What are the Finishing Machines Used in Printing?

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Do you ever wonder what happens to your marketing materials after we print them? Well, your print products proceed to the finishing stage. All the processes after the ink has completely dried on the substrate are done at the finishing stage – whether it’s cutting, binding, or coating, to name a few. Depending on the method required to finish your order, prints may go through different finishing techniques, but one thing is for sure — there is a machine for every finishing job. In this article, we list the various machines used in the finishing stage wherein printing companies perfect your orders and get them ready for ship-out.

Binding Machine

A binding machine is used to join the leaves of products such as booklets, catalogs, and similar publications using various materials such as glue or wire. Among the most common types of binding are saddle-stitching, which entails folding a sheet into two and stapling along the top and bottom of its spine; Wire-O binding, which uses a spiral wire to join the leaves of a products like notebooks and manuals; case binding which uses durable board to bind hardcover books; and perfect binding wherein the leaves of a publication are arranged, pressed, and glued to the spine of a heavier or thicker cover.

Coating Machine

Coating machines, also known as varnishing machines, make it possible to apply different coating options to the printed paper such as matte, gloss, aqueous, and spot UV. Coating equipment can also be used to apply primer to the substrate so that the coating sticks better to the substrate.

Collating Machine

A collating or gathering machine helps gather and sort different pages of a publication into a sequence specified by its operator, and then automatically feeds these into slots so that they can be prepared for its next step such as binding.

Cutting and Trimming Machine

When artwork or designs are printed on larger sheets of paper or have to be cut into custom sizes, they go through cutting machines so that they can be trimmed according to the dimensions indicated in the order. Inversely, some substrates require cutting prior to printing and this machine helps with that, too. In addition, uneven sides of books are sometimes trimmed after binding to keep the material flush.

Die-Cutting Machine

Designs that require being cut into specific or irregular shapes go through the die-cutting machine. We often see this machine at work when producing stickers, product labels, postcards, and flyers.

Folding Machine

Folding machines save print specialists time as they help fold large sheets of paper which are often printed in large quantities. The folding machine is typically used when producing materials such as booklets. There are two common types of folds — assembly method and fold down method. The assembly method involves folding each sheet of paper individually and nesting them into the right sequence before binding. Meanwhile, the fold down method, also known as the signature method, entails folding several pieces of paper at a time.

Laminating Machine

A laminating machine is used to bond two layers of plastic film to both sides of the substrate or paper. Laminating gives prints more durability and extends their lifespan as the plastic film protects the paper from moisture, creasing, and tearing. Among the print products that typically undergo lamination are restaurant menus, ID cards, postcards, and bookmarks.

Numbering Machine

With numbering machines, printing specialists can imprint sequential numbers onto products such as receipts, tickets, carbonless forms, invoices and similar documents. Depending on the brand and size of the machine, some numbering machines are also able to score and perforate print products.

Perforating Machine

A perforating machine is used to create a series of fine dots along the substrate to facilitate detachment or tearing of a portion of the paper or cardstock. We normally see perforations in products like admission tickets, notebooks with tear-away pages, coupons, flyers, and even business cards.

Scoring Machine

Also known as creasing machines, scoring machines are used to create a furrow or pleat on substrates so that they fold cleanly and seamlessly. These machines are often used to create creases on packaging materials like boxes, folders, and greeting cards.

Shrink-wrapping Machine

A shrink-wrapping machine is used to pack bulk quantities of print products and protect it from moisture, dust, and tampering. Shrink-wrap is a thin layer of polymer plastic film that is heated and shrunk to envelope products when they’re ready for delivery or display.

At UPrinting, you can rest assured that every step of production goes through state-of-the-art machinery and thorough quality checks, ensuring that your orders look professional and flawless. Let us help you turn your creative vision into a reality with countless ways to customize your order, high-quality paperstock, cardstock, and inks, state of the art printing machines, and an overall thorough print check to guarantee that your print products are top-notch from conceptualization to finishing.

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