The most striking difference is what you don't get: no alcohol and ink fumes assailing the senses, and no deafening noises requiring earplugs to brave the press floor. Also missing—or barely there—are the piles of discarded press proofs typically seen in a conventional printing plant. Here, at Bridge Publications' facility on Bandini Boulevard, in Commerce, Calif., the vision of the much-touted (but little-seen) full-scale digital printing operation is realized in a near-clean-room environment.
The 120,000-sq.-ft. plant (of which only one-third is designated for manufacturing) is where the clock is turned back several hundred years to the time when publisher and printer were one and the same. “We [had] outsourced our printing since day one and thus shared much of the same frustrations as other houses, with shipments delayed during peak seasons or logistical issues hampering marketing efforts,” says Ann Arnow, executive v-p of the 27-year-old publishing house. “Then came digital printing technology, and we saw its adoption pace accelerated and POD [print-on-demand] becoming mainstream. For us, it arrived at a time when we decided to bring printing in-house to provide the flexibility and control we want in terms of quality, scheduling and inventory.”
But shifting from outsourcing to in-house print manufacturing, digital notwithstanding, is no walk in the park. It was even more challenging for Bridge's now 85-strong team, who had no hands-on printing or postpress experience. “We did several months of prototyping and testing the machines and workflow before pressing the start button on our first full-fledged digital run, a 20,000-copy printing of Advanced Procedures and Axioms, on January 7, 2007,” adds Arnow. There has been no looking back since.
The facility's state-of-the-art digital presses—one HP Indigo 1000, four HP Indigo 5000s, six Xerox DocuPrint 525/1050s and two Xerox iGen3 110s—are complemented by a full postpress machinery lineup for long-run printing of hardcovers, trade paperbacks, concealed coil-bound workbooks, and marketing collaterals. The focus of Bridge's publishing program (ergo, its printing and binding activities) is Dianetics and Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, whose works have been translated into 65 languages and, in 2006, was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most translated author of all time. “Our longest average run is 20,000 copies, while the shortest—very POD-like—is around 100 copies, the usual length for minor foreign language titles,” says Arnow.
The statistics are impressive: by the end of February 2008, a total of 2.962 million units had been produced, including 1.66 million hardcovers and 602,600 paperbacks. And based on its current projection, total production is expected to hit 3.699 million copies by June. “There are some interesting ways of looking at the volume of raw materials we have used. For instance, the DocuPrint presses have already consumed more than 4,483 rolls of paper. Stacked on top of each other, the rolls would be 1.3 miles tall, or 5.8 times the height of the Empire State Building,” says Blake Silber, v-p of manufacturing, who has implemented job ticketing and plantwide bar-coding at every production point, so he (or anyone else on his team) can reel off production quantities, the exact manufacturing stage, current wastage level, etc., just by hitting several computer keys.
For the suppliers—of raw materials and machinery alike—watching a full-scale digital printing operation take off was quite an experience. And they describe working with Bridge as both thrilling and challenging. “We are used to working with clients demanding high standards and great attention to details. But with Bridge, everything is two notches above that,” says one supplier. “Their refreshing can-do attitude is the secret to their success. They push us to make improvements and better products,” adds another. Most view the supplier-client relationship as a true partnership, where there is consultation, collaboration and learning on both sides.
Prepress and Press
And learn the Bridge team did. On the prepress side, the learning process started way before any files from Golden Era Productions (Bridge's sister organization for premedia services) hit the digital presses. Says Silber, “It took us some time to set the guidelines and calibrate the parameters, and to really understand each other's workflow and capabilities. Now, we get print-optimized PDFs on CDs with a full set of page and cover proofs. We just feed the files to the computer, proof the job and proceed with the printing. It is a fine-tuned process.”
Error-free PDFs are, needless to say, crucial to fast make-ready and turnaround. At Bridge, the proofing of endsheets averages two minutes. That means the operator is able to finish at least a dozen press checks in the time it would take a conventional pressman to do one. Best yet, the endsheets are printed on Indigo 5000 presses, which have a separate proofing tray that allows a new job to be proofed while the current job is printing. And since the presses are capable of printing seven colors (e.g., CMYK plus three Pantone Matching System colors), the production team can go seamlessly from printing two-color book pages to full-color endsheets, and vice versa. “For us, the designer's color proof is how the actual printed copy should look. Using an X-rite device, we scan the color swatches from the press and then input the data through an ORIS Certified Proof System, the same workflow used by our premedia house, to ensure color accuracy, and then recalibrate as needed,” adds Silber. This focus on color quality had prompted Bridge to ask its supplier Finch Paper to produce a specific formulation of its HP Indigo-approved Opaque iD grade that would deliver the best printing result.
