocks fastened with adhesive have lower strength and worse openability than those sewn with threads. Another significant disadvantage of KBS is the unsuitability of this method for fastening hard papers that do not absorb glue well (for example, coated papers).

It is customary to distinguish three methods of CBS:

without cutting the spine folds;
with partial cutting of the spine folds;
with complete cutting of the spine folds.

The idea of KBS without cutting the spine folds is very attractive, since it allows you to achieve quite significant savings in paper with good book opening and no damage to the spines of notebooks with sewing tools. The main problem of KBS without cutting the spine folds is fastening the sheets inside the notebook. To solve this, stitching sheets with thermal threads (see below) or gluing sheets can be used. Gluing can be performed both during the folding process and in a KBS machine by activating pre-applied hot-melt adhesive. Another option for implementing KBS without cutting the spine folds is to use accordion folding, in which notebooks do not have sheets nested inside each other. However, it is extremely difficult to achieve high accuracy of alignment of the spine folds with such folding. Currently, KBS without cutting the spine folds is used relatively rarely.

KBS with partial cutting of the spine folds involves removing 60-80% of the spine folds by perforating the spine folds, forming splines or milling the middle part of the spine to a depth of 1.5 mm. Removing the folds allows the glue to penetrate to the inside of the notebooks, while the remaining folds help to firmly hold pairs of sheets together. At the same time, KBS with partial cutting of the spine folds is not recommended for use for notebooks containing more than 16 pages, since in this case the book’s openability may deteriorate and strong gluing of the inner sheets of the notebooks is not achieved.

Perforation of folds can be done in folding machines, but specialized equipment is required for cutting splines and milling. To increase the bonding strength of the blocks, reinforcement of the milled part of the spine with woven or non-woven synthetic materials can be used.

The most widely used technology in book production is the KBS technology with complete cutting of the spine folds. With this technology, the block is divided into separate sheets and then connected with an adhesive film. The KBS process with complete cutting of the spine folds includes the following operations:

mechanical removal of spine folds;
torsioning - imparting roughness to the surface of the spine;
removing paper dust;
applying glue;
drying glue.

Removal of spine folds is carried out using special cutting tools - end mills or circular knives. The minimum required cutting depth is equal to the thickness of the spine of the notebook, that is, the greater the page length and the thickness of the paper.

In the first case, the waste has a dusty appearance, and the cut has a strong roughness; in the second, the waste is paper chips, and the cut is characterized by high smoothness. Milling cutters and circular knives can be monolithic with soldered teeth or composite with removable cutters.

To remove folds, the block is moved with special disks or gripping bars relative to a rotating cutting tool. The plane of rotation of the tool is slightly inclined relative to the plane of the spine, so the teeth of the cutter or knife do not touch the already processed part of the block.

After removing the spine folds, the surface of the block spine can be subjected to additional processing in order to improve the contact conditions between the sheets and the glue. The quality of the spine after milling is determined by the strength of the paper, the geometry of the cutting tool, the degree of sharpening, cutting depth, block feed speed and many other factors. Ideally, the surface of the spine should be rough with a height of macro-roughness of up to 0.4 mm, which maximizes the contact area between paper and glue while maintaining the strength of the sheets - without the formation of tears. To form such a surface, torsioning is used using end tools: brushes, emery discs, etc. Torshoning must be carried out in the case of cutting folds with circular knives (when using end mills, the roots may have sufficient roughness for strong gluing). Additional processing of the spine after cutting the folds also includes the application of transverse grooves up to 1.5 mm deep in increments of 2 to 20 mm. Cutters for forming grooves can be mounted on a torsion head.

In high-performance KBS machines, seam cutting and torsioning are usually performed in different sections; in low-speed machines, these sections can be combined.

After buffing, the spine is cleaned of paper dust using end or cylindrical brushes.

Currently, cold dispersion glue based on PVA and hot-melt adhesives of various compositions are used for CBS. Cold adhesive PVAD is characterized by good penetrating ability, good adhesion to a wide range of papers, high elasticity of the adhesive film, as well as the constancy of its properties over time. The main disadvantage of PVAD is the need for intensive drying, which requires high energy consumption.

