Muller Martini Panorama, 2013, Spring

The Magazine for Muller Martini Customers Spring 2013

Preventive Maintenance Increases Efficiency and Reduces Costs

154 38

Imprint

Volume 28Muller Martini “Panorama” EditorDr. Markus Angst [email protected] PublisherMuller Martini Marketing AGUntere Brühlstrasse 13 CH-4800 Zofingen, SwitzerlandTelephone +41 62 745 45 75 Fax +41 62 751 55 50www.mullermartini.com

Publication frequencyAppears three times a year in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Chinese editions.

Reproduction with reference to source is permitted.

Printed in Switzerland.

ContentsEditorial

Muller Martini Panorama Spring 20132 3Muller Martini Panorama Spring 2013

Sales and ServiceMuller Martini Ltd.Ridgeway IndustrialEstateIver, BuckinghamshireSLO 9JQPhone Iver 0845 345 3588Telefax 65 56 58(Std Code 01753)[email protected]

neutralPrinted Matter

No. 01-13-763636 – www.myclimate.org© myclimate – The Climate Protection Partnership

PERFORMANCE

The New Orbit Three-Knife Trimmer Reduces Setup Times by an Hour per Shift at Thomson Reuters.

Belgium Has Become a Primera Country: 13 New Saddle Stitchers from Muller Martini Found a Home within a Short Time.

The Book Verification System from Muller Martini Is the Best Insurance You Can Have.

ForumBook Verification System – Error Rate Converging to Zero 4

Softcover ProductionFlaminia, Foligno – The Bolero Satisfies the Increasing Demand for Softcover Products 8

Artisan, Leicester – Just Commissioned Their Fourth Corona Line from Muller Martini 10

Samson, St. Margarethen – The Short Setup Times Tipped the Scales in Favor of the Alegro 12

YesPrint, Cologne – from the Internet to the Pantera via Digital Printing 18

TechnologyOrbit Three-Knife Trimmer – Faster Setup Times and Longer Knife Lives 15

Digital SolutionsKing Printing, Lowell – Two SigmaLines and a SigmaTrimming Center 20

News  22

Hunkeler InnovationdaysPresto II Digital – Industrial Saddle Stitching Solution for Digitally Printed Products 24

Hardcover ProductionAliki, Buenos Aires – A Diamant MC 35 for Long and Short Runs 25

Printing PressesHammer, Rochester – The New VSOP Plays to Its Strengths in Offset Printing 26

Newspaper Mailroom SystemsAmedia, Stokke – With the MPC, Everything Runs Smoothly in the Mailroom 29

MMServicesMMInspect – Wachter in Bönnigheim Had Its BravoPlus Inspected 32

Saddle Stitching SystemsCavalli, Tenero – the Presto II Ensures a Higher Level of Flexibility 36

Belgium – Searching for the Secret of the Primera’s Success at Customers 38

In MemoriamHans Müller – The Pioneer of Machine Construction Has Passed Away 42

E Barely any other industry has under-gone such strong change in recent years as the graphic arts industry, which in turn has made a substantial impact on the level of investments. Investment security has be-come considerably more important due to more rapid change in market requirements, longer investment cycles and the influence of new technologies. This is why, in an en-vironment that is changing much faster than it used to, many of our customers are not only looking for solutions for today, but also new business models for tomorrow and beyond.

For that reason we need to design our innovative production systems to meet the needs of our customers in an even more targeted way. As a machine manufacturer, we can move towards being a value-add-ing partner (experts call it “value proposi-tion”), making us an important part of our customers’ market focus and business models. The intrinsic value of our systems increases when we diversify the combina-tion of innovation, investment, product and service. Customers who choose systems from Muller Martini can count on a number of advantages.E Thanks to our global and local presence,

you benefit from professional consulta-tion, prompt installation and the exten-sive MMServices program for the optimal use of your systems over their entire life-time – a form of protection for your in-vestment.

E With our extensive process know-how, we work together with you to find cost-effective solutions even to complex tasks.

E Our systems are “digital ready”, which means they can be used for offset print-ing today and expanded for production downstream of a digital printing press in the future.

E Our innovations provide permanent in-creases in efficiency and improvements in quality.

E Our machines continue to produce pre-cisely and reliably years after installation thanks to their robust design – providing you with the best possible resale value as well.

E In short, Muller Martini has proven to be a reliable and strong partner, which is a value that really counts in a time of un-certainty.

Constant product innovations are an im-portant part of our market performance that customers particularly appreciate. In the tough environment of the graphic arts industry, improvements in quality and pro-duction are of vital importance. A good ex-ample of Muller Martini’s power of innova-tion is its book verification system. The comprehensive checking of product struc-ture including content and covers repre-sents a quantum leap in the quality assur-ance of perfect bound and saddle stitched products. On pages 4–7 in this issue of “Panorama”, we report extensively on the great advantages of the book verification system at two of over 100 users worldwide.

Implementing this system requires ad-justments to prepress, printing and finish-ing, which makes it somewhat elaborate to set up. This is why the consultation and support from our specialists on site are par-

ticularly important. Without this local know-how, our customers all over the world would not be able to benefit from the advantages of this quality assurance.

This leads us once again to the many reasons for choosing Muller Martini as your partner, or, in this case, a combination of two reasons: An excellent product is only successful if you have a strong partner on site to give you expert support in imple-menting it.

With Muller Martini, you not only get the best solution, but also have sustainable val-ue created at your company.

Best regards,

Michael Thüler,Member of the corporate management of Muller Martini

Sustainable Investments Pay for Themselves

Michael Thüler,Member of the corporate management of Muller Martini

Muller Martini Panorama Spring 2013Muller Martini Panorama Spring 2013

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“The Best Insurance You Can Have”

Incorrect sequence of signa-

tures, incomplete content or

the wrong cover – these are

problems that no printing

house or bookbindery can

afford given the increasingly

high expectations of custom-

ers. Muller Martini’s book

verification system, a highlight

of which is the patented Asir-

Code, ensures that products

are of perfect quality when

they leave the perfect binding

line.

E The consistent book verification sys-tem from Muller Martini which, like signa-ture matching for saddle stitching as pre-sented in the last edition of “Panorama”, ensures complete content, a correct se-quence of signatures and the right cover to match the content, consists of four individ-ual control systems: Asac signature thick-ness measurement, Asir 3 signature type control in the gathering machine, cover control with Asir 3 in the perfect binder, and Quako book dimensions control in the perfect binder delivery. These can be se-lected and supplemented in modular form to suit the needs of individual book produc-ers.

Correcting Human Error“Our customers have such high quality re-quirements today that automatic control systems have become indispensable,” says Eugen Mayer, Bookbindery Division Manager at Kösel GmbH & Co. KG, which is situated in the German village of Altus-ried-Krugzell and is one of the leading book producers on the European market.

Or as Roland Kleiner, Operations Man-ager at Druckhaus Main-Echo GmbH & Co. KG in the town of Aschaffenburg (Germa-ny), puts it: “People make mistakes. That’s entirely natural. During the production of

Bolero ensures good layflat behavior and high durability of text-heavy books thanks to PUR production using a VPN nozzle.

AsirCode is similarly indispensable for various language versions of the same product, for example for the automobile and pharmaceutical industry or for the manufacturers of mobile phones with their multilingual handbooks in an identical format. Roland Kleiner from Main-Echo, where many products are printed in various languages with only the minutest differ-ences, not only sleeps better at night now, but also regards having a reliable control system as a good marketing tool that helps the company’s external sales representa-tives to acquire (new) print orders. “Some agencies now even ask us directly what we can offer in this respect.”

Increasing Appreciation of the Need for BarcodesKösel and Main-Echo use the AsirCode for all products printed in-house as a form of high-level quality assurance, especially as the generation of barcodes today is very simple. “Practically all big-name producers of pre-press software have integrated it in-to their imposition software,” says Graf.

Things are slightly different, however, when it comes to the finishing of signa-tures that have been printed by external partners. That accounts for between 15 and 20 percent of the volume at Kösel and around 10 percent at Main-Echo. “Of course we try to persuade all our partners

to always print a barcode,” says Mayer. “However, some are more willing to do so than others. Essentially, however, appreci-ation of the need for barcodes is increas-ing, because our partners also need to sat-isfy the high quality requirements of their customers.” Kleiner has had the same ex-perience at Main-Echo: “We’ve observed an increasing understanding of the need to print barcodes, especially in the case of our long-standing partners.”

Main-Echo does not use AsirCode regu-larly for covers and never uses it for en-closed cards. “The risk of a signature

Four Control Systems for Optimal Quality

The book verification system from Muller Martini contains four control components.

E Asac signature thickness measurement in the gathering machine: is located in the grip-pers of the feeders and identifies double and empty signatures.

