We know Picture Perfect, a Parisian printing company of 17 people, for its expertise in manufacturing beautiful books (fashion and photos) and rather high-end books on demand. Managed by Maurice Bensimon, it has just invested in an original machine, made in Israel, which now allows it to personalize the covers of its books using hot foil stamping. The Gold Letter, developed by the manufacturer Miller Advanced, works using traditional typographic hot stamping technology. A raised, heated character applies a given pressure to a film of gilding on the support that we want to mark. The originality of this solution lies in a typographic wheel, custom-equipped according to the customer’s choices, whose rotation (like all the movements and parameters of the press) is controlled by software. “ I purchased two wheels to have two different typographies, one with a serif and the other without. », explains Maurice Bensimon. “ Each wheel has two character sizes, which allows me to accommodate all kinds of requests and customize books of different sizes. » And the manager added: “ The big advantage compared to our other old-fashioned gilding systems is that there is no need to have a plate made. We gain in terms of costs, responsiveness and flexibility, and each book in a series can be personalized ».
Visualize the gilding on screen
Once the book is positioned, a sensor measures its thickness to allow the onboard camera to adjust its sharpness. The cover of the book to be personalized then appears in the software interface as it actually exists. “ We can thus visualize the personalization as it will be printed, even before starting the work », Enthuses Maurice Bensimon. Another type of interchangeable wheel allows you to receive three different 5 x 6.5 cm plates (to be manufactured) to personalize the covers with, for example, a logo or a title block. This personalization technology is compatible with all kinds of supports: textured paper or cardboard, fabrics, leather, etc. The device can even be used to personalize objects in volume (up to 10 cm thick).
Continue the evolution
This new book personalization option is already offered on some of the web-to-print sites with which Picture Perfect works, but not yet on the printer’s online store, which will not be long. The Parisian printer recently opened its own e-commerce site. Its particularity is to offer two options: one, intended for the general public, allows graphic creation to be carried out directly in the proposed interface; the other, for professionals and informed amateurs, allows you to select the characteristics of the book to print, obtain a quote, then upload your own PDF file.
Other news from the Parisian printing company: its HP Indigo 15K HD press, acquired in July 2023, will soon be upgraded to an 18K version. It will thus have, in the coming weeks, all the latest new features announced by the manufacturer at the latest Drupa, in particular the possibility of printing double-sided on media up to 600 microns thick in double-sided mode.