Hot-melt adhesives are characterized by a high fastening speed, but in terms of elasticity, adhesive ability and resistance to aging of the adhesive film, they were inferior to PVAD for a long time. The situation was changed by the development of polyurethane-based hot-melt adhesives (see article “Polyurethane hot-melt adhesives for seamless fastening” in CompuArt No. 4’2007), which in their characteristics are not only not inferior, but even superior to PVAD. Currently, many Western printing houses have already accumulated successful experience in using adhesives of this type.

The designs of adhesive devices in modern KBS machines are very diverse. As a rule, these devices have an individual drive, ensuring equality of the peripheral speed of rotation of the application rollers and the linear speed of the block. To regulate the thickness of the applied glue, squeegees are used. The glue apparatus may contain additional rollers or brushes for rubbing and smoothing the glue. Excess glue is removed with a special scraper. Devices for applying hot melt adhesives are equipped with temperature control systems. Sometimes, especially when using polyurethane hot melt adhesives, such devices may have a closed design.

In some KBS machines, cold glue is applied in two stages: in the first glue section, a thin layer of a liquid composition is applied, which is well absorbed and penetrates deeply into the paper, and in the second, a thick layer of more viscous glue is applied.

To dry cold glue, IR radiation or microwave currents are used. Hot-melt adhesive is fixed when it cools and, as a rule, does not need forced drying.

An additional operation after gluing the block can be edging it with paper or fabric tape in the appropriate section of the KBS machine. To do this, a special adhesive machine performs lateral lubrication of the block or edging tape. In practice, both longitudinal and transverse feeding of edging material is used, which is cut from the roll, positioned on the spine and pressed against it.

The transport system of KBS vehicles can be built according to rectilinear, circular (carousel) and closed rectilinear-circular schemes. According to the first scheme, mainly low-performance machines are built, according to the second - medium-performance machines, and according to the third - high-performance systems.

Sewing with thermal threads (sewing and adhesive bonding)

Sewing with thermal threads is a technology that allows you to firmly fasten sheets of notebooks. For sewing, a special thread is used, which includes a component that melts when heated. At the location of the future fold, the notebooks are stitched with several threads
Shaped staples, the ends of which are welded to the paper with a heated bar. After this, the last fold of the notebook is formed on the folding funnel. Selected sets of notebooks sewn together with thermal threads are glued together into a block (the folds are not removed).

The main advantages of sewing with thermo threads:

high bonding strength comparable to traditional thread sewing;
good book opening;
high sewing speed, which allows you to combine equipment for fastening with thermal threads with folding machines.

Unfortunately, equipment for sewing with thermal threads is quite expensive and is produced by only one company - a manufacturer of printing machines.

Block Processing

The processing of bonded blocks may include the following operations:

Mandatory operations for blocks fastened with threads are gluing, drying and crimping the spine, as well as three-sided trimming, while the remaining operations are performed if appropriate requirements are presented for the design and durability of the book. For blocks fastened with adhesive, only three-sided trimming is required.

Crimping of blocks fastened by sewing before gluing the spine is carried out in order to calibrate them in thickness. In addition, during the crimping process, the holes made in the folds with sewing tools are compressed, which prevents glue from penetrating into the block through them. To achieve better compaction of blocks in block processing units, crimping is performed multiple times. After crimping, the spine is glued, as a result of which the spines of the notebooks are additionally fastened with an adhesive film, which gives the spine of the block solidity and strength.

When cutting blocks on three sides, all folds are cut off, except for the spine ones, and the block acquires its final geometric dimensions. Trimming is performed in one step on a three-knife cutting machine or in three steps on a single-knife cutting machine. In the second case, the lower edge of the block is cut first, then the head, and only after that the front edge. When cutting the bottom and top edges of the block, you should lay the block so that the knife cuts into the spine first, as this minimizes the risk of tearing out part of the spine.

Painting over the edges, an operation that improves the appearance of a book, is performed on automatic machines or manually. There is also automatic and semi-automatic equipment for metallization (usually gilding) of edges with printing foil. In such machines, the surface of the cut is pre-polished and coated with primer varnish.

Spine rounding - giving the spine of a book block and its front edge a rounded shape - is performed to even out the thickness of the block and improve the book's openability. In semi-automatic machines, rounding is performed by pushing into a profile block; in automatic block processing lines, rolling in rollers is often used.

Folding the folds (edges) of the spine of the block - giving the spine a mushroom shape - helps to increase the strength of the block and the strength of the bond between the block and the binding cover, since the folded folds create supports for the sides of the cover. Folding folds is usually done using a profile block or a profile roller.

