Stapler
In modern bookbinding, stapling machines replace the traditional manual stapling of books with and without the drawer . The spectrum ranges from small hand-operated machines to fully automatic stapling systems that are used in so-called "book lines".
history
Since the beginning of the 19th century, attempts have been made in different countries independently of each other to machine the activity of stapling and thus to break away from manual work on the drawer. Most of the time, however, these attempts were unsuccessful and therefore could not establish themselves on the still young market.
The first wire stitching machines
In 1875 the first usable wire stitching machine came on the market. Their construction was an innovation, because until now only thread stitching was known. Its inventor, Hugo Brehmer from Lübeck, had previously worked for years in America with the construction of machines for manufacturing folding boxes. In this context he developed a device based on wire stitching for the first time. His idea of transferring such a bond to book production proved to be a complete success. There was great demand in the bookbinding business, although the machine was only suitable for mass production, as it had to be readjusted every time the format was changed. Their speed and the quality of the stitching were so convincing that nothing changed in the construction at first; on the contrary, it was even adopted by other companies. Over time, smaller and cheaper machines were added, including those for manual operation that worked with pedal power and were used in small businesses. Despite the success, the disadvantages of wire stitching, the rusting and brittleness of the staples, quickly became apparent, which is why they continued to work on a machine solution for traditional thread stitching.
The advent of machines for sewing thread
Due to the long-running attempts, the principle of thread stitching cannot be clearly assigned to a specific inventor. The Americans and English turned out to be the most active in the development, among other things, they oriented themselves to the sewing machine invented by Isaac Singer . However, the first functioning machines were only suitable for single-layer brochures , as the thread was cut after each layer was stitched. In 1856 the American David M. Smyth designed a new type of sewing machine especially for the New York publishing house Appleton & Co. After a long test phase, he decided in the 1880s to make his invention public. However, because the stapling was not yet able to compete with that of the hand-stitched in terms of strength, his model was not a great success. Here, too, the Brehmer company showed itself to be pioneering. She brought a thread sewing machine on the market, which was well received and was considered to be durable in the binding. This model, too, was soon offered in different sizes for different needs. For the small business, a purchase was not yet worthwhile due to the high purchase price. However, other companies quickly provided a remedy with small devices for manual operation.
The development of machine stitching to this day
Despite these successes after decades of development, hand stitching remained the golden path taken by both small and large companies to achieve a lasting, high-quality binding. This situation did not change significantly until the 1930s. The first trouble-free and affordable thread sewing machines conquered the market. Today the staple drawer has largely been replaced by the stapler. Small companies work with hand-operated machines, medium-sized ones use semi-automatic products and large companies can rely on fully automated stapling systems. Today, wire stitching is still mainly used in postpress .
How modern thread sewing machines work
Hand-operated thread sewing machines require the bookbinder to work and monitor every single situation . This must first be opened and placed against the stop and then each stapling process must be triggered individually by pressing a pedal. The machine itself finally moves the situation a little further and creates space for the next one. Semi-automatic machines, on the other hand, are able to independently transport and staple a whole batch of layers. The use of fully automatic machines is only worthwhile for large quantities of books to be bound in the same way. As with the thread sewing machines, the layers are opened, sewn and closed again by hand. The folded sheets are opened either by several opposing suction cups (suction cup opening) or by one or more wedges (sword opening) with appropriate guide rods. A combination of both opening principles is also possible. These machines have optical sensors, which guarantee that the pages (signatures or folding sheets) are stapled to a book in the correct order. These sensors can control the sheet from the outside in the magazine or from the inside or outside on the auxiliary saddle. The control from the inside has the advantage that the machine recognizes whether the correct folding sheet has also been opened in the middle. When checking from the outside, the central opening of the folded sheet can be checked by means of a thickness measuring sensor. If a wrong folding sheet is detected, the operator has the option of removing it before sewing and replacing it with a correct folding sheet. A new trend is towards machines in which the thread sewing machine is combined with a gathering machine and folder. This is particularly important for smaller print runs in the book-on-demand sector.
literature
- Alfred Furler: The bookbinder. A job through the ages. AT Verlag, Aarau 1989, ISBN 3-85502-372-7 .
- Ernst-Peter Biesalski: The mechanization of the German bookbinding 1850-1900. Booksellers Association, Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-7657-1614-6 .
- K. Jäckel: Stapling machine. In: Severin Corsten (Ed.): Lexicon of the entire book system. Volume 3: Photochemical Processes - Institute for Book Market Research. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-7772-9136-6 , p. 418.
- Eberhardt Kettlitz: 125 years of wire stitching from Leipzig . Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Ed.), 2004, ISBN 3-00-014717-9 .
