A Conversation with Printing and Marketing Innovator Rastar

Transcription

1 Formerly The New Library Scene a PUBLICaTION from HBI and THe LIBrary BINdINg INsTITUTe VOLUME 4 ISSUE PGA Blvd. Ste. 600 Palm Beach Gardens, FL A Conversation with Printing and Marketing Innovator Rastar by Ashley Glasser-Konecky and Darisa Clarke, HBI and the Library Binding Institute This past fall, HBI/LBI members had the opportunity to tour the facilities of the pioneering and well-respected printing and marketing company, Rastar in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rastar, who was recently acquired by Transcontinental, Canada s leading publisher of consumer magazines and French educational resources, opened up their doors and allowed members to see firsthand why this company has received accolades for their specialized services and individualized marketing campaigns. A Rastar staff member in the pre-sort area where personalized covers meet page content. After this personalized tour, Hardcover Binders International sat down with Rastar for a oneon-one discussion about their company and the services they offer. Hardcover Binders International (HBI): Tell us a little bit about Rastar. Rastar: Rastar was founded 17 years ago by our chief executive officer, Kevin Despain in Salt Lake City, Utah. We own and operate studio, print, mail and production facilities that fully support each of our client s individualized programs. We have approximately 350 employees to ensure that each and every one of our clients receive direct marketing specialties. We were recently acquired by Transcontinental in the Fall of 2008, which has enabled us to take our services to a greater level. HBI: You mentioned that you service your clients individualized programs. Could you tell us a little more about what this means for each client that comes to you for your services? Rastar: Rastar specializes in mass customization on demand. We take a strategic consultative approach with our customers WINTER

2 A Conversation with Rastar (continued from page 1) to craft enterprise collateral solutions that are unique to them. For example, it is important that our clients marketing programs are relevant not just regarding audience attraction but relevant in the content, context, and timing of their message. Each approach we take with our clients is a unique approach to their specific needs. HBI: I understand that Transcontinental acquired Rastar about two years ago. What has this meant for Rastar and how has this acquisition broadened Rastar s scope? Rastar: Transcontinental is one of the leading publishers in North America. We have become part of their Marketing Products and Services sector, which broadens our horizons as to the services we are able to offer and the customers that we are able to serve. HBI: What other industries are Rastar involved with? Rastar: We have been fortunate to work with a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Wal- Mart and Hewlett-Packard. We are also proud members of your organization, Hardcover Binders International. HBI: Likewise, we are happy concerning our work together as well. With servicing so many great companies, have you been able to expand your operations? Rastar: Gratefully, yes! We now have two locations in Salt Lake City. HBI: Congratulations on your expansion and the great work that Rastar has been herald for. I also understand that Rastar was featured in the Salt Lake Tribune regarding your involvement in A hard cover being glued to the personalized contents of a book. making personalized memory books of the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympics 2010 Games. What was that experience like? Rastar: Working with the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was a tremendous opportunity. We crafted a fully integrated solution for Vancouver 2010 that included content development and creative, software development, manufacturing, and fulfillment. The standard of excellence and spirit of the Olympic Games attracted us to the project and it was a very exciting challenge. Consumers were able to use the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympics 2

3 A Conversation with Rastar (continued from page 2) A group of personalized books being quality checked prior to shipping. Games logo as well as a collection of official photographs in collaboration with their own personal photos, mementos, and souvenirs to create a professional memory book uniquely their own. HBI: It sounds like that was a very exciting time for Rastar. Are there any other current projects that you can share with us? Rastar: We have been working with the Sundance Film Festival for a number of years. This continues to be an evolving and motivating project that we enjoy working on. HBI: As with all companies, I m sure there have been both celebrations and challenges. What obstacles or challenges has Rastar faced, and how have you worked to overcome them? we are making great advances around managing those areas for maximum output while still delivering the standard of quality that we are known for. HBI: What opportunities lie ahead in the immediate future for Rastar? Rastar: We see tremendous opportunity for growth in the on-demand personalization space. Today s businesses are commanding higher return-on-investments through more efficient, engaging, relevant, and personalized communication strategies. They are focused on sustainability and reducing waste. Those initiatives are well served by on-demand digital print combined with the thoughtful strategies we provide. HBI: And how about the slightly more distant future? Are there any projects that we can look forward to seeing from Rastar? Rastar: We are consistently looking for new and exciting challenges and partnerships that position us for strategic growth. We will continue along that same innovative path that led us to become one of the leaders in our space. Rastar, a Transcontinental Company, is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. They can be reached by phone at , by at sales@rastar.com, or on the web at Rastar: Managing peak capacity around our Photobook seasonality is an ongoing challenge that we ve faced since entering that market. The peak during December is a significant one that presents both staffing and press capacity challenges. However, after 5 years in the business, 3