E Asir 3 signature control in the gathering ma-chine: sensors in the feeders identify sections that have been positioned incorrectly or posi-tioned upside down. With AsirCode: also checks the completeness of the print product and the correct sequence of signatures.

E Cover control with Asir 3 in the perfect bind-er: sensor in the cover transport identifies cov-ers that have been positioned incorrectly or up-side down. With AsirCode: checks that the cover matches the content.

E Quako book dimensions control in perfect binder delivery: identifies length and width deviations of print products.

Eugen Mayer (left), Bookbindery Division Manager at Kösel: “I’m a big barcode fan.” Right: Erik Kurtz, Managing Director of Kösel. Center: Thomas Schmidt, Sales Representative at Muller Martini Germany.

The range of print products produced by the roughly 100 employees of Druckhaus Main-Echo is extremely extensive, comprising catalogs (from A6 to 27 x 34 cm, spine thickness from 2 mm to 65 mm, hotmelt and PUR), brochures, magazines, pamphlets, inserts, art prints, and flyers. The print run sizes of the wide product range also fluctuate greatly, from 3000 to several hundred thousand copies. In the field of perfect binding there are typ-ically 3000 to 50,000 copies per job. Druckhaus Main-Echo prints using web printing presses as well as sheet-fed offset and digital processes.

The company, which is located in the center of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, publishes a small number of titles itself. However, it produces the vast majority of products for exter-nal partners from Germany, including many spe-

Druckhaus Main-Echo GmbH & Co. KG, Aschaffenburg (Germany)

cialist publishers. “As a full-service company we have the great advantage that we can assist cus-tomers quickly and flexibly through the whole pro-duction process and can achieve extremely short production times. That’s particularly important for ensuring the high quality of end products.”

Main-Echo is a long-standing partner of Muller Martini both in perfect binding (a Bolero was in-stalled in 2007) and in saddle stitching in the field of commercial printing. In addition to a Prima (2001) and a BravoPlus (2007), the printing house also uses an Onyx inserting system (2007).

www.druckhaus-main-echo.de

print products such errors are most com-mon when feeding products with a large number of signatures. That’s why we need control systems to compensate for human error.”

“I’m a Big Barcode Fan”Rudolf Graf, Product Manager at Muller Martin Bookbinding Systems in the Swiss town of Felben, explains that having Asac and Asir in the gathering machine picks up a large proportion of the possible errors during gathering. However, in order to eliminate the remaining risk, both Kösel (see company portrait on page 5) and Main-Echo (see page 6) have the complete book verification system from Muller Martini on their Bolero lines, which were installed in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

“I wouldn’t rank the control systems in order of importance because I consider them all to be important,” says Mayer. Nev-ertheless, there is one feature he high-lights: “I’m a big barcode fan because of the enormous advantages for a full-service company, which we can also use as a sell-ing point,” says the trained print techni-cian.

“AsirCode as the key to high-quality per-fect binding is the best insurance you can have,” adds Kleiner. “While I regard the

other control systems as nice to have, in my view AsirCode is a must have.”

High Degree of Reliability with AsirCodeMuller Martini has indeed scored a break-through with AsirCode, which is used by over 100 printing houses and bookbinder-ies around the world, in terms of control systems in gathering machines. Using the patented control system, in addition to tra-ditional Asir 3 image comparison, the cor-rect sequence of the signatures is also checked and missing signatures are identi-fied. If AsirCode is not used, the gathering machine may, for example, be set up with signatures in the wrong sequence.

“To prevent that, information from the sensors is taken directly and without spe-cial programming from the code for the sequence checks,” says Graf. “That means that the signatures do not need to be fed into strictly assigned feeders. In other words, AsirCode enables a great deal of

flexibility in feeder assignment. And the control system prevents production if the gathering machine is incorrectly set up.”

Errors Cost MoneyProducts that are incorrectly stitched or bound can quickly increase costs. “How much do you calculate for complaints?” is the tongue-in-cheek question that Franz Dengler, Production Manager at Reclam in Ditzingen (Germany), the company known for its little yellow books which are pub-lished in countless languages and are therefore cover-sensitive, likes to ask book-binders who do not work with barcode rec-ognition using AsirCode.

The AsirCode system really comes into its own for large and text-heavy products. For example, Kösel GmbH & Co. KG, which has two perfect binding lines from different manufacturers, prints and binds a collec-tion of German laws, which is up to 80 mm thick and has around 4000 pages with over 100 signatures, exclusively using the Bolero.

“Practically a Zero-Error Rate”It is vital for such reference works in partic-ular that the content is complete and all sig-natures are bound in the right sequence, says Mayer. “We practically have a zero-er-ror rate using the Bolero, even if we employ temporary personnel,” Mayer explains. In addition, the Bolero only ejects if there re-ally is an error. There are no unnecessary ejections. Not to mention the fact that the

Main-Echo (the gathering machine of the Bolero with the Asir 3 control screen is shown in the picture), like Kösel, uses AsirCode for all products printed in-house.

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With an annual production of 13 million books (half softcover books and half hardcover books), Kösel GmbH & Co. KG in the village of Altusried-Krugzell near Kempten in the German region of Allgäu is one of the most important book producers in Eu-rope. The company, which employs roughly 200 people and has its origins in Typographia Ducalis Campidonensis, which was founded in 1593(!), consistently comes up with surprising new devel-opments and special products. “The harmonic in-terplay of content, materials, printing quality and bookbinding processing is what makes books a perfect blend of functionality and aesthetics,” says Managing Director Erik Kurtz.

The company’s latest innovation is Kösel edge coloring. A digital edge coloring machine, devel-oped in-house, makes it possible for the first time to print four-color motifs on the trimmed edges of books. “We offer our customers the opportunity to make full use of the advantages of digital print-

Kösel GmbH & Co. KG, Altusried-Krugzell (Germany)

ing in their designs,” says Kurtz. Products with in-dividualized and personalized motifs can be pro-duced industrially in large quantities using this process.”

Since Kösel has always produced mainly in the lower and medium print-run range – typically 1000 to 5000 copies – the full-service company provid-ing pre-press, printing and print finishing services has only experienced a slight decrease in print runs. On the other hand, as Kurtz explains, Kösel has noticed an increased tendency for high-value books or book-like products in the publishing and industrial sectors. “Our production range is rela-tively unaffected by electronic media. Key words are emotions and the feel of the products.”

Kösel has relied for years on print finishing sys-tems from Muller Martini. For softcover products it uses a Bolero perfect binder (installed in 2006) with a Frontero front trimmer. Hardcover books are produced using two Diamant booklines (2004 and

2007), and two Ventura machines (2005 and 2008) are used for thread sewing.

www.koeselbuch.de

Does the cover match the book block?

missing signature

incorrect sequence

incorrect signature

incorrect direction

AsirCode Ensures Perfect Product Quality

If the relevant AsirCode (barcode) is print-ed on the trim of the signatures and the cover, the whole product structure (se-quence of signatures and whether the

cover matches the content) can be checked. AsirCode thereby prevents production with incorrectly set up products.

1 Kösel produces this collection of laws, which is up to 80 mm thick and has around 4000 pages with over 100 signatures, exclusively using the Bolero.

2 AsirCode ensures the completeness of the print product and the correct sequence of the signatures.

3 Roland Kleiner (right), Operations Manager at Druckhaus Main-Echo: “We need control systems to correct human error.” Center: Harald Brandl, Print Finishing Division Manager at Druckhaus Main-Echo. Left: Frank Skorna, Sales Representative at Muller Martini Germany.

4 The Bolero, which was commissioned by Kösel in 2006, ensures a practically zero-error rate.

Kösel prints four-color motifs onto the trimmed edges of books using its edge coloring machine.

getting mixed up is significantly greater in the feeder than in the cover feeder,” says Harald Brandl, Print Finishing Division Manager at Druckhaus Main-Echo. “I also think that the risk of cards getting mixed up is very small. In addition, promotional ma-terials like cards are often printed centrally in large quantities and then delivered to the

is particularly true for relatively small lot siz-es: “Kösel has been producing fairly small print runs for many years, but the control systems certainly speed up the production process somewhat.”

However, printing the barcode on the spine requires a high degree of fold accu-racy. “1 millimeter of visible barcode height on the front and back of the signature is the absolute minimum,” stresses Mayer. “However, we tend to aim for a width of 1.5 to 2 millimeters so that potential fold devi-ations don’t lead to unwanted machine stops or ejections in the last stage.”

various bookbinderies to be inserted. In such cases, the printing of barcodes would be difficult to organize.”

Important for Thread Sewing TooOn the other hand, Mayer explains that AsirCode, which contains information in-cluding the job number and the signature

number, plays a key role when it comes to thread sewing, one of the services provid-ed by Kösel. “Muller Martini’s solution has the major advantage that it also checks that the opening process is correct. That’s ex-tremely important in thread sewing, where the barcodes are printed in the center of the signature on the tail trim and on the

saw edge in the case of two-up production, rather than on the spine.”

