Tried & Tested

Time is a precious commodity in a fast-paced press room, so having to manually counteract print cracking isn't ideal. Printers realised the importance of creasing digitally printed stock prior to folding some time ago. Especially since with solid colours, it used to be particularly difficult to prevent cracking.

“The old way was to do this was manually on a handcreaser or on a Heidelberg cylinder or platen, which are difficult to find. It takes time and a skilled operator to set up,” says Mike Biggs, managing director of UK agent Encore Machinery.

Toner-based images do not permeate paper in the same way as offset but sit on the surface and this, coupled with the pressure and heat of the fuser rollers, makes the paper more brittle and likely to crack.

One solution came in the form of the PitStop AF Speed, launched by manufacturer Bacciottini to provide the fast-growing digital print market with a high-volume digital creaser and perforator. Developed in Italy, the AF Speed was launched in 2004. It superseded the PitStop AF, which was launched earlier that year and catapulted the previous machine’s speed from 3,600sph to 8,000sph.

Simple makereadies
At the time of its launch, the market was shifting to shorter runs, which meant there was a need for faster and simpler makereadies. The use of recycled papers and higher ink coverage meant the machine also found a strong market in the offset sector due to its high speed, strong construction and ability to cope with long offset volumes. To date more than 90 units have been installed in the UK.

One of the AF Speed’s strongest features is the rise and fall platen action which, according to Biggs, ensures a high quality crease without cracking. Consistent and accurate feeding of the full range of sheet sizes and paper weights is assured with separate pumps for ‘suck’ and ‘blow’ and also the paper stack blowers. Sheets are taken via a suction wheel that is moved by the main motor, while the suction feeding plate is supplied with adjustable blowers and moving squares to align the paper.

Optional extras include a deep-pile delivery and deep-pile feeder. The sheets can be loaded into the feed hopper on the fly, ensuring continuous feed can be maintained without the need to stop the machine.

The creased sheet can be fed onto a delivery table or, for better productivity, it can be guided into an MB38 fold unit running online so that it can crease and fold at 8,000sph on stocks up to 350gsm. The MB38 folder can be retro-fitted to stand-alone creasers and can be wheeled away when folding is not required.

According to Biggs, until recently there have been very few second-hand Pit Stop AF Speed creasers available on the market. But this has changed since Drupa as customers upgraded to the faster FM and DH models launched at the show. Encore sells refurbished models.

“Quite frankly, there aren’t many moving parts to wear out and usually a thorough service is all that’s required,” says Biggs. New machines come with a year’s parts and labour warranty and refurbished secondhand machines have a three-month parts and labour warranty. A new AF speed costs around £14,950 with a secondhand machine costing around half of that.

SPECIFICATIONS

Sheet size  min 150x210mm max 500x850mm
Max speed 8,000sph
Stock range 85-600gsm
Fitted as standard scoring kit
Options digital scoring kit, standard perforation kit, extension feeder
Net weight 200kg
Footprint 150x70x110cm
Price new £14,950 +VAT used from £7,000 +VAT
What to look for general wear and tear