4 The Universal Book Tester By Werner Rebsamen A new, unique device to test the quality of hardcover bindings Although the title makes reference to a new book-testing device, to be fair, it should read a resurrected book-testing tool. In 1987, I wrote The development of the UBT an article on the LBI/RIT book-testing laboratory, A March 1964 article in the Book Production praising the UBT as the very best device ever Magazine, titled New Device Tests Performance of Library Bindings, stressed the fact engineered and built to evaluate the quality of hardcover bindings. Only a very few of the major that this testing device will simulate actual wear book-manufacturing facilities acquired such a and, best of all, will aid in the development of valuable testing tool, leaving most to wonder rigid standards for library bindings. In 1962, under the leadership of the legendary Preserva- why? The answer was availability. In early 1976, LBI acquired some machinery specifications and tion Officer of the Library of Congress, Frazer had a UBT testing device custom built. Much G. Poole, this project got underway, sponsored later, after additional information came out in trade magazines, book-manufacturers became aware of this testing tool, and many tried, unsuccessfully, to locate a device to purchase. One Canadian engineer visited us at RIT, took all the measurements and then custom built a UBT. We had many calls and inquiries from Quality Control personnel eager to purchase such a unique book-testing device, only to disappoint them with the news that the UBT was not being made available. The unique LBI Book-testing laboratory at RIT was privileged to conduct end-use tests in a Tumble drum (right) and with the UBT testing device shown on the left. Note that the UBT tray required a tape to prevent books from falling out when tumbling. 4

5 (continued from page 4) testing device because it lacked sufficient control of the book s movement to provide a good correlation of the test results with actual use. With both a Tumble drum and a UBT book testing device available at the LBI/RIT laboratory, we have been able to reconfirm these findings more than 20 years later. Robert Sayre, the Barrow s laboratories research chemist and principal investigator on this project, stated that suppliers were more concerned with materials used than with the function of the binding as a whole. In addition, no satisfactory correlation of test data with actual usage has ever been made available. The very first UBT tests were conducted with 600 rebound volumes and 500 edition bindings. Major failures were cover material abrasion on various external areas of the bindings, and failures of the internal hinges. In this particular testing project, only about 10 to 20 percent of the failures were the result of splitting of the spine and/or sewing failure. At that time, adhesive binding hardcover bindings were a virtual no-no. The new Moffett UBT design features a lap, the books stay in the tray when sliding. A gentle impact occurs on all four sides. jointly by the American Library and the Special Libraries Associations. The all-new instrument for testing the end-use performances of bound books was developed by the W.J. Barrow Research Laboratory in Richmond, Virginia. Why did the librarians undertake such an endeavor? Previous test methods and an apparatus like the Tumble testing drum used to test wear and tear on library books have been unrealistic. The committee discarded the idea of using this particular The all-new Moffett Universal Book Tester Model 9 When it comes to testing bound products, Moffett s testing machinery is the world s leader for evaluating adhesive bound bindings. Its tensile page-pull and tensile flex testing devices are being found in virtually all major binding facilities. Their adhesive binding testing gears have established the foundation for minimum quality specifications, setting minimum industry expectations. Over the years, Dan Moffett also got requests from quality control personnel around the world 5