Asir 3 together with AsirCode can be ret-rofitted on existing gathering machines for perfect binding lines from Muller Martini. For Graf there is no doubt that, in addition to minimizing the number of complaints, set-up times have also become quicker with the use of Asir 3 in the gathering ma-chine and perfect binder. “Since all infor-mation can be scanned from the AsirCode, no additional system programming is nec-essary. That increases reliability and reduc-es set-up times.” According to Mayer, that

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Softcover Production

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E Grafiche Flaminia moved to its entirely new production site in Trevi last August. The various machines that were relocated to the new site with the help of Muller Mar-tini Italy under the MMServices label (see box) included a Trendbinder. According to Giuseppe Casali (Delegate of the Board of Directors) and Antonio Maffeis (Managing Director), the company, which belongs to

For Grafiche Flaminia, short setup times have even greater significance than high production speed. “However, what’s even more important is the quality of the bound products,” says Maffeis. “My 25 years of experience in the graphic arts industry has shown me that repeatedly.”

No Storage, More Split Run EditionsThe new Bolero B9 with a nine-station gathering machine, book block feeder, Merit S three-knife trimmer, CB 18 book stacker and Easy Fly front trimmer is par-ticularly strong in terms of short change-over times, thanks to its consistent full au-tomation, as well as its large size range. For Grafiche Flaminia, short changeover times are an important factor because print runs have decreased considerably recently. “Our customers want to avoid keeping ti-tles in stock, so we print considerably more split run editions of the same title,” explain Casali and Maffeis.

The average print run size is 5000 to 6000 copies for softcover products, which make up between 60 and 70 percent of the production volume at the full-service com-pany which has a pre-press division and two five-color printing presses. School textbooks, exhibition catalogs, comics and guide books are bound in all possible sizes. Some 60 percent of Flaminia’s customers come from Italy, while the remainder are from France, Germany, Sweden and the USA.

www.graficheflaminia.com

“A Good Idea”

In addition to the Trendbinder, the Dia-mant bookline and the VenturaConnect book sewing system from Muller Marti-ni also made the move from the old to the new factory of Grafiche Flaminia in Trevi. The company entrusted Muller Martini Italy not only with the relocation as part of the MMServices program, but also with the extensive inspection of the systems. As part of the inspection, lists of updates were drawn up to improve quality and increase productivity of the Trendbinder and Diamant, all of which were approved by Grafiche Flaminia.

“It was undoubtedly a good idea to combine the purchase of the Bolero with a services package for the existing systems and to entrust Muller Martini with the relocation of the machines,” says Casali. “The whole process took just a month and, since we had previ-ously installed the new Bolero, there was no interruption in softcover produc-tion.”

In addition to the factory in Trevi spe-cializing in softcover and hardcover pro-duction, where the energy generated by a photovoltaic system nearly covers the company’s daily energy consumption, the Pigini Group also includes Tecno-stampa in Loreto, which focuses on sad-dle stitching and Roto Press, also in Lo-reto, which focuses on web offset. Together, the three production sites form the largest graphic arts group in Central Italy.

the Pigini Group and employs a staff of 70, had three main reasons for commissioning a second perfect binder from Muller Marti-ni, namely the first 9000-cycle Bolero B9 installed in Italy, in tandem with the open-ing of the new plant. “First, greater market demand for softcover products meant we needed to increase our production capaci-ty. Second, we wanted to equip the new

hall with state-of-the-art technology. And third, we have gained considerable flexibil-ity by having two softcover lines.”

Firmly Positioned on the MarketCasali and Maffeis made their decision to purchase the new perfect binder from Muller Martini without extensive evalua-tion. “We prefer to have long-standing partnerships with our systems suppliers both in printing and print finishing and have made good experiences with Muller Marti-ni over the years. In addition, the Bolero is an ideal combination of speed and quality and is firmly positioned on the market.”

Owing to the increasing demand for softcover products, Grafiche Flaminia has invested in

a second perfect binder from Muller Martini for its new factory in Trevi (located approximately

150 kilometers north of Rome), namely the 9000-cycle Bolero B9. At the same time as the move

from the old to the new production site took place, the existing Trendbinder and the Diamant

bookline underwent thorough inspection.

New Bolero Installed, Trendbinder and Diamant Relocated and Inspected

1 From right: Claudio Scotto (Muller Marti-ni Italy), Antonio Maffeis (Managing Director of Grafiche Flaminia), Chiara Boccardini (Director of Technical Office), Francesca Tomassini (Director of Purchasing), Vincenzo Palomba (Production Director) and Nicola Ramella (Muller Martini Italy) in front of the new Bolero B9 perfect binder in Trevi.

2 The Trendbinder was not only relocated from the old factory to the new one, but also extensively inspected as part of the MMServices program.

3 Grafiche Flaminia produces softcover books using a Diamant bookline from Muller Martini.

4 Grafiche Flaminia connects two Ventura book sewing machines to the VenturaConnect integrated book sewing system for the production of thread-sewn brochures and book blocks.

5 Giuseppe Casali (Delegate of the Board of Directors): “We have gained considerable flexibility by having two softcover lines.”



1110

“Because Muller Martini Is Innovative, So Are We”

The Artisan Press Ltd., one of the UK’s largest independent web offset printing and

adhesive binding companies situated in Leicester, recently began production on a new

Muller Martini Corona C18, their fourth Corona adhesive binding line from Muller Martini.

E This latest investment not only rein-forces the status of The Artisan Press Ltd. as a manufacturer of high-volume adhesive products for some of the UK’s best-known blue-chip companies, it also underlines a longstanding partnership with Muller Mar-tini. “Ever since we entered the perfect binding market in the late 1960s, we have found Muller’s systems to be consistently ahead of the game,” says Production Di-rector Gavin Hall.

“Absolute Cutting-Edge Technology” This long-term approach mirrors Artisan’s own philosophy. “Long term customer re-lationships are at the core of our business philosophy,” says Hall. “We demand the same kind of ongoing commitment to qual-ity and service from our system suppliers, all of which are leaders in their respective fields. Muller Martini has always been re-sponsive to our requirements, and because they are innovative, so are we.”

According to Hall, there are several ex-citing developments on the new Corona line (which he calls “a machine with abso-lute cutting-edge technology”). “It shows that change is a continuous process at Muller Martini.”

The new line at Artisan features a 24-station gathering machine (equipped with stream feeders), a two-shot hotmelt gluing system and two Orbit three-knife trimmers with a CB 18 stacker and Pluton palletizers.

The Book Data Center Is the Highlight “The three-knife trimmer, stacker and pal-letizers have all received significant up-dates,” says Hall. “The new design of the pressing and trimming system on the Orbit three-knife trimmer make a great differ-ence. What’s more, the signatures can now be electrostatically blocked in the gather-ing machine, which ensures additional sta-bility.”

However, according to Hall, the most obvious innovation on the line is probably the Book Data Center. “For us, this unique book data center is a great addition to the control system. We use it to measure the book, and it then populates the entire line with the dimensions and automates the setup for each production stage.”

Constant Production and Variety of ProductThe Artisan Press Ltd. has high demands when it comes to perfect binding. “We re-quire constant production to meet our de-manding schedules’’ says Hall ‘whilst also producing a variety of product formats lit-erally puts the technical ability of the Coro-na to a daily test.”

Gavin Hall has seen many changes with-in the printing industry from the pre-digital era through to today’s modern control technology. “The Corona binding system is a good example of a product which has evolved incorporating leading edge tech-nology at all stages of its development” he says.

More Complex ProcessesConstant demand from the customer for product variety and economy drives ad-vancements in technology and production methods, says Commercial Director Jona-than Sankey. “Everything we produce is a specialized marketing tool for our custom-ers which in the past were their sole or pri-mary means of promotion. Now catalogues are just one tool among many, this means we’re often printing multiple variety prod-

ucts with complex binding variations there-fore the need for precision is absolute. We are particularly impressed with the effec-tiveness of the Asir 3 and Asac page recog-nition systems.

The Corona adhesive binding lines have to be robust enough to cope with the re-quirements of large volume and continu-ous production,” emphasizes Sankey. “They also have to be highly automated to facilitate economic and efficient setup times.”

www.artisanpress.com

Production Director Gavin Hall: “Ever since we entered the perfect binding market in the late 1960s, we have found Muller’s systems to be consistently ahead of the game.”

Production Director Gavin Hall (right) and Commercial Director Jonathan Sankey in front of the new Corona line at Artisan.

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1312

“And the Moral of the Story Is: Diverse Binding Is the Way to Go”

In order to have high quality also in perfect binding under its control at all times, Samson Druck

Ges.m.b.H. in St. Margarethen in the Austrian state of Salzburg has invested for the first time

in a perfect binder. Samson opted for the Alegro first unveiled by Muller Martini at the last drupa

because its short setup times optimize production processes.

