The digital finishing lines will output individual book signatures direct from the printed web and have been tested and certified for use with the Canon presses.

Robin Brown, national sales manager of UK distributor Friedheim International, said it was “quite rare” to find a digital finishing system compatible with a 762mm-wide web.

“There aren’t that many guys that can print that wide and there certainly aren’t that many people who can finish it either,” he said. “There isn’t really anyone else who can do a 762mm-wide cutting and sheeting line efficiently.”

The 762mm system (pictured) has been certified for use with the Océ JetStream 5500 and consists of a WT 770 web tensioning module, SVC 775C digital sheeter, EM 770 ejection module, DFT 780 buckle folding module I, DFT 780 buckle folding module II, and FA 66-ME delivery.

This combination allows the MBO finishing line to keep pace with the digital press running at a production speed of 150m/min.

The 508mm signature line is comprised of a dancer module, an RBF 520 web buffer station, SVC 521C digital sheeter, and DFT 560 digital buckle folder, and is certified for the Océ ColorStream 3000 series, including the 3200, 3500, 3700, and 3900 models, which offer printing speeds of between 48-127m/min.

To gain certification from Canon the MBO products had to go through stringent testing and were tried with different types of paper of various weights.

The 762mm line was tested with weights between 80-90gsm, while the 508mm line was tested with weights from 49-160gsm. The installation time for the machinery would take two weeks according to Brown, which includes operator training.