6 (continued from page 5) looking for a device to evaluate the quality and performance of hardcover bindings. Moffett supplied the LBI/RIT book-testing laboratory with his tensile pull and flex testing devices. Through this cooperation, he was well aware of our activities and knew that the UBT book-testing device was in high demand but not available. Last year, working in collaboration with me, Dan built a prototype UBT book-testing machine. Best of all, he incorporated all of the suggested improvements, such as a small extension placed Different dimensions, trim-sizes of books require appropriate trays. onto the top of the trays to prevent the books from falling out of the chamber while tumbling. Finally, in the fall of 2009, the very first UBT book went to Worzalla Publishing, a major Wisconsin based book manufacturing company with a reputation for high quality book printing and binding services. Dan Moffett tested his first prototype machine with me and Worzalla s supervisor of quality control, Jamie Kemnitz, listening to our suggestions. Best of all, Dan adhered as much as possible to the original specifications, while making many extremely important and worthwhile improvements. There are five trays of various sizes, and are all used depending on the trim size and dimension of the books to be tested. I made Dan aware of the challenge of changing the chambers, often requiring two people. Dan engineered and developed a method that a chamber can easily be changed in approximately 30 seconds! The actual weight of the chamber is supported by the machine itself and now requires that the operator simply tightens the nuts only. This unique table-top testing device requires only a single operator. A manual timer is adjustable up to 1 hour in length. The operator may select any time intervals desired and the timer shuts down automatically. The design of the chambers is critical. That took the original engineer/designer at the Barrow laboratories some times and trials. The final results are chambers which are rounded-off along the sides of the bottom on the inside to a 1½ inch radius. The rectangular chambers, 4 6

7 (continued from page 6) Tray A B C D E inches deep, are constructed with steel and are lined with a 50 by 50 mesh of No. 304 stainless steel wire inch in diameter. The chambers itself are rotated by a drive shaft attached perpendicular to the center of its base. One of the most critical items is the 20 degree angle. The rotation is clockwise at a speed of 20 R.P.M. Books to be tested vary in size and should be assigned to the following chambers: Chamber Book trim sizes (inches) dimension Width Height 13 X 16 5 to 7 7 to X 19 8 to to X 15 8 to 10 6 to 9 11½ X 13 4 to 7 5 to 6 18 X to to 17 The sides of the bottom concentrate on abrasive stresses along the edges and spine of the book. The gentle impacts are designed to simulate patterns of wear in its end-use phases. How to perform analyses with a Universal book tester As an experienced bookbinder who has conducted tests for over 24 years with a UBT testing device, I was surprised when I recently received an internal book manufacturer s document that specified that books bound for schools must pass a 3 hour UBT test. Such a specification, regardless of who wrote and published them, could not be more wrong. Why? Books vary in size, bulk, weight, method of binding, covering materials, and more. All of these factors influence the enduse performances. Here are some examples: Books bound in cloth they resist abrasion; impact is more severe. In other words, the book does not slip, hangs-up, then falls. When it falls, more severe internal damage is caused. It is similar to walking on gravel. If you slip and fall, you will most likely end up with bloody knees. HBI and the Library Binding Institute (LBI), publisher of ShelfLife, reserves the right to refuse copy which is not in accordance with HBI/LBI s established policies. Specifically, HBI/LBI endorses no machinery, equipment, material or supply or supplier thereof; other than the ANSI/NISO/LBI Z Library Binding Standard, HBI/LBI endorses no method of binding. Copyright 2007 by HBI and the Library Binding Institute. Subscriptions to ShelfLife are available through most subscription agencies or you may write directly to HBI/ LBI, 4440 PGA Boulevard, Suite 600, Palm Beach Gardens, FL ShelfLife is published quarterly in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Annual subscription rates are $29.00 for domestic subscribers, $31.00 for Canadian subscribers, and $36.00 for international subscribers. Subscribers must submit a missing issue claim within 90 days from each specific issue s date of publication. If these terms are not adhered to, the publisher will be unable to fill the request. All manuscripts are welcomed for publication review. ShelfLife is indexed in Library Literature and Information Science Abstracts, ISSN Books with laminated/uv coated covers - they slip away, less abrasion, less internal damages. Consider someone walking on black ice. If you fall, you slip away, and while it might cause some discomfort, there is likely no damage to your body or clothing. Heavy Books, slippery, coated paperstocks they self-destruct within minutes. That is why they need to be 7