“At times, we scan specific color swatches provided by the designer to obtain the color percentages and mix the appropriate inks,” says Silber, pointing to the HP IndiChrome Off-Press Ink Mixing System, which is capable of replicating 97% of the Pantone spot colors using 11 base inks, sitting in one corner of the climate-controlled (72 degrees Fahrenheit, 40%—50% humidity) Indigo press room. Here, each of the four Indigo 5000 presses can produce up to 4,000 full-color two-up pages per hour, twice as fast as the other 1000 series press.
Over on the main manufacturing floor, the iGen3 presses are busy churning out book covers and dust jackets, while the DocuPrint continuous-feed presses (at 244 feet per minute) roll out black-and-white text pages. “We actually modified the iGen3 for an additional 0.5 “in sheet size to accommodate our bigger-format covers and dust jackets,” says Silber, whose team includes three technicians for the printing, binding and finishing divisions, respectively. “Our production floor runs 24/7, which means proper maintenance is key to a smooth workflow. Accordingly, we have a one-hour daily maintenance stop in addition to weekly maintenance.”
Throughout the facility, the bulk of paper used is acid-free. “We are very green-conscious,” says Arnow. “We use approximately 90% recyclable and biodegradable materials, and minimize production wastage as much as possible. Excess paper from trimming, etc., is carried by special ducts to a baling system and prepared for recycling. Generally speaking, digital printing is much greener than the conventional sheetfed or web offset method.”
Postpress and Finishing
The immaculate and integrated production floor at Bridge makes a big impression on bookbinding expert Werner Rebsamen of the Rochester Institute of Technology. “I have visited over 300 printing and binding facilities all over the world. Bridge's is by far one of the most beautiful, well-organized facilities I've ever had the pleasure to see. Another most pleasant surprise is the skill level their employees acquired in such a short time. It took us old-timers a decade to get to this level of quality hardcover binding.”
News of Bridge's expertise has also reached Hardcover Binders International, a two-division association—hardcover binders in one division and certified library binders in another (Library Binding Institute). Around 100 people from HBI will tour the facility as part of its conference agenda this fall. Says executive director Debbie Nolan, “We renamed ourselves in recognition of the demand for knowledge related to hardcover binding expertise, and our visit to Bridge is a perfect fit for our members who are interested to learn more about the workflow and methodology. Coincidentally, our conference will also include a digital printing seminar facilitated by Professor Rebsamen, who has advised Bridge on its binding and postpress processes.”
For Bridge, seeking expert guidance and professional help is par for the course. “We came into this with only experience gained from dealing with printers and binders as their client. So we got the best professionals in the various fields to help us. Professor Rebsamen, for instance, assisted with binding techniques to make sure our books are capable of withstanding frequent handling, as well as issues such as postpress paper warpage and lay-flat. He helped us determine the optimum number of hours—24, actually—to hold and flatten the books under pressure.” But not every aspect of Bridge's binding division is as academic. “We adopt the European round spine because we prefer the look of the rounded back. Aesthetics is important in book making.”
But that is not the case with the thumb-tabbing machine, a device that was born out of sheer necessity. While the technology may have originated in Italy, the current capabilities and refinements are all Bridge's doing. “Most of our hardcovers are thumb-notched, and prior to this semi-automatic tabbing process, all the labels had to be affixed by hand,” says Arnow. “We hand-labeled nearly three million tabs last year. That's why we are so fond of our four custom-made thumb-notching and labeling machines.” That fondness extends to foil stamping. The first of Bridge's two Saroglia foil-stampers—each capable of 2,000 impressions per hour—made history last February registering 8.427 million hits, far exceeding the existing world record of 4.5 million in a year.
Another surprising postpress feat is to do stamping cover cloth before case making, a process made possible by Universal Engraving/Infinity Foil. “We started by eliminating many variables that are so prevalent on most production floors,” says account manager (and grandson of the company founder) Ross Hutchison. “We standardized paper sizes, guide and gripper measurements, as well as die and counter thicknesses, preselected foil color palettes and so on. This way, we have standard jobs as opposed to custom jobs, and planned work as opposed to in-process decision making. And instead of spending 60 minutes setting up the stamping machine, the operator now needs only 10. Doing stamping before case making is not unknown to the industry, but the workflow is not adopted because of complex registration issues. Here again, through standardization, we solved the problem. By reversing the workflow, Bridge is now able to process the book cover in the same way as the book jacket, bringing along greater efficiencies and improved quality.”
