In 2018, Swedish company Plockmatic acquired UK-based Watkiss Automation, a specialist in print-finishing solutions.
Watkiss was particularly known for technology that reshapes the spine of saddle-stitched booklets. With digital print, paper properties and grain direction can leave a booklet spine open and rounded. Additional finishing forms the spine into a flatter, more square profile, giving the product a look closer to a perfect-bound book.
The technology was used with several booklet-making systems and appeared on the market under different names, including SquareBack, Square Edge and SpineMaster.