8 (continued from page 7) End-use tests. The spines in hotmelt adhesive bound books are stiff and may split. Sewn through the fold book blocks (Smyth) have a built-in shock absorber, an important item if a binding should last. looked at and evaluated in intervals of just a few minutes. Light-weight books they may tumble for an hour or more until they show any damages like cover abrasion or internal splitting. Get the idea, the facts? Testing books with a UBT device cannot be quantified or evaluated as all being the same. It is perhaps the best practice to compare various styles of bindings. Take one of our experienced examples. A publisher located in the Southern parts of the United States sold hymnals to churches. A congregation would expect that the hymnals open-up flat and last at least 10 years. But there are always people who try to save money and refuse to listen to genuine, professional advice. This particular publisher then had 50 hymnals bound for UBT testing. Some of the book blocks were Smyth-sewn, the other half adhesive bound with hotmelt. They sent them to us for UBT performance testing. As expected, the sewn books prevailed while some of the adhesive bound books split in half. Why? A sewn-through-the-fold binding has a built-in shock absorber. Impact is less severe. On the contrary, a hotmelt-bound hardcover binding has a relatively stiff spine impact (handling it) will do more damages. After all the testing, I recommended that they stay with Smyth sewing. Ignoring my professional advice, they chose the less expensive option. The books were bound with hotmelt. Ironically, just two years later, the same production manager contacted us again and stated that the church- 8

9 (continued from page 8) The publisher s designer could afford a fancy endpaper but tried to save money and did not specify an appropriate reinforcement. Just imagine the disappointed book buyer. A UBT test can reveal the truth in a few minutes, simulating the end-use. es are complaining that the hymnals do not last like they used to. Another publisher sent us some defective, and some new text books which had never been used and wanted to know what went wrong during the end-use cycles the in-school performances. The UBT testing device simulated the end-use and had an answer within 30 minutes. The same books out in the field took 2 years to reveal the problem! Items to test with the UBT Cover-materials can be tested in various ways at suppliers testing laboratories. These are swatches which are tested for abrasion resistance, breaking strength, tear strength, and more. In other words, these tests are seldom, if ever, performed on bound products. One major publisher used a C-Grade cloth on 193,000 very heavy, 2-plus inch thick library reference books. We again tested books bound in C-Grade cloth against a less expensive Type II material. The simulated end-use UBT results saved that particular publisher a lot of money as they were assured that the lower priced covering material had an equal or better performance when being used in libraries. Another publisher complained that some of the inner pages of the first signatures of Smyth sewn books came loose. The UBT test confirmed it. As an experienced bookbinder observing this problem, it did not take long to find out that a lock stitch was missing. One cycle less can save a book manufacturer some money! This may be a 9

10 (continued from page 9) good example, and setting a prerequisite that a person using the UBT or evaluating the results also will need to have some in-depth bookbinding skills. What good are a laboratory s technicians results if you are unable to interpret them to what causes a weakness in the binding structure? Studies of hinge structures, internal integrity and reinforcements are perhaps the most beneficial UBT tests. The failure of the internal hinge is due primarily to the inertia of the textural contents in the plane of the closed book when it is standing on its end. Hinge failures do not come so much from opening and closing actions of a book binding, as from the inertia of the contents continuing in motion after the cover has stopped. You may compare that inertia to that what catapults a passenger through the windshield of an automobile stopped by an unfortunate collision. It produces the same tearing effect on the hinge structure whenever a book is placed on a shelf or if it is dropped. Whenever a hardcover bound book is in motion and strikes its outer edges, the stress is more uniformly distributed on the hinge and the results are that tensile and shear forces are those that primarily act upon the hinge. Here is another example to explain those forces. In a Canadian school district, a wise bureaucrat decided that a reinforcement of the hardcover binding was not necessary. Of course, his main objective was to show his bosses what a valuable person he was by saving the school money. Not unlike the examples shared above, it did not take long before the school districts complained that the bindings did not last as long as they used to. The Canadian supplier s sales representative for the reinforcing cloth material packed up his car with books, both reinforced and some not reinforced. As a member of LBI, he UBT tested all of the books himself at our RIT/LBI book testing laboratory before returning to Canada with valuable information. The conscientious sales representative was able to prove that the reinforced, sewn bindings lasted 2 to 3 times longer than those which were not reinforced! Correlation verified There is simply no other or better testing device to evaluate the quality and internal integrity of a hardcover binding. Operation of the UBT book-testing device is simple. As the chamber rotates, the book slides in a regular manner, receiving impact stresses on top and on the bottom, along with abrasion of the edges and shoulder. The Universal Book Tester reproduces binding failures in nearly the same proportions as during a common end-use cycle. The question now is, how can a library binding establishment, a quality control officer, or a person in charge of a book-manufacturer s research and development use this valuable book testing device? How long should a book be tested? The answers are simple. When testing new bindings, a chart can be helpful in determining how long to test. As mentioned earlier, one cannot establish a specific time for testing. That is determined by the size, weight and content, like mixed paperstocks of a particular book. If it is a heavy book with coated paper stocks, the operator must remain with the testing device. After five minutes, stop and examine the binding. Mark down your observations as suggested below 10

