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Description  |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the manufacture of magazines, books, and the like
from a plurality of signatures printed on web press machinery. More
particularly, the invention relates to the manufacture of signatures from
preprinted webs of widths smaller than are used conventionally, with no
reduction in the size of the magazine comprising the signatures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Signatures of 16 pages, and 4 page increments, conventionally are prepared
from preprinted webs having four rows of equal width of areas of printed
material corresponding to separate pages of the magazine. The lateral
edges of the web are extended beyond the outer edges of the outermost or
side rows for a distance of from about 5/16" to about 3/8" in order to
form a bindery lap or lip, sometimes called a lap margin, along one edge
of each sheet which makes up a signature after the web has been folded to
make the same. The bindery laps are necessary and used for opening the
signatures for inserting them, one within another, in the binding process,
although such laps are cut off subsequently in the final trimming
operation on the magazine. The cutting off of such laps in the trimming
operation results in a wastage of paper.
One type of 16 page signature is made from two preprinted webs which are
slit into two ribbons of equal width. The four ribbons are then superposed
with proper collation and folded about a longitudinal fold line, offset
from the center line of the ribbon so that the extended margin along one
side of each ribbon will form the bindery lap of the resulting signature.
The signatures are formed by laterally severing or cutting the superposed
ribbons, either before or after the folding operation, into segments of a
size slightly larger than a page of the magazine.
Another type of 16 page signature, called a catalog or chopper signature,
is made from a single preprinted web which is first folded about a
longitudinal center line and then laterally severed or cut either before
or after the first folding operation into segments of a length slightly
greater than twice the height of a page of the magazine. Each segment is
then folded again about its lateral center line, and then again about a
fold line offset from the longitudinal center line of the twice folded
segment so that the extended margins of the web will form a bindery lap
along one edge of each sheet making up the final signature. After the
signatures are assembled the final trimming operation removes the first
and second connecting folds, as well as the bindery laps.
In both types of signatures, however, there is a considerable wastage of
paper in providing bindery laps along one edge of all the sheets making up
the signatures, which laps are ultimately trimmed off.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As mentioned above, signatures conventionally are prepared with bindery
laps along one edge of each of the sheets. For the binding operation,
however, it is unnecessary for the intermediate sheets of a signature to
have bindery laps. It is necessary to have bindery laps on only the
outermost and innermost sheets of a signature. With this in mind, it has
been found that a 16 page signature can be made from preprinted webs of
smaller width than is conventional for making a magazine with pages of a
given width, the width reduction of the webs being roughly equal to the
width of a conventional bindery lap, i.e., about 5/16" to about 3/8". The
result is a saving of paper in making a magazine of a given size.
Hence, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved method for
making magazine signatures from preprinted webs which makes possible the
use of narrower webs with a consequent saving of paper.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become evident from the
following description and accompanying drawings in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a preprinted web for forming one type of signature
embodying this invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a process embodying
this invention for forming a signature from the web shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a signature formed by the process
illustrated in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the first stage of a
process embodying this invention for forming a signature from another type
of preprinted web.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a segment severed from the folded web shown
in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 includes two perspective views of the segment shown in FIG. 5 after
being folded, one showing the segment closed and the other partly open.
FIG. 7 includes two perspective views of a signature formed from the
segment shown in FIG. 6, one showing the signature partly open and the
other closed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is illustrated a
signature forming process which makes use of two preprinted webs 10 and 12
each including four side-by-side equal-width contiguous longitudinal rows
14, 16, 18 and 20 of separate rectangular areas 21 of equal size
containing printed material on their opposite faces. The areas 21 in each
row 14, 16, 18 and 20 correspond to separate pages of the magazine to be
manufactured. The areas 21 are also arranged in lateral rows spaced
longitudinally apart a small distance, as at 23, where the webs 10 and 12
are to be severed laterally. The separate areas 21 are defined in FIG. 1
by boundary lines for illustrative purposes only. In active practice such
lines normally are not printed on the webs.
