MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Walking through the front door of Whites Law Bindery in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, visitors are faced with books everywhere – lining wooden bookshelves converted from an original paper ruling machine, in stacks on the floor and on copper-sided, glass-topped cabinets, and in the hands of anxious students waiting with their newly bound thesis manuscripts. At first, Whites appears to be an old-world bookbinding business, complete with traditional equipment and supplies including letterpress printers, cloth rolls, leather and board. However, behind the scenes you will find a brand new, high-tech digital printing room as well, featuring a digital cutting table and two new Roland wide-format printers. Recently, Whites complemented its traditional craft and old machinery with specialized equipment and high-end digital technology including a new Roland VersaUV LEC-300 printer/cutter and SOLJET PRO III XC-540 printer/cutter.

"We still rely on many traditional skills in our company," says Vlad Stanojevic, a Whites printer operator and graphic arts graduate. "But we are implementing new equipment, building new skills, and hiring new people to stay ahead."

Whites Law Bindery is an amalgamation of the 1946 bindery business of J&L White and the Law Bindery, which was established in the 1970s. It also recently acquired the 90-year-old Apollomoon Bookbinders. Services include thesis binding, law books (traditional sewn binding of Law Reports), book restoration, personal journals and family histories, corporate services (such as tender submissions), restaurant menus, graphic arts printing and more.

"There are few binderies in the world with a history like ours," says owner Edward Congdon.