The laminating machine, too, has its own story. “At the start of our operation, we asked our laminate supplier to develop a custom-made additive for a much smoother UV finish. We got it, but to our horror, the cover would not laminate properly. It then became a steep learning curve, for us and the supplier, to get both the additive and lamination process right,” says Silber, who recently had a brand-new fully automatic Wohlenberg City-e 6000 perfect binder installed. The machine has three movable and interchangeable glue systems and runs up to 100,000 copies per day. “It also affords us the capability to produce trade paperbacks with gatefold covers in one pass using the inline face-trim unit. Given our projected future production, we certainly need this additional capacity.”
Warehousing and Distribution
For services director Ryan Price and his team, the Oracle-based material requisition and warehousing system is a big help. “We have at least a week's worth of raw materials on hand at any one time. Or, at the very least, the stock is very close at hand at our suppliers, requiring only a day's transit time,” says Price. “Our rule is not to commence a job unless all raw materials required are on hand.”
Given the number of raw materials (and vendors) involved in the operation, minimizing the contact points becomes one crucial factor in expediting the requisition process. As Glenn Brown, CEO of Gane Brothers, points out, “Bridge engages its supplier partners, which allows it to effect changes by recommending improvements or modifications. It takes the best of what we have to offer, especially through vendor consolidation, and makes it work for its operations.” So, instead of dealing with different suppliers for, say, cover materials, boards and adhesives, Bridge deals directly with only Gane, which offers over 2,000 printing and binding products. Gane's account representative, Liz Wenrick, visits Bridge twice or even thrice weekly to keep the client informed of all inventory levels and transactions to make sure stocks are available for immediate shipping. Says Wenrick, “Since they establish their production schedule weekly, raw material requirements change each and every week, and our close partnership allows us to anticipate, or at least try to anticipate, what will be required.”
As for tracking finished goods, the implementation of RFID (radio frequency identification) throughout the 100,000-sq.-ft. distribution center makes it easy. Says distribution manager Ryan Greve, “Prior to setting up this facility, we visited distribution centers of two major book retailers to get an idea of how their distribution centers operate. We picked their best methods, refined the ideas to fit our products and filled in the rest by doing lots of research. We inventory about 6,000 pallet positions, and since July last year we have sold and turned over our entire inventory about three to four times.”
Championing Digital Printing
“In 1981, when my article on short-run printing and binding appeared in PW, everybody thought I was not right in my head,” says Professor Rebsamen. “English language use is going to increase and, they thought, so will the orders. How times have changed.”
No truer words have ever been uttered. Thanks to heavyweight proponents such as Lightning Source, BookMobile, IBT and BookSurge, POD is becoming mainstream. But digital printing is not merely about just-in-time production, zero inventory and ultra-short runs. Bridge has proven that, with digital presses, one can also raise the volume, embellish the covers (and endsheets), store the inventory and do pretty much what a conventional printer does. And as Boris Hughes, national manager for book and publishing solutions at Xerox, points out, “Bridge has a study-develop-implement-maximize approach that lets them look at a digital printing problem without any preconceived ideas and then apply all that they have learned to solve it. This has created a digital book production environment second to none in this segment.”
Currently, one may find DocuPrint or Indigo presses on conventional printing floors that cater to self-publishers and clients wanting variable-data marketing collaterals or double-digit print runs. But among publishers, only Bridge has taken the full-scale digital plunge. Often, the main obstacles cited have to do with technology (which constitutes a paradigm shift for those trained in, or who grew up with, conventional printing) and return on investment. “Actually, compared with conventional presses, where one Heidelberg, MAN Roland or KBA machine would cost at least six figures, digital presses demand a much lower outlay upfront. They also consume less space and are much greener,” says Arnow. The technology itself is also not as daunting as one may think. Says Silber, “The training time speaks for itself. Our digital press operators had two weeks of in-house training, when they went through instruction manuals in detail and familiarized themselves with the machinery, and then another two weeks of on-site training by the manufacturer's trainers. After that, they are basically on the job with few hiccups. A conventional pressman, in comparison, would require at least a couple of years to be able to run the printing press on his own.”
Still, the suppliers interviewed for this report do not see another publisher following Bridge's lead in adopting full-scale in-house digital printing soon. The reluctance may have more to do with not wanting to venture beyond the comfort zone or to shake the status quo; after all, haven't we been told not to fix what isn't broken? Whatever the reason, for those looking for change (and more flexibility and control over the production process), Bridge's facility in Commerce is available 24/7 to showcase the best that digital printing can offer, and much more.
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