CreaseStream has been awarded a European patent for its sheet feeding system, the Gravity Flow Feeder.
Set up by Tech-ni-Fold’s founder Graham Harris, CreaseStream develops a series of products specifically for use in the digital sector of the printing market, using his acclaimed rotary creasing and micro-perforating technology.
The Gravity Flow Feeder, which was launched in 2011, was created to solve inherent problems associated with feeding digital stocks, such as toner scuffing and lack of output consistency. Mr Harris initially tried to source an existing feeding system and tested a number supplied to him by several global manufacturers. He found that vacuum feeders were labour intensive and struggled to process heavier stocks with any degree of consistency, whilst friction feeders were simple to set, easy to run yet scratched the toner from the sheets as they were fed.
Mr Harris and his team decided to undertake a project to produce their own feeding system that would potentially harness the best of both types and dispense with the negatives. The Gravity Flow Feeder uses a specially shaped flat rubber pad that is integrated into an angled sheet slide which cleverly fans out, jogs, separates and feeds a full range of stocks without exerting the level of pressure that causes the toner to scratch or mark.
The Gravity Flow Feeder has recently caught the eye of several manufacturers at trade shows in the USA, Germany and the UK, some of whom have come forward to ask about licensing opportunities. Mr Harris explained, ‘Just like everything else we develop, our feeding system is simple when you see how we did it and I am delighted that we secured our patent. In knowing that the way we feed sheets is catching the eye of other manufacturers, we remain open to the possibilities of licensing.’
