Tried & Tested

The digital age forced a lot of manufacturers to think outside of the box; how do you cater for a mixed printhouse using both offset and digital? In the feeder arena, Duplo's answer to the question was the DSF-2000 sheet feeder.

“We’d already had collators successfully feeding into bookletmakers for over 20 years,” says Peter Jolly, UK marketing manager for Duplo. “We also wanted something that could handle hybrid print, such as litho covers with variable-data digital inners. It was important that we had a bookletmaking system that complemented the benefits of digital print.”

With digital print the feeding devices needed to be able to handle sequentially printed sheets. Duplo also wanted to produce a system that could work with the print engine while not being physically attached to it.

Optional extras
The DSF-2000 was launched in 2001, targeting customers ranging from commercial printers to inplants, printrooms and digital print shops that used the firm’s bookletmakers. As an addition to Duplo’s bookletmaking range, it faced competition from Morgana’s DocuMaster, Horizon’s HOF,  the Ibis Smartbinder and the Nagel Robofeeder.

Its core feeding system was developed from the technology that was used on the Duplo DC 10/60 collators, while a barcode reader option gave increased integrity to the collated sheets. The Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) allowed the machine to detect the end of a document. Its ability to handle pre-collated stock meant it could be used in six different modular configurations of Duplo bookletmakers. 

Although the DSF could also be used in a litho environment, digital was its main target market; as a result the machine had to tackle static, paper curl and silicone oil. “The machine was tested and validated by Xerox, Kodak and HP,” says Jolly. The machine became instantly popular, with more than 500 installations worldwide.

To work the DSF-2000, printed sheets are taken from the printer and loaded into the feeding tray in one straight stack. The operator selects the required finishing operations from the control panel and the complete system adjusts to the desired set-up. The line cycles up, the feed trays rise to position the paper ready for feeding and air is pumped into the stack to start the separation process.

Sheets are fed from the main tray one at a time using a system of belts through which air is drawn, sucking the paper to the belt surface. At the appropriate point in the sequence, a sheet can be added from the second tray, usually a cover.  As the last sheet is received by the bookletmaker, the complete set is jogged square.

Using the two bins, customers could set the machine so that it takes the same amount of pages every time as a set and stitches them together or, by having a barcoded cover, you can tell the machine how many inners correspond to that job. “So you could have a cover and two sheets followed by a cover and five sheets,” explains Jolly.

The machine has developed over the years as printer applications have changed. The latest development was in 2005 with the addition of the SCC (slit/cut/crease) module option. Changes are retrofittable and Duplo offers three levels of service contracts. A used machine will cost around £7,000.

SPECIFICATIONS

Typical hourly production – sph & equivalent printer speed
5 sheet A4 – 8,700 sheets (290ppm),
15 sheet A4 – 10,300 sheets (345ppm)
5 sheet A3 – 6,600 sheets (440ppm)
15 sheet A3 – 7,500 sheets (500ppm)

Paper weights
Main 60-250gsm
Secondary 60-250gsm

Sheet Sizes
Min 200x148mm
Max 470x320mm

Booklet sizes
Min 100x148mm
Max 235x320mm

Feed-capacity
Main 2,000 (80gsm)
Secondary 600 (80gsm)

Optional extras
Barcode reading, job tracking and reporting and DCM kit

What to look for
General wear and tear

Price
New £12,480
Used around £7,000