E Gerhard Aichhorn, owner and Manag-ing Director of Samson Druck, which was founded by his father Erich Aichhorn in 1978 and today employs some 100 people, explains in a nutshell why the company, af-ter many years of experience in saddle stitching, decided in fall to extend its range of print finishing services and to enter per-fect binding for the first time: “First, our number of jobs has increased. Second, we

want to keep added value in-house. Third, this step enables us to ensure optimal qual-ity. And fourth, this gives us more control over logistics.”

More Control Over Final QualityThe fact that Samson Druck can now dis-pense with some 220 truck journeys with a total distance of 60,000 kilometers annu-ally thanks to having softcover production

natures solely printed in-house using two eight-color printing presses with lacquer and a ten-color printing press.

Trend Towards Perfect BindingSamson Druck, which processes more than 4000 tons of paper yearly, has special-ized for decades in high-quality (image) brochures, (customer) magazines and pamphlets, often with surface finishing, for various major international automobile, fashion and jewelry brands. “That enables us to stand out from the competition,” says Aichhorn. According to Aichhorn, there is a clear trend toward perfect binding for such high-quality products. Print runs range from 500 to 150,000 copies, al-though the number of copies is below 10,000 for most perfect binding jobs.

Samson Druck, which offers consulting, prepress, address administration, mail ser-vice and distribution as a lettershop certi-fied by the post office in addition to print-ing and print finishing, has also observed a second trend among its many regular cus-tomers. The number of copies per title is falling, while the variety of languages and often the frequency of publication due to electronic (advertising) competition are in-creasing. In addition, and this is more an economic necessity than a trend, produc-tion processes need to be optimized due to increasingly short deadlines.

in-house, is just one benefit of the Alegro (not least from an environmental point of view).

Far more importantly, by bringing per-fect binding in-house, the leading Austrian printing house for high-quality sheetfed printing now has complete control over the entire production process of perfect bound print products, and in particular end quali-ty. To ensure quality, Samson finishes sig-

nex, it is possible to optimally automate all Muller Martini systems, from a standalone machine to complex production lines. Thanks to this standardization, all ma-chines can communicate with one other and, using Connex, can also be connected to a management information system (MIS). “For us that’s a very important point because we already have an MIS,” under-lined Aichhorn.

Customer Event in New HallSamson has built a new hall specifically for the new perfect binder, increasing its pro-duction space by 25 percent. The new hall and the new Alegro were officially inaugu-rated with a customer event attended by numerous representatives from the politi-cal and business spheres. Samson even produced a softcover book designed for

Three Alegro HighlightsAccording to Aichhorn, there were three technical features satisfying all market needs that convinced Samson Druck, fol-lowing intensive evaluation, to invest at the drupa 2012 in the new Alegro perfect bind-ing line, which features a 15-station gath-ering machine, a VPN nozzle for PUR glu-ing processes, a Solit three-knife trimmer and a CB 18 book stacker. E First, AsirCode, which guarantees the

correct sequence of signatures in the gathering machine (“vital for us because of the variety of languages, which is why we print a barcode on all signatures”/see also the article on page 4 of this edi-tion).

E Second, the Book Data Center, which records all book measurement data for the entire perfect binding line (“without which I wouldn’t have bought the ma-chine”).

E Third, Motion Control Technology, which drives directly and controls indi-vidually all stations of the Alegro (“for me this is the highlight of the entire con-trol system, because short setup times are crucial given our job structure”).

Connex Optimizes ProcessesA further advantage is that Samson inte-grates the Alegro with the Connex data and process management system. With Con-

1 Gerhard Aichhorn (second from left), owner and Managing Director of Samson Druck: “Short setup times are crucial given our job structure.” Right, next to Gerhard Aichhorn: the two machine operators Wolfgang Gfrerer and Johannes Knar, and Claudia Zitz, management assistant. Left: Peter Cerer, Sales Manager at Muller Martini Austria.

2 For years, Samson outsourced perfect binding jobs. The new Alegro enables the company’s numerous high-quality jobs to be performed in-house.

3 The Primera C140 saddle stitcher, which was commissioned in summer 2011, is operated by the same machine operators as the new Alegro perfect binder.


Technology

1514

The Orbit Reduces Setup Times by as Much as an Hour per Shift at Thomson Reuters

The three-knife trimmer is often the (time-consuming) sticking point during changeovers

to a softcover line. That is why Thomson Reuters in Eagan, Minnesota, has installed two

new Orbit three-knife trimmers from Muller Martini behind its existing perfect binders.

The results have been realized immediately: faster setup times, shorter production

processes, and longer knife life.

E Thomson Reuters produces millions of softcover and hardcover books annually spread over 15,000 different publications. Three-quarters of all books produced by Thomson Reuters are perfect bound, for which the third-largest book producer in the United States uses four softcover lines. Those include two perfect binders from Muller Martini, a Normbinder and a Pony binder. As the print runs have seen de-creases in recent years, the company has

to carry out a large number of job change-overs in Eagan. “We have to change each line 10 to 12 times per shift,” says Rocky Aune, Technical Supervisor at Thomson Reuters.

Beyond Even Wildest ExpectationsThe sticking point of the Make Ready sys-tem tends to be the three-knife trimmer. Or rather, was the three-knife trimmer until re-cently. Since last year, Thomson Reuters

Dan Duffy, three-knife trimmer trainer at Thomson Reuters: “The knives on the Orbit last a lot longer, and either the complete set or individual blades can be quickly replaced.”


the opening live in front of the prominent guests.

The complex brochure titled “Samson’s Fabulous World of New Perfect Binding” (“And the moral of the story is: diverse binding is the way to go”), which the com-pany is also using as advertising material, highlights the wide-ranging options in printing and print finishing.

Same Machine Operators forPerfect Binding and Saddle StitchingA Primera C140 saddle stitcher featuring six feeders, two cover feeders, a Perfetto compensating stacker and an ATS stacker, which earlier was located elsewhere, now runs in the new hall just a few meters away from the Alegro. Since the early ’90s Sam-son has relied on saddle stitching systems from Muller Martini and was the first to in-stall a Bravo in Austria. The fact that the perfect binder and saddle stitcher are placed side by side has a practical advan-tage for Samson: the machine operators can operate both lines.

“Both machines are laserblue and have Muller Martini’s name on them,” says Aichhorn with typically dry Austrian humor when asked about his personnel operating both machines. At the same time, his re-mark points to the convenient operation of both machines. “Our young machine oper-ators are open to new technologies and got the hang of both systems quickly following intensive training here on site. The first book was ready for sale with the very first production run using the Alegro.”

Like the Alegro, the Primera commis-sioned in summer 2011 is also integrated with Connex. In addition, Samson has the service program MMRemote for both the new lines. This way, Muller Martini can pro-vide quick support from the factory in the event of a malfunction.

www.samsondruck.at

The new Alegro perfect binder from Muller Martini meets high expectations in the fields of offset and digital printing with innovative Motion Control Technology. It boasts stations with separate drives, a highly flexible machine concept, as well as precise settings owing to its robust design, and ensures shorter setup and production times and higher product quality.

Alegro: Motion Control Technology Ensures Quicker Setup Times

Motion Control facilitates extremely short processing times, resulting in maxi-mum profitability. The Alegro, which stands out due to special sizes and produc-tion methods, also provides the basis for a large range of uses.

At the heart of the intelligent machine concept is the fact that all stations of the Alegro are driven directly and controlled in-

dividually thanks to Motion Control. That means the settings have a direct effect on the product, leading to maximum quality. Motion Control optimizes the individual process steps, reduces changeover times and allows for maximum production per-formance in the shortest time. With Motion Control, the readjustment of settings is re-duced to a minimum.

Samson’s new hall and the new Alegro were officially inaugurated in fall last year with a customer event, attended by numerous representatives from the political and business spheres.

1 2 3


Technology

1716

has been running two Orbit three-knife trimmers from Muller Martini behind two of its perfect binding lines (the Normbind-er and a model from another manufactur-er), with results that surprise even the ex-perienced machine operators at Thomson Reuters.

Now with the Orbit they can complete job changeovers five minutes faster than

Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. They combine industry expertise with innova-tive technology to deliver critical infor-mation to leading decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and ac-counting, intellectual property and sci-ence and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organiza-tion. Thomson Reuters employs approx-imately 60,000 people and operates in over 100 countries.

Thomson Reuters Book Manufactur-ing & Distribution is one of the largest printing facilities in the United States. The facility excels in printing high-qual-ity books and materials, both web offset and short-run digital. Centrally located in Eagan, Minnesota, this facility servic-es customers from across the country and overseas, producing and shipping more than 54 million products annually.

start and was great after just two weeks of use, while it took six months or more to get that comfortable with other three-knife trimmers,” says Troje.