Gluing the bookmark ribbon, spine material, captals and paper strip to the spine completes the processing of the block before inserting it into the binding cover. The spine material and paper strip serve to strengthen the block.
If the block was fastened with threads and sewn with printing gauze (binding stitches), gluing an additional strip of spine material may not be performed.

Captal is a cotton, semi-silk or silk ribbon up to 10 mm wide with a thickened edge. The captal is glued to the top and bottom edges of the block to further secure them and cover the gap between the spine of the block and the spine of the binding cover.

Block processing can be done manually, on operating equipment or on automatic block processing lines. In conditions of small-run production, the rational choice seems to be the use of semi-automatic equipment in combination with manual labor when performing some rare operations (for example, if it is necessary to glue a bookmark).

Ending in the next issue

Question No. 1. List the main stages of making simple notebooks. Sheet pushing technology and factors affecting the accuracy and performance of pushing.

Making simple notebooks

Block diagram of TBPP publications in the cover

Block diagram of TBPP publications in a binding cover

The nomenclature for processing sheet-fed printed products into book publications, including finishing and bookbinding processes, contains more than 70 different operations necessary to convert prints into packaging units for the main products of book printing houses. Depending on the volume, design, level of artistic and printing design, requirements for strength and durability, the number and composition of operations can vary significantly, but all of them can be grouped into seven or eight complexes of sequential operations, which at a certain stage, in the presence of source materials and backlog of semi-finished products can be carried out independently. At large printing enterprises, in order to improve the organization of production, these complexes are separated into workshops or departments of a large workshop, and in the textbook they are grouped in sections, which contributes to the assimilation of the content of the TBPP discipline and the very concept of “technology”: it is not only a set of processing methods, changing properties and forms of material or semi-finished product in the production process, but also a strict list and sequence of operations, removal and rearrangement, which can lead to the loss of important consumer properties of the product, and in bookbinding processes - a book edition.

Completing a book block not from separate sheets, but from notebooks is not only a tribute to the ancient technology of binding handwritten and early printed books, but also a technological necessity. The production of books assembled from notebooks, and not from individual sheets (lobes), allows you to reduce the labor intensity and likelihood of errors when assembling the block, to choose a method of fastening and processing that ensures good openability, high strength and durability of the book. It is technologically and economically feasible to compose book blocks from 32-, 16- and 8-page so-called simple notebooks, obtained respectively with four-, three- and two-fold perpendicular symmetrical folding, since this ensures minimum costs time and labor in block making operations, high strength of sewing fastening and good quality machining spine, full use of the technological capabilities of printing machines and minimal costs in pre-press processes, allows you to obtain maximum strength and durability of books.

The production of simple book notebooks from prints obtained on sheet-fed printing machines includes the operations of pushing, trimming, and cutting sheets into pieces, folding, pressing and tying notebooks and storing them until all the structural parts of the book block are ready for further processing.

Pushing sheets

Alignment of the edges of various sheet materials and prints along two adjacent ends of the stack is carried out in order to increase the reliability of the feeders of printing, finishing and folding machines and the quality of products of single-knife paper cutting machines. It is necessary in cases where the shift of sheets in a stack due to inaccurate operation of the receiving and output device of sheet-cutting and sheet-fed printing machines or careless transportation exceeds the tolerances for the amount of sheet shift for the uninterrupted operation of feeders, for the format and accuracy of cutting sheet materials and products. Unprinted paper, prints, and various sheet-fed binding materials are collided before printing, finishing, slitting, and folding.

Collision technology

Pushing of sheets is done manually, using semi-automatic pushing machines and automated complex systems, which include a pushing machine. Pushing sheets manually is performed on a horizontal table with a flat and smooth surface, the width of which is slightly larger than the diagonal of the sheets being processed. When manually pushing, the worker transfers a small (easy-to-use) stack of sheets from the pallet to the pushing table, using special techniques to form an “air lubricant” between the sheets of the stack, spreads the stack with a “ladder”, levels it with soft blows on the table surface alternately along the edges of the correct angle, then then with the palm of your hand he displaces the air between the sheets and places the stack on the feeder table, cutting machine or on another pallet. On the collided stack, the correct edges are marked with a colored pencil or, if the paper is intended for printing covers and postcards, by cutting off the correct angle up to 10 mm from its top. When sealing the front side of the sheet, the correct corner is marked with a special mark - a narrow strip up to 3 square meters long. on the side edge of the sheet. The marks in the foot form a clearly visible stripe on the end face.