11 (continued from page 10) and then continue. Book Title / Specification Trim 6 x 9 inches, Bulk 2 inches Adhesive bound - Hotmelt 50# Coated papers. Example of UBT Testing cycles: 5 minutes - slight abrasion on head and shoulder, corners, no internal damages 10 Minutes - increased abrasion, small split in front endpaper 15 Minutes - severe abrasion, head, tail, edges and corners, board showing 2 inch split on front endpaper 20 Minutes - Cover separated from book block on front test discontinued enabling you to be more competitive. Best of all, it is a quality assurance device that will generate a dialog with your clients and manufacturing people alike. Soon you will be able to sort out materials, methods of binding, internal structures, and more from the good to the not so good. All this thanks to the all new Moffett Universal Book Tester. Thank you Dan for your work on a device that was much needed and will enhance the quality of our beloved hardcover bindings. Werner Rebsamen is Professor Emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the technical consultant to HBI and the Library Binding Institute. He can be reached at wtrebs@ metrocast.net. In this case, the problem was a lack of an appropriate reinforcement. A thinner, light weight binding can, of course, be tested at much larger intervals. It is better if you are able to conduct comparison tests with end-use data from books out in circulation. In other words, analyze the damages which occurred in the field. Simulate the end-use performances with a UBT test and then judge before making recommendations to solve problem. As we experienced it at the LBI/RIT booktesting laboratory, the UBT book testing device is perhaps the most valuable tool ever engineered. It is simply the very best device to evaluate the quality and performance of hardcover bindings, including photo books. It can also save money, paying for itself in no time. When comparing apples to apples, you may find that a less expensive cover or reinforcing material gives you the same performances, This edition of ShelfLife compliments of LBS 11

12 members hip applic ation Company: Mailing Address: City: State: Zip: Country: Phone: Fax: Website: Contact Person: Contact Membership Category Select One ACTIVE MEMbER An Active Member shall be any individual, company or organization residing within or outside of the United States whose interest lies in the hardcover binding of books. This includes those engaged in various types of book manufacturing including soft cover binding, edition binding, trade binding, photo books, yearbooks, print on demand, and ultra short runs. This also includes publishers. Dues: $350 for every $250,000 in total book binding* revenue; $995 min/$3,500 maximum * Revenue should be included for all book market related services including pre-press, digital archiving, printing, binding, fulfillment and distribution, etc. ACTIVE InTERnATIOnAL MEMbER An Active International Member shall be any individual, company or organization located outside Continental North America whose interest lies in the hard cover and/or soft cover binding of books. This includes those engaged in various types of book manufacturing including edition binding, trade binding, photo books, yearbooks, print on demand, and ultra short runs. This also includes publishers. Dues: $395 ASSOCIATE MEMbER An Industry Partner (Supplier) shall be any company which supplies a product or service related to the production of hardcover bound books. A member in this category is automatically a member of both the hardcover binder and certified library binder divisions. Dues: $500 nonprofit MEMbER A non-production Nonprofit Member shall be any 501(c)(6) or 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is related to the hardcover binding of books. Dues: $500 Dues Amount Owed Please indicate here. $ I attest to the accuracy of the information provided including calculation of dues. Signature: Print Name: Date: Payment Method Select One o Check_- Please make checks payable to Hardcover Binders International. o MasterCard o VISA o AMEX Card Number: Name on Card: Exp. Date: Billing Address: Code: 4440 PGa Boulevard, suite 600 Palm Beach Gardens, fl PH: fax: membership benefits BeNeFITS OF MeMBeRSHIP INCLude: p ark c ity, UtaH u Subscription to ShelfLife, HBI/LBI s quarterly publication u Subscription to Endpaper, HBI/LBI s monthly newsletter u Member discounts on conferences, seminars, and publications u A company listing on the HBI/LBI website and in the membership directory u Access to members only information on the website which includes back issues of ShelfLife, Endpaper, and Werner Rebsamen articles u A membership certificate reflecting your membership in good standing For more information, contact Debra Nolan, CAE, at , dnolan@hardcoverbinders.org.