For some time now, Thomson Reuters also has run two Merit S three-knife trim-mers from Muller Martini behind another perfect binder and on a Diamant 60 book-line. “Before installing the two Orbits, we were able to train optimally using those models,” says Duffy. By leveraging the similar operating system and Commander control screen with the Merit trimmers, the training on the Orbits was significantly re-duced.

Longer Knife LifeProduction of thick books is faster in par-ticular, as the Orbit processes book thick-nesses of up to 80 mm and Thomson Re-uters frequently pre-gathers signatures. The knives used to have to be removed for the passage of the pre-gathered signatures through the three-knife trimmer. Now, with the servo control on the Orbit, the knives can simply be deactivated.

According to Steve Zweber, Director of Bindery and Subscription Services, the Orbit not only trims better, but the knives also last a lot longer and can be set up much faster than before. The knives on a previous three-knife trimmer from another manufacturer had to be replaced five to ten times per week; these knives last ten times longer. “We can trim up to 180,000 books with one set of knives. And after two months of running the Orbits, our supply chain group took notice of the drastic

1 From right: Steve Zweber (Director of Bindery and Subscription Services), Rocky Aune (technical supervisor), Dan Duffy (three-knife trimmer trainer), LJ Warkel (machine operator), Chris Troje (machine operator) and Eric Olsen (Regional Sales Manager at Muller Martini USA) in front of one of the two new Orbit three-knife trimmers at Thomson Reuters in Eagan, Minnesota.

2 Thomson Reuters produces a lot of thick books that the Orbit now processes more efficiently than previous three-knife trimmers (pictured: Technical Supervisor Rocky Aune).

3 Machine operator Chris Troje: “Operating the Orbit felt good from the start and was great after just two weeks.”

In addition to flawless gathering, perfect binding and gentle delivery, the final trim-ming process is crucial for a perfect soft-cover product. With its innovative technol-ogy and fully automated design, the Orbit three-knife trimmer is perfect for operation in the upper performance range – with ex-tremely high net output. Thanks to first-class productivity and the consistently high quality of the end products, demanding jobs can be completed on schedule using the Orbit three-knife trimmer.

The Orbit enables efficient production with extremely high net output, a consis-tently high level of production quality over the entire performance range, uniquely quick changeovers thanks to a high level of automation and extremely simple opera-tion.

For three-sided trims, consistent trim-ming conditions are necessary to maintain

consistently high product quality. That is why Muller Martini developed SmartPress Technology. It ensures a gentle and con-trolled pressing procedure enabling the air between the sheets of paper to escape completely from the product. This compact book press is the optimal way to ensure a perfect trim. Adaptive SmartPress Technol-ogy provides several advantages: air can be removed optimally during the pressing pro-cedure, pressing is strong and gentle, and quality is consistent thanks to individual adjustments to the pressing for each book.

The optimal trimming speed is crucial for a high-quality, perfect bound end prod-uct. That is why transport, pressing and trimming have independent drives on the Orbit. The independent knife drive guaran-tees more time for SmartPress to do its work and the ideal trimming speed regard-less of the cycle count on the machine.

Thomson Reuters has installed two new Orbit three-knife trimmers from Muller Martini behind its existing perfect binders in Eagan.

About Thomson Reuters

reduction in our outside grinding costs” says Zweber.

“Good for My Stress Level”According to Duffy, there have been signif-icant improvements in terms of changing and sharpening of the knives: “Either the complete set or individual knives can be re-placed more conveniently and much faster than before.”

The cost savings for the company due to the reduction in time and materials is just one aspect. Equally important is the in-creased level of safety, according to Warkel: “The less I have to deal with the changing of knives, the better. It also helps keep my stress level down.”

www.thomsonreuters.com

before. “I knew that the three-knife trim-mer could be changed over quickly,” says Chris Troje, machine operator at Thomson Reuters. “But that it’s this quick exceeds even our wildest expectations. We now save up to an hour per shift.”

Hardly Any Fine Adjustments NecessaryThe fact that the 18 machine operators, who operate all three-knife trimmers, are so fast is closely related to the convenience of operating the Orbit, according to Dan Duffy, three-knife trimmer trainer and, hav-ing worked for 31 years at the company, the most experienced trimmer operator in the bookbindery at Thomson Reuters. “As we are able to make fine adjustments on the fly and no longer have to set up each machine component individually thanks to the servo technology, we have been able to speed up the entire perfect binding pro-cess, while the quality of the end products has improved.”

After the book dimensions are fed into the two Orbits at Thomson Reuters, 99 per-cent of the time there is no need for any more fine adjustments. With the previous three-knife trimmer, this rate was as low as 5 percent (i.e. 95 percent of the jobs need-ed to be corrected manually).

Short Learning CurveAs the Orbit can be set up easily, there was a very short learning curve for the machine operators – quite unlike the learning curve with the older three-knife trimmer models. “Operating the Orbit felt good from the

Orbit: SmartPress Technology Provides the Perfect Trim

1

3 4

2



1918

From the Internet to the Pantera

Previously, the online printing house YesPrint in Cologne, Germany, had to outsource larger

perfect binding jobs because it only had a manual perfect binder. The new Pantera from Muller

Martini now enables the company to produce all softcover jobs in-house. That benefits both the

workflow within YesPrint and the company’s bottom line.

E Some may say that little of importance happens on the last day of a trade fair. Yet the spontaneous decision of YesPrint to buy a Pantera perfect binder at the most re-cent drupa proves that it is not always that case. On 16 May 2012, the 14th and last day of the trade fair in Dusseldorf, Zishan Khan received a call from his brother Shazad: “I’m at the Muller Martini stand and I’m looking at the ideal machine for our job structure!”

Ready for Use in No TimeShazad and Zishan Khan, who founded the start-up company in 2005 under the then

print finishing, continuously expanded its machine line-up in the years that followed and in 2012 commissioned a modern 3B eight-color sheet-fed offset printing press.

“It was clear from the outset that we al-so needed to invest in print finishing to match our increasing printing capacity, in order to keep the entire value-added chain and quality control in-house,” says profes-sional printer Shazad Khan.

“Ideal for Our Job Structure”With the manual perfect binder from an-other manufacturer that the company used until a few months ago, YesPrint could no longer cope with the output of the new printing press and had to outsource large jobs. Furthermore, the new online pres-ence designed by a partner company exclu-sively for YesPrint will soon go live, mark-ing a significant expansion in the product range of YesPrint.

Zishan Khan was convinced on the last day of the drupa that his brother had hit the bull’s eye at the Muller Martini stand, and indeed, the first months of operation have proven the Pantera to be the ideal solution

Ready for Digital PrintingThe company owner also points to anoth-er advantage of the latest expansion of the company’s machine line-up. YesPrint still prints exclusively using offset. “Even with the traditional printing method, it’s not un-common for us to be less expensive than digital printers right down to 100 copies. However, digital is increasingly gaining ground and for us it’s only a matter of time until we enter that market. From that per-spective, we regard our new Pantera, which is digital ready, also as an invest-ment in the future.”

www.yesprint.de

1 Zishan Kahn (right), Co-owner of YesPrint: “The Pantera has significantly increased our competitiveness.” Center: machine operator Bali Ukiqi. Left: Thomas Irsigler, Sales Representative at Muller Martini Germany.

2 The products are neatly cut using the Esprit …

name of Druckerei Khan and today are joint owners of YesPrint together with the third brother Sajjad, who joined the firm in 2010, signed the purchase contract for the Pantera not long afterwards. Less than four months later, the perfect binder together with an 18-station gathering machine, an Esprit Amrys three-knife trimmer and a Uno book stacker was ready to start pro-ducing in Cologne.

The speed with which the Pantera was commissioned was prompted in large part by YesPrint’s dynamically growing produc-tion volumes. That fast growth is in turn closely related to the World Wide Web and

serves as a prime example of meaningful and valuable synergies between new and traditional media. YesPrint is a typical on-line printing house with print products than can be ordered online and that are stan-dardized and, therefore, inexpensive, in-cluding flyers, folders, letter-headed paper, business cards and posters, as well as, in-creasingly, perfect bound brochure, maga-zines and customer magazines.

Ongoing InvestmentsFor that reason, the family business, which started out with just a four-color printing press, a trimmer and a folding machine for

for the company, which employs over 20 people. “This is just the right machine for our job structure.”

Two Instead of Three ShiftsYesPrint’s runs for softcover products – 90 % of which are in the A4 portrait and landscape formats – range between 250 and 200,000 copies. However, for most jobs, the figure is close to 5000. “That means we have to make frequent change-overs and are therefore reliant on a user-friendly system in print finishing,” says Zis-han Khan.