With manual pushing, the worker’s work is hard and unproductive: he lifts and lowers each stack of paper onto the table surface from 2 to 6 times, processing up to 4 tons of paper per shift. In small and medium-sized printing enterprises, collating machines that are simple in design and affordable in price are used for collating. Such a machine has a massive base, a table with two low walls-stops, a sheet blowing system and an electric drive that ensures vibration of the table during the pushing process. When working, the table takes an inclined position, and the sheets, thanks to air lubrication and their own gravity, are aligned with the side walls. Loading the pushing machine should be done in small stacks, since with a large mass of the stack, the efficiency of sheet inflation is significantly reduced, and the time for aligning sheets along the side walls increases. Modern medium and large printing enterprises use automated complex systems that service the processes of collating, cutting and all related handling operations.

After collating, the sheets of paper and prints should be counted and stacked in stacks of 500 on pallets, in stacks whose height should not exceed 1.6 m. The stacks should be separated from each other by strips of colored paper to estimate the amount of work completed and the amount of paper available. or semi-finished products.

Paper and semi-finished products after colliding are evaluated based on a single quality indicator - colliding accuracy. The sheets in the stack must be collided (aligned) precisely, with a tolerance of 3mm for paper and 4mm for bookbinding. The accuracy of the collision is determined visually by “spreading” the foot along the correct edges.

Factors Affecting Collision Accuracy and Performance

The accuracy and productivity of manual and machine colliding of sheets depends on the format, surface density, bulk density, smoothness and moisture content of the paper, as well as on the average value of the initial displacement of the sheets and the condition of their edges.

Large-format sheets are less convenient to use and, all other things being equal, have more mass, so a stack of paper with fewer sheets is taken for pushing than with a medium and small format. Collision performance is reduced by 17-20%. Paper with a high surface density, other things being equal, has higher mass, thickness and rigidity, which has a double effect on the complexity of the operation: on the one hand, it is necessary to push stacks of paper with fewer sheets, but, on the other hand, thick and rigid sheets of paper are relatively easy to align along the edges. For these reasons, with an increase in the surface density of paper for every 20%, the productivity of pushing paper with a surface density of over 90 g/m2 decreases by approximately 5%. Colliding sheets of thin papers with low surface density is difficult due to their low rigidity. When aligning sheets against a hard surface of a table or the walls of a pressing machine, the likelihood of their edges becoming wrinkled increases significantly. Taking this into account, the production standards for pushing paper with a surface density below 55 g/m2 have been reduced by approximately 17%. Thin types of paper with low surface density (for example, tissue paper with a surface density of 16 g/m2) are generally impossible to collide; they are leveled by pinning each sheet onto needles.

Sheets of calendered and coated paper with high smoothness glide over each other well and collide easily. Highly calendered paper with a smoothness of more than 300 s and coated paper before trimming and slitting can not be pushed at all, but aligned by pushing it against the feeder and stop when laying the stack on the table of a single-blade paper cutting machine.

Increased humidity of paper makes it difficult to push, as this reduces its rigidity and increases the coefficient of friction. At low (less than 5%) humidity, paper is easily electrified by close contact and friction of the sheets. The accumulation of charges during electrification leads to sticking of sheets, which makes it difficult to perform basic pushing operations. The optimal paper humidity for this technological process, equal to 7-8%, can be achieved at normal relative air humidity in the workshop (60 ± 5)% and after acclimatization of the paper for 24 hours.

Large initial shift of sheets, wavy, wrinkled and damaged sheet edges make pushing difficult. At the same time, when loading flat-stack feeders for printing, finishing and folding machines, pushing can be omitted if the initial shift of the sheets does not exceed 3 mm. When loading round pile feeders of folding machines, pushing can be avoided even with a larger (up to 10 mm) displacement of the sheet edges.

Question No. 2. Characterize and describe the technology of manual picking processes by insertion and selection.

Making book blocks

The production of book blocks refers to two operations - assembling the blocks and their fastening, but these are the key, most important operations in the technology of bookbinding processes, since the quality of their execution to the highest degree determines the main consumer properties of book-type publications: ease of use and the required durability.