The outer side edge of the right hand row 20 of the upper web 10 and the
outer side edge of the left hand row 14 of the lower web 12 are contiguous
with the corresponding edges of the webs. Each of the other edges of the
webs 10 and 12 have marginal edge portions 22 and 24, respectively, which
extend beyond the outer edges of the rows 14 and 20, respectively. These
extended marginal edge portions 22 and 24 are substantially equal in width
to that of a conventional bindery lap, e.g., 5/16" to 3/8".
The upper web 10 is led generally horizontally past a slitter 26 which
slits the web midway of the four rows, i.e., midway between the two
intermediate rows 16 and 18, into two ribbons identified as ribbons Nos. 1
and 2. Ribbon No. 1 on the left hand side is wider than ribbon No. 2 by
the width of the marginal edge portion 22. After being slit, ribbon No. 1
is led over a turning or angled roller or bar 28 so as to be moving at
approximately right angles to the path of travel of the web 10, and thence
over various rollers 30 to a stacking or ribbon superposing station 32
having four spaced parallel rollers 34, 36, 38 and 40. Ribbon No. 1 is led
over the top roller 34 with its slit edge 42 adjacent the left hand end of
the roller 34. After being slit from the web 10, the narrower ribbon No. 2
is led over a turning roller or bar 44 so as to travel in generally the
same direction as ribbon No. 1 and thence over a number of rollers 46 to
the second roller 36 at the stacking station 32, with the slit edge 48 of
ribbon No. 2 aligned with the slit edge 42 of ribbon No. 1.
The bottom web 12 also is led past a slitter 50 which slits it midway
between the two intermediate rows 16 and 18 into ribbons Nos. 3 and 4.
Ribbon No. 3 is led over a turning roller or bar 52 and other rollers 54
into a path extending generally in the same direction as ribbon No. 1 and
thence over the third roller 38 in the stacking station 32 with the slit
edge of the ribbon aligned with the slit edges 42 and 48 of ribbons Nos. 1
and 2. Ribbon No. 4 is led over a turning roller or bar 58 and other
rollers 60 similar to those employed for ribbon No. 2 and thence over the
fourth roller 40 in the stacking station 32 with its slit edge 62 aligned
with the slit edges 42, 48 and 56 of ribbons Nos. 1-3.
All of the ribbons are then led from the four rollers 24, 36, 38 and 40 of
the stacking station 32 to a superposing roller 64 where the four ribbons
are superposed or stacked with their slit edges 42, 48, 56 and 62 in
alignment. The superposed ribbons preferably are then led over a former 66
which folds the ribbons about a longitudinal fold line 68 midway between
the two intermediate rows 16 and 18 of areas 21 of material printed on
each surface of each ribbon. In this folding process, it will be seen that
the extended marginal edge portions 22 and 24 of the outer ribbons Nos. 1
and 4 extend beyond the corresponding edges of the intermediate ribbons
Nos. 2 and 3.
The folded ribbons are then cut conventionally along the spacing areas 23
into segments each roughly the size of the leaf of the magazine being made
to form what is known in the trade as a "16 page signature" 70 which has
bindery laps 80 formed by the extended marginal edge portions 22 and 24
along one edge of only the outermost 72 and innermost 78 of the four
sheets 72, 74, 76 and 78 making up the signature. The movements of the
webs 10 and 12 and the ribbons Nos. 1-4 are collated so that the separate
areas 21 or pages of printed material in each signature will be in
appropriate registry. A plurality of such signatures 70 are then
accumulated and inserted one into another in a conventional binding
process, during which the bindery laps 80 are used to open each signature
for the inserting process. The separate signatures 70 are then bound
together along their fold lines 68 to form the magazine or the like (not
shown), after which the edges of the sheets are trimmed conventionally
slightly (e.g. 1/8") top and bottom, and along their unbound side edges to
remove the bindery laps 80.
Preferably, the invention is practiced with a former 66 as described above.
It will be seen, however, that the invention can be practiced with the
same papersaving results by severing the superposed ribbons into segments
prior to folding and subsequently conventionally folding the segments to
form a signature 70.
In conventional machinery for forming signatures from slitted preprinted
webs, the several ribbons are of equal width so that there is no problem
in achieving lateral registry at the stacking or superposing station.
