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News from Club Members
Woman printer wins
two Top Inventor prizes
at British Invention 2001 Awards
London 8 February 2001
The winning invention is a radical binding method for books printed
in short runs and for the new requirement for online ordering Ann
Kritzinger landed first place in the British Female Innovator of the
Year Award 2001 in a competition judged at the Café Royal, London, on 8
February, and first runner up British Female Inventor of the Year.
(Sponsored by The Patent Office, the Small Business Service, and Fair
Play London.)
A patented system of binding paperbacks invented by a woman solves a
book finishing problem sought by the predominantly "dads and
lads" printing industry for the past seven years. Kritzinger's
doubleback® method came from unsatisfactory hands-on experience with
traditional binding equipment at her pioneering short-run digital book
production unit in London 1989-1994.
It makes ordering off the Internet possible because doubleback® can
bind and trim in one operation, no matter what the difference in overall
size/width of spine of titles in the same print run. Unlike traditional
film-and-plate methods of printing, new-wave digital printing presses
can print a complete book, and also more than one copy, in one
operation. This advantage is lost with traditional short-run binding
equipment that can bind only one copy of a book at a time, and requires
a high level of operator intervention for final head, tail, and
fore-edge trimming, unless there is investment in a costly three-knife
trimmer.
The doubleback® method exploits the flexibility of digital printing,
to bind and trim two or four copies in one pass, ready for dispatch. It
has a proven page-pull strength one-third higher than the European
standard for 'excellent', only rivalled by threadsewn binding.
Paperbacks can be doubled back without creasing the spines, and pages
open flat (like threadsewn hardbacks).
A pilot model was developed and manufactured for Drupa 2000, where
development/ manufacturing interest was found, and an exclusive licence
sought. Schematics have been prepared but the two companies have not to
date signed a mutually acceptable licensing agreement.
In the meantime Ann Kritzinger has perfected the method for reelfed
digital presses-simplifying the process, and reducing the footprint of
the machine. A UK special purpose machinery manufacturer is now involved
under a non-disclosure agreement.
A leads book is open, and currently venture capital is being sought.
The European patent inter alia was granted in September 2000 (EU
0918647).
Kritzinger has thirty years' experience in print and publishing,
including a decade in digital book printing and production. She is
managing director of Book-in-Hand Ltd (incorporated 1994) which has its
origins in Kritzinger's text origination service Scriptmate that won a
'best new business ideas in the City of London' award in 1986 for
printing digitally two complete books simultaneously to increase
productivity in the emerging short-run book market. Several industry
firsts followed, including twice breaking the world record for speed of
production (Guinness Book Of Records 1990-94).
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Contact:
Ann Kritzinger
Book-in-Hand Ltd
20 Shepherds Hill
London N6 5AH
T/F: +44 (0)20 8341 7650
email: ak@book-in-hand.demon.co.uk
website: www.doubleback.com
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