Completing blocks with tabs (notebook within notebook) is used in the production of small-volume book publications - “thin” magazines for various reading purposes, books for preschool and younger children school age, technological instructions for individual operations, various documents (membership cards, record books, etc.) and white goods. The volume of such publications and products usually does not exceed 128 pages, and the block thickness is 6.5 mm. The thickness of the book block when assembled with an insert is limited because the width of the outer shares of the paper sheet after trimming the block or publication when bending the inner shares along the radius R (Fig. 5.1) decreases by an amount l, proportional to the thickness of the block:

In the finished product, this leads to a significant reduction in the radicular margins on the inner sheets, since even with a tight fit in notebooks and precise folding with a block thickness of 5-6.5 mm, the leading edges of the sheet shares and typesetting stripes on the outer sheets of notebooks are shifted by 4- 5 mm, which, of course, reduces the quality level of book publications, but is quite acceptable in the production of white goods - weeklies, general notebooks, etc.

Book block assembly technology

The assembly of blocks with inserts and collation is done manually, on insertion-sewing machines, on insertion-sewing-cutting units and on collating machines, and when producing editions with a cover, assembly with an insert is always combined with a covering cover.

Manual picking with tab

At small printing enterprises, when the workshop is loaded with shifts, one worker can perform the assembly of blocks of up to 18-20 thousand three-fold notebooks with a tab and covering the blocks with a cover. Manual assembly of book blocks with tabs is carried out on a horizontal table after preliminary checking the stacks of notebooks according to the norm and signatures by pouring them “on a fan”. Stacks of notebooks are placed on the right side of the table with the initial pages with the signature down, the top edges towards you and the spines to the left (Fig. 5.2).

Rice. 5.2. Layout of notebooks and blocks when manually assembling blocks with a tab: B - stack of internal notebooks; N - stack of external notebooks; O - stack of covers; B - stack of completed blocks

The stack of inner notebooks is placed first on the right, and the stack of outer notebooks is placed last on the left. To the left of the stack of outer notebooks is a stack of covers. For ease of use, the stacks of notebooks and covers are made at different heights so that each stack on the left is 1-1.5 cm lower than the right. The height of the right foot should not exceed 20 cm, otherwise it may crumble if moved carelessly. A stack of folded covers is laid unfolded with the folds up and the top edges towards you, since in a folded form it is impossible to stack the covers in a relatively high stack and it is difficult to separate them one by one during the folding process.

When working, the bookmaker with his right hand separates the upper notebook of the extreme right foot and at the same time with his left hand opens the upper notebook of the adjacent foot located on the left, after which he pushes the inner notebook of the block into the outer one. Then the hand movements are repeated: with the right hand, part of the completed block is pushed into the next notebook of the third foot, opened with the left hand, etc., and the entire block is pushed into the cover opened with the left hand. The completed and covered block is placed on the left edge of the table. When the height of the stack of completed blocks reaches a value convenient for further processing, it is carefully pushed first along the upper edge, and then onto the spine and placed on the adjacent work table of a wire sewing machine or in trucks for shipment to subsequent operations or to a warehouse for semi-finished products.

When producing editions in a binding cover, the technology for assembling blocks with inserts is similar, but the assembly process itself ends with inserting parts of the blocks into outer notebooks with endpapers glued on both sides and edged spines.

Manual picking

Manual assembly of book blocks by selection with a small number of notebooks in the blocks, as well as when completing by insert, is carried out on a horizontal table. Before placing them on the table, the worker controls the quality of incoming semi-finished products, rejecting dirty and damaged notebooks; A mark with a colored pencil must be applied on the spines or on the upper edges of the stack of the last notebooks of the block to facilitate the separation of the completed blocks before they are stapled. This mark can also be the mark of the performer if the picking is performed by two or more workers.

If there are no more than 8 notebooks in a block, then the stacks of notebooks are placed on the table in pairs, at an equal distance from the performer’s workplace, with the spine folds to the right and the upper edges towards you, in the order shown in Fig. 5.3. The assembly of blocks begins with the last notebook, placing it with your right hand on the table in front of you, after which the penultimate notebook is placed on it with your left hand. Next, the picking process is repeated until the stack of completed blocks reaches a height convenient for subsequent processing.

