During the high-profile multi-media ad campaign announcing the census and expounding the importance of the information requested and the significance of total participation, the documents were in production.

This article illustrates the different approaches taken by two printing companies that won government contracts to produce the necessary documents. A major component of the job consisted of cross folding the census forms from a web press printed roll. This could be accomplished directly on the press, as envisioned by one of the printers discussed in this article, or off-line from a roll, as done by R.R.D. Direct (an R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company).

R.R.R. Direct operators, Kent groves (left) and Bud Norris fold the census forms on the Vijuk Web Press Folder.

Roll to roll… way to go!
R.R.D. Direct elected go roll to roll by printing the job and then taking the rewound product to an off-line area to be dual imaged, parallel folded and cross folded. The cross-folding operation was done on two Vijuk Web Press Folders at maximum speed.

By printing and cross folding the forms in separate operations, both could be run at peak speed without compromising the integrity of the processes.

Running beyond specified speed
A timely turnaround compelled R.R.D. Direct to operate the equipment beyond manufacturer's recommended specifications. John Trentman, engineering manager of the R.R.D. Direct facility said, "In order to get the speed we needed, we turned the pots on the motors up to the point where we burned the motors out. Then we put new motors in, backed off the pot settings a little, and ran the job. Mid-way through the job we wore the folder rollers out; we replaced them and continued with the job. We ran the wheels off the machines and they performed superbly!"

Running the job twenty-four hours a day, seven days per week for five solid months, on the two finishing lines, the Vijuk folders never gave them a bit of trouble. In all, about 88 million pieces were cross folded. At one point, R.R.D. Direct and a local letter shop had 140 trailer loads of finished folded product ready for mailing.

Operating the folder twenty-four hours a day, seven days per week, at the continuous speed of 400 to 500 feet per minute, about 40 million pieces were cross folded without interruption. This would be like putting a brick on your car accelerator pedal for a month without stopping! An additional 116 million pieces were processed separately without cross folding.

The only maintenance required was the replacement of some electrical elements that were overheated due to prolonged operating times at maximum speeds.

Independently chosen
The two companies had independently bid on this job and used different methods to accomplish the task, and yet, both came to the same conclusion; they needed the dependability of the Vijuk Web Press Folder to do the cross folding element of the job. Government contracts, as with many private-sector contracts, specify time constraints, waste allowances, performance guarantees and penalties to be levied in the event all contractual elements are not met. The web press folders played a vital role in fulfilling the strict contract specifications of time and quality.

Commonly satisfied
Both companies, as first-time Vijuk folder owners, maintained that the folders set up quickly and easily, and the settings remained stable and drift-free throughout the run. The patented web press folder is a specialty folder developed by Vijuk. The folder can be attached to web presses, or other primary machines, for high-speed direct mail operations. Standard features of the folder include variable-speed control, automatic synchronization with web press speed, the MK-450 Predetermined Counter with tachometer for total and batch counts, and a variable-speed stacker for the finished product.

The folder is equipped with zero-makeready folding plates and digital readout dials for paper stops to ensure the quickest setup and the most accurate folds. The folding and deflector plates are machined from high-grade chromium steel for antistatic operation and long-term use. Heavy-duty, quick-release perforating, slitting and scoring shafts can be employed. Its high-speed feeder is capable of speeds up to 40,000 sheets per hour depending on the length of the product to be folded.

The web press folder has proven valuable to high-volume mail house operations. It is the folder you need when you want high speed, high quality and reliability.
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by Robert A. Stock

(A similar article, Web Press Folder Shines In or Off Line, was published in the September 2000 Graphic Arts Monthly.)