The FastBook Professional, which is commercially available direct from ISAG with immediate effect, is aimed at the professional photo finishing market.
The device, which is able to process XXL book blocks up to 457x457mm, can be used to produce large-format photo albums for weddings or fine art. It is also suitable for producing catalogues or product presentations in a panoramic layout. The machine is compatible for both photo paper and digital paper.
Additionally, the manufacturer’s integrated LayFlat binding technology allows for image layouts in XXL format up to 914mm – spread over two pages – without any gutter or image lost.
The system can also process cardboard sheets up to 1mm thick for book blocks, as used for wedding albums or other luxury photobooks to give a thicker page and higher value feel to the finished product.
A lay-flat book block is produced from single sheets, with one push of a button triggering all the necessary steps required including creasing, folding, pressing, and gluing.
The machine’s sheet feeder has a maximum stacking height of 100mm. The sheets are glued back to back, by using a gluing roller, and placed on a moving table to build the book block. The finished book block is then transported onto a conveyor belt which connects the machine to the next finishing processes.
An optional barcode scanner also allows users to separate their produced book blocks to manage their orders.
Two models of the device are available. The FastBook Professional 600 can process up to 300sph using cardboard or 600sph without while the FastBook Professional 1000 can process up to 500sph with cardboard or 1,000sph without. Pricing was not disclosed.
ISAG marketing manager Bettina Stillich said: “We showed the 600 at Photokina and got a lot of enquiries about a higher speed model so have decided to offer that too.
“Customers can now choose if they want to start with the 600 or want the higher speeds of the 1000. It depends on their turnarounds and how many orders they have.”
The company said production costs are low due to the hotmelt gluing technology, which only requires between 15 and 25 grams of glue per square metre, depending on the quality of the paper used and the surrounding temperature. Additionally, no drying or storage time is necessary, meaning the finished products can be shipped on the day of production.
Last year ISAG added a fully automated XXL sheet feeder to its FastBlock landscape photobook production machine.