Rice. 5.3. Scheme for laying stacks of notebooks when completing a selection of small-volume blocks: 1-8 - stacks of notebooks; B - stack of completed blocks

If the number of notebooks in an edition is more than 8, then a stand 10 cm high is installed on the desktop so that the stacks of notebooks can be stacked in two rows at different heights. In the first row, farthest from the worker, stacks of notebooks from the first half of the block are placed on the stand, placing them from left to right. In the second, near row, stacks of notebooks from the second half of the block are laid from right to left. The assembly of blocks begins with the last notebook, placing them on the palm of the left hand or on a cardboard blank of the appropriate format and moving along the table from left to right and right to left. In one step, the worker picks up several blocks with his foot at a height that is convenient for him to work with.

If the number of notebooks in book publications is more than 20, then it is advisable to make the desktop U-shaped. In this case, the worker can perform picking while sitting on a screw chair. With the so-called notebook technology, when book blocks can consist of several dozen sheets of A4 or A5 formats, a two- or three-tier shelf with cells in which several hundred prints can be stacked is installed on the desktop.

After the stack is assembled, it is pushed along the upper end and onto the spine, the correctness of the assembly is checked using the spine marks, and then it is placed on the adjacent table of a machine for sewing or non-sewing fastening of blocks. At medium and large enterprises, completed blocks are placed in piles up to 30 cm high in trucks with folding shelves or on the shelf of an overhead conveyor carriage.

Question No. 3 Factors affecting the quality of blocks during the process of gluing, drying and crimping the spine

Quality indicators for processing the spine of blocks depend on the method and modes of gluing, drying and crimping the spine and technological factors- indicators of paper quality and volume of block notebooks.

Methods and modes of gluing the spine. According to the Moscow State Unitary Enterprise, the option of gluing and drying the spine in a clamped state, carried out on modern gluing-drying machines, is technologically the most advanced, as it provides maximum strength for gluing notebooks at high values of compaction coefficients and shear resistance of the blocks.

Glue consumption. If the block-sealing device ensures the application of a thin layer of glue of high concentration and any viscosity with penetration of the glue between the thickenings of the spine folds of adjacent notebooks, then the gluing strength of notebooks increases with increasing glue consumption up to 0.6 kg/m2 for all types of paper (Fig. 6.2, a) . A threefold increase in glue consumption provides approximately a 1.5-fold increase in the gluing strength of notebooks made from non-adhesive types of paper and 1.6-2.5 times for notebooks made from glued paper. offset paper, while the absolute increase in gluing strength is up to 0.5 and 0.2 daN/cm (kgf/cm), respectively.

Rice. 6.2. Dependence of the strength of gluing notebook blocks sealed with PVAD: a - on glue consumption; b - on the concentration of glue; 1 - paper for letterpress printing No. 3; 2 - for letterpress printing No. 2; 3 - for letterpress printing No. 1; 4 - offset No. 2; 5 - offset No. 1

Glue concentration. Increasing the concentration of glue at a constant consumption (Fig. 6.2, b) gives a significantly greater effect: a twofold increase in concentration provides an increase in the strength of gluing notebooks made from non-glued types of letterpress paper by 1.5-2.5 times (by 0.5-0 .6 daN/cm) and 3.0-4.5 times (about 0.4 daN/cm) for laminated offset paper. The use of concentrated glue with a constant consumption of dry matter provides greater strength for gluing notebooks, better conditions for drying the spine, and allows you to save glue when processing blocks of non-glued types of paper, if the rate of glue consumption is set based on the requirement for the required gluing strength of notebooks in accordance with the service life of the publication.

According to the Moscow State Unitary Enterprise, when gluing the spine of blocks consisting of 32-page notebooks with undiluted 50% glue in compliance with the dry matter consumption rate during the drying of the spine, it is necessary to remove no more than 30% of the moisture introduced with the glue. The remaining moisture is filtered into the paper and remains in the adhesive film without interfering with subsequent operations. Simple calculations show that when using diluted adhesives containing 33% dry residue, in accordance with the recommendations of technological instructions and material consumption standards, during drying it is necessary to remove 4 times more moisture in order to obtain the same moisture content.

Spine drying mode. With intensive drying methods, as the glue dehydrates, the bonding strength of the block notebooks increases, reaches a maximum with the loss of approximately 60% of the moisture introduced with the 33% concentration of glue, and then decreases. The bonding strength of notebooks at optimal moisture content increases when using harsh radiation-convective drying modes (with increasing power and temperature of the emitter, decreasing the distance to the emitter - curve 1 in Fig. 6.3), which apparently contributes to the fusion of polyvinyl acetate particles, the formation of a monolithic film, and diffusion polymer into paper.