Since ribbons Nos. 1 and 4 according to this invention are of equal width
but wider than equal width ribbons Nos. 2 and 3, it is desirable to
facilitate proper alignment of all the ribbons at the stacking station 32.
This is easily accomplished by printing the webs 10 and 12 with register
lines or other indicia 82 to mark the innermost edge of the aforedescribed
marginal edge portions 22 and 24. This registering indicia 82 is used at
the stacking station to appropriately register ribbons Nos. 2 and 3 with
ribbons Nos. 1 and 4 at the right hand side of the rollers 34, 36, 38, 40
and 64.
In making a magazine, for example, of a page size of approximately
8".times.11", each web 10 and 12 would be approximately 327/8" in width,
so as to include four side-by-side rows of areas of printed material, each
of a width of 81/8" (to allow for 1/8" trim from the side edge of each
leaf of the magazine), with the web having an extended marginal edge
portion along one of the outer of the rows of 3/8" to provide a bindery
lap for the signature. In contrast, in a conventional arrangement, where
each web has extended marginal portions along both edges, each web would
be 331/4" wide so that the paper savings in accordance with this invention
would be of the order of 1%. In magazines of smaller page width, it will
be seen that the savings would be even larger.
The above process has been described as being practiced with webs having
four rows of separate areas 21. It will be seen, however, that it can be
practiced with two webs having more than four rows in two row increments,
i.e., 6, 8, etc. rows, with an extended marginal edge portion along only
one edge. The two webs would each be slit into two-row ribbons which would
be appropriately stacked, folded and severed to form 20, 24, etc. page
signatures having bindery laps along only one edge of the innermost and
outermost sheets making up the signature.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 to 7 of the drawings, there is illustrated a
process embodying this invention for making a catalog or chopper signature
from a single preprinted web. The web 84, like webs 10 and 12, has four
side-by-side equal width contiguous rows 86, 88, 90 and 92 of separate
areas 94 containing printed material. At its left hand side the web 84 has
an extended marginal edge portion 96 substantially equal in width to that
of a conventional bindery lap. The lateral rows of the areas 94 are
arranged in pairs having substantially no spacing between the rows of each
pair but with the pairs being spaced a small distance apart, as at 98,
where the web 40 will be severed laterally into segments. This is in
contrast to the spacing between the lateral rows of areas 21 in the webs
10 and 12 wherein all the lateral rows are spaced an appreciable distance
from each other.
The advancing web 84 is first folded about a longitudinal fold line 100
midway between the two intermediate rows 88 and 90 of areas 94. The web is
next severed or cut laterally substantially midway between adjacent pairs
of areas, i.e., in the spacing areas 98, to form segments 102, as shown in
FIG. 5, each containing 16 areas or pages 94 and with an overlap of one
edge beyond the other, opposite the fold line 100, a distance equal to the
width of the extended marginal edge portion 96. The severing operation may
take place before the folding operation. Each segment 102 is then folded,
as by a conventional tucker (not shown), about a lateral fold line 104
midway between the longitudinal length of the segment, i.e., midway
between the two lateral rows of areas 94 in the segment, as shown in FIG.
6. The thus twice folded segment 102 is again folded along a longitudinal
fold line 106, parallel to the line 100, midway between the intermediate
88 and 90 and outer 86 and 92 rows of the segment 102 to form a 16 page
signature 108 having bindery laps 110 along only one edge of the innermost
112 and outermost 118 of the four sheets making up the folded signature,
as shown in FIG. 7. Thereafter a number of signatures 108 are collected
and inserted one within the other in collated arrangement to form the
magazine (not shown). The final assembly is then trimmed to remove the
binery laps 110 and also the first and second folds 100 and 104 which
connect all the sheets of the signature 108 at one end and those sheets of
the signature along side edges opposite the bindery laps 110.
It thus will be seen that the objects and advantages of this invention have
been fully and effectively achieved. It will be realized, however, that
the foregoing specific embodiments have been disclosed only for the
purpose of illustrating the principles of this invention and is
susceptible of modification without departing from such principles.
Accordingly, the invention includes all embodiments encompassed within the
spirit and scope of the following claims.
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