Page 12 - BOSS Today Issue 29

Special Report - Binding & Laminating

Vivid that it makes it relatively easy popular” says David Smith, Vivid’s
Magnum Marcomms Manager, “Rather
binder to go back and make changes
to the bound document. than having one comb machine
However, it is being phased and one wire machine, users
out by users who believe that can now have one machine
professional documents look that will do both. These are
better if they are wire bound. proving especially popular in the
✱ Thermal: a less widely used education market.”
technology, but there are This point is especially
some interesting innovations important because demand for
happening here (see below). binders in the education sector
There are also other is reportedly huge, with each
niche – and fairly mature - primary school often having one
technologies such as stapling or two machines, rather than
devices, as well as niche areas one per classroom.
such as legal forms of binding. Another end-user segment
that is also reported to be
It’s Beautiful, But growing healthily is the SoHo
Is It Fast? sector, as Jolly explains: “With the
While making things look good recession, an awful lot of people
is the desired ultimate outcome have been put out of work, but
for binding, trying to spend with the internet, people are
less time achieving this is the much more easily able to start
other part of the process, so the their own businesses, and as
Following The then gradually taking out the focus of much of the innovation a result of that, small binding
Upgrade Path manual steps to make it more in this market has also been and laminating equipment has
For Paul Simpson of German- automated. Says Jolly: “The way towards greater automation. popped up quite a bit.”
based punching and binding that these things tend to work Duplo, for example, are the sole
machine manufacturer Renz UK, is that people tend to buy these UK distributors of a thermal Future demand
the recent resurgence of growth things for a one or two project binding system called Fastback, As for the immediate future,
in the binder market is largely requirement, and then they which uses strips which users all of the manufacturers
down to the improvement in the get a good idea and suddenly can personalise on a normal interviewed expect the binder
UK economy and a drive towards they move upstream towards a desktop printer. Says Jolly “If you market to grow. For Simpson, it
upgrading: “It’s a simple case more automated solution: that’s are an SME business pitching for is a question of the economic
of businesses spending money generally the path of upgrades.” a large contract you could use a recovery and the acceptance
again after they’ve held back stapled document, a wire-o bind that there will always be a need
for so many years. I think the Binding Technologies document or a Fastback product: for binding printed documents:
majority of sales at the moment Outside of the manual to the cost of the kit purchased “We don’t expect the market to
are replacement machines and automated upgrade path, the involved is pretty similar, but show the same kind of growth
people improving the machines binder market is of course the quality of finish is much year as was experienced before
that they already have.” Indeed, segmented across a number better with Fastback. It’s all about 2008, but we still expect growth
Jolly concurs with this: “Our of technologies, with the main this idea of beautiful, finished as was to pick up to about 2-3%
view is that market value for ones being as follows: documents standing the test of a year. There’s always going to be
binders is increasing because ✱ Wire: this now accounts time.” a need for a bound document: it
end-users are moving upmarket. for the largest share of the Renz have innovated in makes more of an impact than
Replacement cycles are now on market, and is reported to automising wire-o binding, just sending someone an email.”
average between three to five have increased steadily over which has traditionally been For Jolly, the ‘upgrade path’
years: but that’s not just using the last 20 years. a very fiddly process in which will still be in operation to drive
the machine to the end of its ✱ Coil: this is also a strength in users try to line up and punch market value: “The need for
life, it’s also upgrading, because the market at present. small amounts of paper, while higher volume machines will
there’s a very logical upgrade ✱ Comb: this was the original print finishing specialists Vivid be a trend: smaller businesses
path in this market from manual binding type and still accounts now offer a multifunctional that currently have entry-level
to electronic, all the way up to for a reasonable share of the machine that will perform machines will very quickly
in-line binding systems.” market, with many schools both comb and wire binding outgrow them. A lot of
This ‘upgrade path’ begins by and some law firms still and will accommodate two businesses now have printing
users buying a modest, fairly preferring to use it, not least different types of wire at different capabilities which are touching
labour-intensive binder and because it has the advantage pitches. “They are proving quite those of printing professionals:

12 BOSS TODAY | September/October 2015

BOSS issue 29 BINDING.indd 4 08/09/2015 11:35