Last week we had a job that took us three times as long as it should have, and with proper planning it would have taken three times less.

I am referring to a large mechanical binding job that came to us without any prior discussion, where oversize tabs and normal size text were preassembled. The tabs ran out to the very edge of the book, so we could not align the pushers on our punch to any common size. We had to punch the job manually, which obviously is much much slower.

Had the tabs and text been separated we could have punched automatically. This machine, however, can handle only one size sheet at a time, so we punch the tabs and text separately. Then we hand insert the tabs into the text.

Another method would have been to design the tabs with an indentation so that the pushers on our automatic punch could align with a common size. This allows us to punch the oversize tabs and normal size text together since they have a common size along the edge of the sheet.

Smaller jobs will make less difference; those we would probably hand punch anyway. Also excepted are digital machines that will collate tabs and text inline. But if you are hand inserting tabs in house to save you the expense of having it done outside, you are being short sighted. You may be spending less outside but your total expense will be greater.

So please communicate with us and we can advise you as to the best way to prepare your job for the bindery.

I would guess that only printers and binders that actually use PUR glue are involved with the latest information, but a lot of printers still think that PUR needs a 24 hour cure before shipping or other downstream process.

It should be known that we have for the past several years been able to shrinkwrap books immediately after PUR gluing. What this means is that your PUR jobs can be turned around just as fast as hotmelt jobs. Not only do we shrinkwrap "near-line", but we also drill without waiting for the glue to cure. What is different is that the glues cure a lot faster than they used to, so even though we still advise against using the books immediately, four to six hours is a good benchmark for allowing the books to be used.

…reading in the media about print's growth or demise, offset vs. digital, online vs. print, Kindle/Nook vs. a real book. What I read in the print media is often different from what I read in the mainstream media.

As I write this I read in Printing Impressions Online that print is the preferred medium among higher earners. However, just a few weeks ago the Sunday Boston Globe is talking about how the Kindles and Nooks are all the rage.

Many of my fellow print practitioners have taken the plunge with a non-book reading device. My friend Richard from the UK, who owns a bindery there, uses an IPad. Heavens!

My point is that guessing which way the wind will blow is totally unproductive. As for me, I should be doing more of the blocking and tackling which makes up a good business.