The fact the YesPrint machine operators can prepare the Pantera so quickly from one job to the next thanks to intensive training on site at the company has had a welcome impact on YesPrint’s productivi-ty. It is now possible to work in two shifts rather than three for perfect binding. “That has significantly improved our competitive-ness,” says Zishan Khan with satisfaction. “And these days it’s not uncommon for us to get the data in the morning and to deliv-er the finished products the next after-noon.”

3 . . . and processed to diagonally positioned stacks using the Uno.

4 Since commissioning the new Pantera, YesPrint can also produce large softcover jobs in-house.

1

2


Digital Solutions

2120

Lower Print Runs Require New Print Finishing Technology

King Printing Company, Inc.

in Lowell, Massachusetts, has

exclusively used digital print-

ing processes for nearly a year.

In order to seamlessly finish

its increasing print volume, the

family business now operates

the first SigmaTrimming

Center in the United States

in addition to two

SigmaLines.

E Three years ago, the average print run for digitally printed books at King Printing was 1000 copies. Today, it is between 100 and 150. “Soon it will perhaps only be 50,” says Managing Director Adi Chinai. “Digi-tal printing is the future, and the trend to-wards lower print runs cannot be stopped.”

A Lot of Experience with Short RunsAs if Adi Chinai’s Father, Sid, who founded the company in 1978, had predicted the change in the graphic arts industry, King Printing entered the digital printing busi-ness 24 years ago. “We are well-prepared for the current development in the indus-try, as we have a lot of experience with short runs,” notes Adi Chinai.

For example, King Printing – apart from offset processing for covers – has exclu-sively used digital printing processes for nearly a year. Their customers for softcov-er products (60 percent of the printing vol-

As King Printing has had its own IT de-partment since the beginning of the com-puter age in the 1980s and today offers electronic forms for online publications as well as via mobile apps, individual custom-ers often end up publishing a printed ver-sion of what started out as an e-book.

2010 The First SigmaLine …The more digital printing jobs the compa-ny received, the more urgently King Print-ing needed to look for an ideal solution for print finishing. That is why the family busi-ness invested in its first SigmaLine with a SigmaFolder and a SigmaCollator in 2010 – alongside an HP T-350 digital printing press. Adi Chinai’s decision to buy the first fully integrated, industrial strength solution for digital book production was mainly due to the partnership between Muller Martini and HP in the area of digital printing. “Be-

According to the head of the company, the easy setup of the SigmaTrimmer (see box) contributes to optimizing the produc-tion processes: “This of course increases the flexibility and efficiency of our many short runs.”

www.kingprinting.comwww.adibooks.com

SigmaTrimmer as a Solo Version – Three-Sided Trimming with Zero Make Ready

1 In 2010, King Printing invested in the first SigmaLine with a SigmaFolder and SigmaCollator, followed by a SigmaTrimming Center in 2013.

2 Adi Chinai (right), Managing Director of King Printing: “The easy setup of the SigmaTrimmer increases the flexibility and efficiency of our many short runs.” Left: Frank Donnelly, Regional Sales Manager at Muller Martini USA.

Trimming a wide range of formats and book thicknesses down to one-off produc-tion with 1000 cycles per hour with no changeovers and therefore no interrup-tions is enabled by the SigmaTrimmer from Muller Martini, which can also be operated as a solo machine. Muller Martini makes use of the unique digital solutions technol-ogy of the SigmaLine as the first fully inte-grated, industrial strength solution for dig-ital book production, and with the new offline solution of the SigmaTrimmer three-knife trimmer it gives graphics arts compa-nies even more flexible application options.

The end format for each book is read in-dividually by a scanner in the infeed, allow-ing all settings to be entered automatical-

ly. As the knives on the SigmaTrimmer are fixed and the products are transported to the knives on a turntable, books with vari-ous formats, sizes and print runs can be trimmed at up to 1000 cycles per hour without interruption (Zero Make Ready).

This Solution Is of Particular Interest to Printers E with a diverse job mix, as they lose con-

siderable time finishing their softcover products on a conventional three-knife trimmer due to the time-consuming changeovers;

E with ultra-short print runs (down to one-off production) as their end formats are often trimmed down from a few stan-

dardized gross book formats, therefore allowing them to expand their maximum foot trimming from 30 mm to 75 mm, which allows for even more efficiency and flexibility in their printed products;

E who want to enter the digital printing business with smaller machines;

E who produce books using both digital and offset printing processes.

ume at King Printing) and hardcover books (40 percent) from the United States and in-creasingly from other countries specialize in the fields of economics, education, art and science, but jobs also include chil-dren’s books and novels.

Avoiding Print Runs That Are Too HighIn addition to publishing companies, King Printing also has individual customers that produce books in self-publishing. “The number of self-published books is grow-ing,” says Adi Chinai, who has the corre-sponding slogan on his business card: “There is a Book in You!” “We have built a reputation in that segment and been able to increase our customer base by following our customers through every step of the book production process, offering good service in addition to high quality and sav-ing our clients from commissioning print runs that are too long.”

cause it was offered by two such renowned companies, this solution earned our trust.”

Trust that has paid off, according to the boss of 120 employees working in three shifts: “Finishing keeps up to speed with printing. That was not the case before com-missioning this complete digital solution.”

2013 The Second SigmaLineand a SigmaTrimming CenterKing Printing expanded its Muller Martini system by adding a second SigmaLine with a SigmaFolder and a SigmaCollator, as well as the first SigmaTrimming Center in the United States at the beginning of the year. “The SigmaTrimming Center helps us to optimize the nearline workflow of our vari-ous softcover and hardcover lines that can now be controlled by one single machine operator,” says Adi Chinai, pointing out the greatest advantage of this new technology.

News from Muller Martini

2322

Bodan AG Druckerei in Kreuzlin-gen became the first graphic arts business in the German-speaking regions of Switzerland to put the new Presto II saddle stitcher from Muller Martini, which was un-

At its open house in Saitama, the leading Japanese publishing house, Kodansha Fujimino Digital Press & Finishing Factory, pre-sented the first SigmaLine, the fully integrated digital book pro-duction solution, to be installed in Japan. At Kodansha, the Sigma-Line, connected inline with the T300 inkjet printing press from HP, processes print products in a single operation from data to the completed book. “The SigmaLine allows us to publish books in small print runs with high effi-ciency in a very short time,” Kenjiro Umezaki, General Manag-er of the Kodansha Manufactur-ing Division told over 180 guests. “Thanks to this investment, we are also able to cost-effectively process smaller print runs and produce customized books in a short period of time. This new possibility has already enabled us to gain the confidence of

In his interesting presentation during the Muller Martini evening at the traditional Druckforum (Printing Forum) in Filderstadt, Germany, Uwe Schulz, Produc-tion/Technology Manager at GGP Media GmbH (Pössneck, Germa-

ny) discussed the digital printing solutions that book producers can turn to in response to falling print runs.

As GGP, a part of the Arvato/Bertelsmann Group, produces many books and brochures in

Speakers at the Muller Martini evening at the Druckforum (Printing Forum) in Filderstadt, Germany (from left): Volker Leonhardt (Managing Director at Muller Martini Germany), Uwe Schulz (Production/Technology Manager at GGP Media GmbH), Kurt Schläpfer (Sales/Product Manager at Muller Martini Bookbinding Systems).

The new Presto II at Bodan AG is the most compact saddle stitcher in its performance class.

180 visitors came to the open house hosted by Kodansha Fujimino Digital Press & Finishing Factory and Muller Martini.

large print runs, the current market trends present particular challenges for the large printing plant, which employs over 1000 people. According to Schulz, 30 percent of the books printed for publishing companies, indus-try and local authorities now have small print runs of 3000 copies or fewer.

That prompted GGP to enter digital printing with an HP T400 and, following thorough evalua-tion, to opt for a Nearline solution from Muller Martini for print fin-ishing. For softcover books the Nearline solution consists of a SigmaFolder, a SigmaCollator, an Alegro perfect binder and a Solit three-knife trimmer. After the book blocks have been glued off on the Alegro, hardcover books are produced using an existing BL 500 bookline from Muller Martini.

GGP decided on a Nearline solution because, according to Schulz, “the output of the digital

printing press from three shifts can be finished using the perfect binder in one shift.” One of the key reasons why GGP, which now operates seven perfect binders from Muller Martini including the Alegro, chose a solution from the Swiss machine manufacturer is the Connex data and process management system. “I don’t know of any other supplier that offers such a workflow system,” says Schulz.

Despite the digital printing eu-phoria, the printing and finishing expert is sure that “digital print-ing is supplementing, not replac-ing offset printing.” The same point was made by Volker Leonhardt, Managing Director of Muller Martini Germany: “We firmly believe in the coexistence of digital and offset printing.”

veiled at drupa 2012, into opera-tion. The company had previous-ly relied on a 1509 saddle stitcher for over two decades. The pros-pect of rather costly recondition-ing prompted the company to make a new investment.