Rice. 6.3. Dependence of the strength of gluing notebook blocks on the amount of moisture removed during drying with quartz infrared lamps: 1 - when gluing the spine with 50% PVAD; 2 - when sealing with 33% PVAD

Spine crimping modes. When gluing and drying the roots of blocks in a clamped state, the crimping modes are the pressure and the amount of the spines leaving the clamps of the conveyor of the gluing drying machine.

With increasing release of the block spines from the clamps and crimping pressure, the block spines fan out, which allows the glue to penetrate to a greater depth between the folds. In this case, the strength of gluing notebooks and book blocks first increases (for various types paper by 20-30%), reaches a certain maximum, and then decreases (Fig. 6.4, a and 6.5, a). With an increase in the release of the roots from the clamps, the coefficient of compaction of the blocks decreases (Fig. 6.4, b), and the coefficient of shear resistance increases slightly; An increase in crimping pressure increases the coefficient of compression (Fig. 6.4, b), but reduces the coefficient of shear resistance of the spine. The optimal value for the spines coming out of the clamps should be 6-8 mm, and the crimping pressure is about 1-3 MPa, depending on the type of finish and volumetric mass of the paper, the volume of notebooks and the thickness of the block. With these values of crimping parameters, maximum strength of notebook gluing and sufficiently high values of coefficients of compaction and block shear resistance are ensured, which ensures high quality of semi-finished products in subsequent operations of mechanical processing of the spine of book blocks.

Rice. 6.4. Dependence of the strength of gluing notebooks (a) and the coefficient of compaction of blocks (b) on the value of the spine coming out of the clamps for blocks of letterpress paper: 1 - No. 1, PVAD 33%; 2 - No. 1, PVAD 50%; 3 - No. 3, PVAD 50%

When processing blocks step by step, single or double crimping of the spine is carried out on block crimping machines of the BPB-270 type at a pressure of about 3-4 MPa (30-40 kgf/cm2).

Crimping the spine of the blocks after drying increases the coefficient of compaction, reduces the coefficient of resistance of the block to shear and does not affect the strength of gluing notebook blocks.

Rice. 6.5. Dependence of the bonding strength of notebooks (a) and the coefficient of compaction of blocks (b) on the clamping pressure for blocks of letterpress paper: 1 - No. 1, 33% PVAD; 2 - No. 1, 50% PVAD; 3 - No. 3, 50% PVAD; 4 - No. 3, 33% PVAD

Sizing, composition and volumetric weight of paper. Glued types of paper are less well wetted by PVAD and give less strength to the adhesive seam, therefore the strength of gluing notebooks of blocks made of glued offset paper (see curves 4 and 5 in Fig. 6.2), other things being equal, is 2-4.5 times lower than that of non-glued ones types of letterpress paper (see curves 1-3 in Fig. 6.2). Paper containing wood pulp (No. 2 and No. 3), compared to paper made only from cellulose (No. 1), as a rule, has a lower bulk density, greater porosity, is better wetted by glue and therefore provides significantly greater gluing strength.

Volume of block notebooks. If the block is made of 32-page notebooks, then compared to 16-page notebooks with the same glue consumption, the gluing strength of the notebooks is approximately 10-15% higher due to the increase in the gluing width between the spine folds of adjacent notebooks.

Paper moisture content. The coefficient of compaction of blocks and the strength of the adhesive seam in paper with low humidity increase when using PVAD diluted to 40-45% dry matter content, but the strength of the adhesive film is significantly reduced. Paper with low humidity at the first stage of formation of an adhesive seam very intensively absorbs moisture from the glue, which impairs the wettability of the paper with glue and the strength of the adhesive seam. If blocks with low (less than 5%) humidity are received for gluing the spine, then the glue concentration should be slightly reduced. The strength of gluing notebooks can be increased if the spines of the blocks are coated twice with glue: sequentially diluted and concentrated PVAD.

Bibliography

Handbook of printing technologist. Part 6. Booklet-binding processes/Comp. L.G. Granskaya, O.B. Kuptsova. - M.: Book, 1985.

Technology after printing processes. D.V. Vorobyov 2000.

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