Duplo has launched a near-line sheet feeder to meet the specific finishing demands of digital printers.

The DSF-2000 can feed 120 sheets per minute into any of Duplos booklet-makers. The operator programmes the machine with the number of pages in each set, or to read a mark indicating the end of a set.

The firm hopes it will meet printers requirements for finishing varying booklet sizes, which cant be done by traditional collators.

The DSF-2000 can hold up to 2,000 sheets, and a bottom tray holds up to 600 cover sheets. It has been tested by ISP, a digital printer based near Paris.

Peter Dyson, Duplos development manager for electronic printing systems, said the first 20 machines were on order and shipments would start in October. It will cost between 20,000 and 50,000 depending on a customers choice of bookletmaker.

Duplo has installed more than 300 units of its System 4000 bookletmaking system since its launch at CeBit last year. It also launched the entry-level System 2000 system earlier this year.

The System 4000 can produce 4,200 booklets per hour and can incorporate up to six separate collator towers, while the System 2000 produces 2,400 an hour.

The company will also announce a major new strategic partnership at Print 01 next month, said Robin Greenhalgh, chief executive of UK arm Duplo-BPS. He would not reveal any further details.

And yesterday (Thursday 30 August) it was poised to complete its paperback perfect binding on-demand solution by announcing an agreement to supply a three-knife trimmer from another manufacturer.

Duplo-BPS 8m UK turnover is split 70-30 between the graphic arts and office markets after its 1999 acquisition of BPS.

Story by Gordon Carson