According to the owner Urban Ruckstuhl, there were three main reasons behind the company’s decision for the Presto II that fea-tures a cover folder feeder and three twin feeders. “First, we’ve had good experiences with Muller Martini over the years. Second, as a Swiss company, we strive to support Swiss machine manufacturers. Third, we expect the Presto II to speed up setup times significantly.”

Shorter setup times are par-ticularly important for Bodan AG since its numerous magazines, journals and brochures often have short print runs and feature a wide range of formats.

authors.” Bruno Müller, CEO von Muller Martini, briefly elaborated on the development of the Sig-maLine, pointing out its impor-tance for digital book production: “By combining the SigmaLine with a Pantera for digital perfect binding, you can prepare your-selves for the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

Muller Martini Booth at the Graph Expo in Chicago: “Bind Your Own Book”

Visitors to the Graph Expo were able to produce their own books at Muller Martini’s booth.

Over four busy days, Muller Martini inspired the enthusiasm of the many visitors to the Graph Expo in Chicago under its motto “new or renewed developments”. Visitors to Muller Martini’s booth showed particular interest in the live demonstrations of the SigmaTrimmer and personal consulting in the MMServices program.

The visitors were also greatly interested in innovations in the MMUptodate segment. While it is often difficult to make new in-vestments in this difficult eco-nomic environment, MMUptodate can help bring existing machinery in line with state-of-the-art tech-nology easily and without signifi-cant costs. At the company’s trade fair booth, no fewer than 15 MMInspect agreements were signed.

One of the highlights was the “bind your own book” live dem-onstration. The unique Sigma-

Package Printing Seminar in Maulburg: Exciting Solutions for Package Printing

The seminar participants listen attentively to the live presentation of the VSOP web offset printing press in Maulburg.

One key focus of the Print Finishing Center is the MMServices portfolio from Muller Martini.

After major renovations in the historic factory building at Muller Martini’s headquarters in Zofin-gen, Switzerland, the new Print Finishing Center for machine demonstrations, training sessions and know-how transfer, in particular for end products as well as data and process manage-ment, was opened in February.

Using modern machinery and supported by ideal infrastructure in the 2000 m2 facility, machine and product demonstrations are organized and presented for potential customers. Process and product tests, for example with special paper or extraordinary finishing, provide customers with important information and also support the continued develop-ment of Muller Martini systems. Experienced instructors and process specialists teach course participants in both the theore-tical and practical use of Muller

Trimmer can process 1000 differ-ent books hourly. The three-knife trimmer featuring barcode tech-nology enables customers to pro-cess data in real time and without errors. At Muller Martini’s booth, visitors were able to operate the SigmaTrimmer themselves and produce a book of their choice.

Muller Martini showed how the numerous advantages of web off-set printing can be used for the packaging market during its two-day seminar at the Training Cen-ter Druck in Maulburg, Germany. The expert speakers presented

Martini systems. In addition to training sessions and demonstra-tions, visitors can visit the Prod-uct Innovation Lounge to find out more about special printed products and their manufacture as well as find inspiration from innovative product ideas. In a relaxed setting, they can discuss new markets, ideas and the opportunities these can present.

At the Print Finishing Center, specialists can also find extensive information on the advantages of the software solutions from Muller Martini. For example, customers have access to Connex, the data and process management system that offers a complete solution for digital printing that includes prepress, printing, and finishing. Connex organizes and controls pro-duction of a wide range of both saddle stitching and digital printing systems.


One key focus of the Print Finishing Center is the MMServices portfolio from Muller Martini. Using a hands-on approach and featuring clear examples, ele-ments of the program are pre-sented – such as MMInspect, the preventive inspection service

from Muller Martini. With MMUptodate, potential upgrades and updates are suggested that prolong the life span of the machines and ensure that they maintain their high performance for many years.

various competitive advantages to over 100 participants, from data preparation and radiation curing ink technologies to the VSOP and Alprinta web offset printing presses.

Talks given by specialists from partner companies during the seminar dealt with topics such as data handling and printing plate manufacturing with CTP, integrating tested ink systems in the food industry, using a wide range of materials as well as the various areas of use for infinite variable web offset printing press technology.

Many seminar participants made the trip to Maulburg not least for the live presentations of the VSOP and Alprinta V web offset printing presses. The dem-onstrations featured challenging package printing jobs on sub-strates such as PE, OPP and PET as well as the rapid changeover from one print job to the next.

Druckforum (Printing Forum) in Filderstadt: “Digital Printing Is Supplementing, Not Replacing Offset Printing”

Presto II Speeds Up the Numerous Job Changeovers at Bodan AG in Kreuzlingen

Open House at Kodansha: Japan’s Authors Prefer the SigmaLine

New Print Finishing Center from Muller Martini in Zofingen to Act as Center for Extensive Know-how Transfer


Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne Hardcover Production

2524

Diamant MC 35 Comes into Its Own When It Comes to Short Runs

“Such Inline Systems Are What the Market Needs”

Thanks to the high degree

of automation of its new

Diamant MC 35 bookline

from Muller Martini, Aliki S. A.,

located in the Argentinian

capital of Buenos Aires, can

now produce its hardcover

books more cost-effectively,

while also delivering con-

siderably higher quality.

At the Hunkeler Innovation-

days trade fair in Lucerne,

Muller Martini produced three

different print products live

and without interruption using

a Presto II Digital saddle

stitcher.

E With high-performance inkjet digital printing establishing itself in the field of high-quality color printing too and sizes of print runs for magazines, journals and bro-chures continuing to fall, Muller Martini presented the Presto II Digital to trade vis-itors in Lucerne as a new industrial finish-ing solution for digitally printed products. Three different products were produced live and without interruption at Muller Mar-tini’s trade fair stand. If necessary, covers could be fed to match a specific copy.

Muller Martini presented a Presto II Dig-ital line, consisting of a high-performance processing folder, two signature feeders, a

E Since there are few graphic arts busi-nesses in Argentina that produce hardcov-er books industrially, Jorge Tsiaculias spot-ted a market gap, prompting the owner and president of Aliki to invest recently in a Dia-mant MC 35. Tsiaculias opted for the book-line from Muller Martini for three main rea-sons: “First, I see Muller Martini as the clear market leader in this segment. Sec-ond, I was convinced by the book quality of the Diamant. Third, in the past years we have been very pleased with the after-sales service of Muller Martini Argentina. For us, it’s a major advantage that Muller Martini has its own branch in our country, which means that it provides quick and reliable customer service.”

Long-Standing PartnershipThe family business, which is known all over Argentina for its tailor-made custom-er solutions including consulting from pre-press to delivery, has relied on solutions from Muller Martini since it was estab-lished in 2000. Two perfect binders (an Acoro and a Tigra) are used in the 3000 m2

cover folder feeder, a stitching machine and a three-knife trimmer, in combination with an unwinding system, a fold/merge module and a cross cutting machine from Hunkeler.

“A Highly Innovative Solution”Paul M. Wasanga considers the system “a highly innovative solution that saves on a lot of space”. According to the CEO of the Kenya National Examination Council in Nai-robi, the market is in need of precisely such inline systems. “Digital printing alone is not efficient enough – it requires the right fin-ishing for the seamless completion of print products. When I see solutions like the Presto II Digital, I am convinced that there is still potential for digitally printed, saddle-stitched products.”

Growing MarketA lot of expertise was concentrated in a small space, that is why Petr Romanov, Chief Technologist at JSC First Model Print-ing House in Moscow, spent four days at the trade fair in Lucerne: Technicians took their time to explain their systems in detail

production hall in addition to three saddle stitchers (a JGV, a 235 and a Presto). Aliki is also set to invest in a new Ventura MC book sewing machine from Muller Martini in the foreseeable future.

In addition to high quality (“we can sell even the very first book from a production run”), Tsiaculias is impressed in particular by the short setup times of the new Dia-mant MC 35. “The runs of the books print-ed by us vary from 500 to 20,000. We pro-duce both long and short runs. The high degree of automation of the new bookline is naturally a great advantage to us in terms of cost-effective production.”

Training Is also a Matter for the BossTsiaculias took the time to attend the train-ing course for the new Diamant MC 35 during the Hardcover Forum in Bad Mer-gentheim, Germany, in person. “I was im-pressed by how Muller Martini organized the customer training. We had an intensive training program and are now benefiting from the numerous tips and tricks that the instructors taught us.”

at the Hunkeler Innovationdays.” JSC First Model Printing House already produces digitally printed hardcover and softcover books on a SigmaLine, consisting of a Sig-maFolder and SigmaCollator. The products are finished on a Diamant MC 60 bookline and a Ventura MC book sewing machine from Muller Martini as well as on an older perfect binder. “In Lucerne, I wanted to find out about the options offered by sad-dle stitching for digital printing, since I’m confident that this market will continue to gain in importance.”

