Helpful Tips

Maximize Quality Through Communication
December 2004

Is binding and finishing quality subjective? At Allied Bindery, we don't think so. Our strict quality control measures ensure that each piece we produce exceeds your standards. To achieve that level of quality for all projects, plenty of design and production details must be communicated between the printer, the finisher and the customer. Here are a few examples:

Projects that require critical crossovers, such as those found in this PUR-bound book, require advance planning to ensure only optimum layouts and folding sequences are used to create high-quality results.

Aligning Critical Crossovers
We recently finished a brochure that included critical crossovers on all pages. Without communicating this requirement to Allied Bindery, the designer and printer supplied eight-page, right-angle fold layouts, which required painstaking cutting and folding accuracy in order for crossovers to properly align. We suggested an alternative layout that utilized double-parallel folding, making crossover alignment much easier, improving overall quality.

Consistent Trim Margins
One of the reasons why we stress advance communication with Allied Bindery is that this allows us to remedy seemingly tiny issues that could compromise quality. A client of ours recently submitted signatures for a perfect-bound book that had uneven head and foot page margins throughout. This caused the image area to float from page to page and did not give our operators a quality benchmark to achieve. After extensive discussions with the client, we were able to establish a happy medium. However, the extra time and resources required to determine appropriate quality expectations could have been avoided.

Quality Tip: Create an Accurate Dummy - Building a mock-up or "dummy" of the finished piece is one of the best ways to ensure overall quality and accurate production of the finished piece. Your mock-up should clearly indicate all scores, die cuts, cross alignments, color breaks, page margins and other critical quality attributes.

In addition, mechanical binding mock-ups should be produced on the exact stock to be used for the production run, which allow Allied Bindery to measure bulk and determine appropriate size for mechanical binding elements. An accurate mock-up will help reveal potential problems and give us the chance to find solutions early in the finishing process.

The Allied Bindery Advantage
When critical quality expectations are established at the outset, Allied Bindery is in a better position to deliver high-quality work. As an ISO-certified facility, you can be assured that your products will meet the highest quality and care standards. With a complete range of perfect and PUR adhesive binding, folding, cutting and related post press solutions, look to Allied Bindery as your single source for high-quality post press production.