From right: Jorge Tsiaculias (Company Owner and President), Javier Malvezzi (Director of the Hardcover Division), Alejandro Estevez (Sales Director) und Claudio Carballo (Bookbindery Director) in front of the new Diamant MC 35 bookline at Aliki S. A. in Buenos Aires.

While in Lucerne, visitors to the trade fair from all over the world were introduced to the secrets of the Presto II Digital by Muller Martini specialists.

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Printing Presses

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“Offset Offers Considerable Advantages Over Rotogravure Printing”

With the shrink sleeve market recording annual growth of between 6 and 8 percent,

Hammer Packaging, located in the city of Rochester in New York State, USA, invested

in a brand-new VSOP web printing press from Muller Martini with nine printing

units and an additional flexo unit.

E 1972: USD 3 million E 1992: USD 19 millionE 2012: USD 105 million – A look at the turnover figures of Hammer Packaging shows how dynamically the family business, which was founded in 1912, has grown in the past decades. Sales figures grew by 20 percent in 2012, the year of the company’s 100th anniversary, and President and CEO James E. Hammer is anticipating similar growth in 2013. “The entire packaging market is experiencing a healthy growth”, says the grandson of the company founder. “Globally, growth in the shrink sleeve label segment is expected to be 6 % to 8 % annually.”

Convinced by Offset PrintingHammer Packaging entered the shrink sleeve business segment for the food and drink industry, including big-name compa-nies such as Dr Pepper, Coca-Cola, Pepsi- Cola and Minute Maid, six years ago. It did so with a VSOP, followed two years later by a second web printing press of the same type. Since these were nearing their limits in terms of capacity and Hammer Packag-ing had positive experiences with offset printing, the traditional company invested last year in a third web printing press. “As far as our business is concerned, we’re convinced by offset printing and its tried-and-tested technology,” says Jim Ham-mer. “Offset offers considerable advantag-es over rotogravure printing, not least in terms of pre-press costs.”

The Ideal Machine . . .Before opting for the new VSOP from Muller Martini, experts from Hammer Packaging performed extensive tests on the machine at Muller Martini’s Training Center Presses in Maulburg, Germany. They brought with them a special list of requirements featuring 20 items for the new printing press. “Muller Martini fulfilled virtually all our requirements

to our satisfaction and proved that the VSOP is the ideal machine for our business seg-ments,” says Hammer.

Moreover, as Hammer explains, “Muller Martini has made some important techno-logical upgrades to the VSOP.” One partic-ular innovation is modern control technol-ogy. Thanks to the application of Muller Martini control topology in the VSOP, the reliability of the machine has been in-creased and considerably fewer compo-nents are in use. That simplifies both operation and maintenance. The sleeve po-sitioning improvement in the printing units reduces wear and tear on the air shaft in the case of frequent size changes.

. . . for Long and Short RunsThe packaging printing specialists from Rochester were particularly struck during the demos in Maulburg by the versatility of the new printing press. “The VSOP can be set up quickly for new jobs, reaches a high production speed fast and enables highly efficient changeovers between long runs and short runs,” says Hammer.

The days when shrink sleeves and pack-aging labels were printed for a whole year in runs of millions of copies are long gone.

Today, there is demand for smaller, more varied print runs, enabling in particular drinks producers to compete for the atten-tion of consumers at the point of sale with 360-degree packaging or tempt them to take part in competitions. “For us, that trend has three implications,” says Ham-mer. “First, we need to print at high speed. Second, we need quick changeovers. And, third, we need to react flexibly to the wish-es of our customers.”

Unique ProductsFor that reason, as the President and CEO explains, it is ideal for Hammer Packaging, which produces for customers in North America and Mexico, that the new VSOP has a flexo unit and nine printing units, as well as hot-air and EB drying. “Thanks to the combination of offset and flexo in the same printing press, we can print unique products that our competitors cannot pro-duce in a single operation. That’s extreme-ly important to us because there’s fierce competition on the shrink sleeve market in the USA.”

In order to keep increasing its productiv-ity and be on the lookout for new produc-tion forms, Hammer Packaging, with a staff

1 James E. Hammer (right), President and CEO of Hammer Packaging: “The VSOP enables highly efficient changeovers between long and short runs.” Left: Shaun Hinchey, Web Press Technology Division Manager at Muller Martini USA.

2 Thanks to the combination of offset and flexo, Hammer Packaging prints products that competitors cannot produce in a single operation using the new VSOP.

Muller Martini Panorama Spring 2013Muller Martini Panorama Spring 2013 2928

Printing Presses Newspaper Mailroom Systems

Thanks to the application of Muller Mar-tini control topology in the VSOP, the reliability of the web printing press has been increased and considerably fewer components are in use. That simplifies both operation and maintenance. The sleeve positioning improvement in the printing units reduces wear and tear on the air shaft in the case of frequent size changes.

In addition, the friction roller between the application rollers 2 and 3 has been redesigned, resulting in improved ad-justability and higher printing quality. The fact that the machine has a central lubrication system also simplifies main-

Annual growth on the shrink sleeve market (same samples of Hammer Packaging are shown in the picture) is 6 to 8 percent.

MPC Control System Ensures Everything Runs Smoothly in the Mailroom

Amedia Trykk og Distribusjon, located in Stokke, Norway has updated its aging mailroom by

adding a ProLiner machine in addition to other modernization steps. The company’s choice once

again of Muller Martini for its newspaper inserting system, bundling station and ramp system

is closely related to the Mailroom Production Control (MPC) system.

Svein B. Sæbøe (left), Project & Strategy Manager at Amedia in Stokke: “The ProLiner ensures stable production even at high production speeds.” Right: John Jansen, Sales Manager at Muller Martini Nordic.

E Amedia Trykk og Distribusjon, founded last August as a joint venture of several dif-ferent companies, has nine printing plants, the largest of which is located in Stokke and has 92 employees, where nine daily newspapers and 24 other papers with vary-ing publication frequencies are printed in

tabloid format using two printing presses, each with two folder deliveries, and fin-ished in its mailroom on-site.

Approximately 180,000 inserts, consist-ing of advertising material, semi-advertis-ing material and editorial preprinted sec-tions, are inserted every week. “In Norway,

Innovative Electronic Control Technology

tenance. Modern and robust servo drive technology for swing arm adjustment reduces damage to the belts and sleeves during day-to-day production.

The VSOP was developed for the pro-duction of labels, flexible packaging and cardboard packaging. The Muller Marti-ni ink fountain was integrated into the VSOP to meet the highest requirements in this field, ensuring first-class printing quality. The integrated flap mechanism enables the greatest possible degree of reproducibility.

of 425, who work in three shifts in produc-tion, five days a week or, at peak times, sev-en days a week, has its own R&D team. “That means we not only provide technical support to our customers,” says Hammer. “We also research new substrates, printing inks, coatings, printing techniques and methods of application because we are constantly on the lookout for new opportu-nities. In order to grow further, we need to be an innovation leader with regard to new products, new technologies and new ma-chines, true to our company motto: ‘Listen. Learn. Lead’.”

Packaging made a swift decision to expand its existing production capacity. A 13,000 square feet new hall was completed with-in just two months. “We’re used to making quick decisions here,” says Hammer with a grin.

The new printing press was ready to be-gin operation even quicker, within less than a month. Installation began on 26 Novem-ber 2012 and before the end of the year, the first jobs for customers were produced us-ing the new VSOP, which Muller Martini can support from the factory at any time in the event of malfunctions using the MMService module MMRemote.

www.hammerpackaging.com

Popular In-mold ProductsIn addition to numerous other Hammer specialties, in-mold products at Hammer Packaging, produced using an injection mold procedure, have gained considerably in importance. The printed drink cups that fans purchase in American baseball stadi-ums and take home as souvenirs are a typ-ical example.

New Hall for New MachineIn order to take advantage of synergies by installing the new printing press next to the two existing VSOP machines, Hammer

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Newspaper Mailroom Systems

Muller Martini Panorama Spring 2013 3130 Muller Martini Panorama Spring 2013

many households have a ‘No Advertising’ sticker on their mailboxes,” says Svein B. Sæbøe, Project & Strategy Manager at Amedia in Stokke. “That’s why newspaper inserts have become more popular in re-cent years.”

Production in Stokke of both the com-pany’s own titles and newspapers for oth-er publishers runs six days a week (only Saturdays are off due to a lack of Sunday papers), 20 hours a day. During the day, the non-daily newspapers with print runs rang-ing between 2200 and 42,000 copies are printed, while 20 percent of production is dedicated to inserts. These are rolled up on FlexiRoll buffers just like the advertising in-serts delivered on pallets. The time slot from 6.30 p.m. to 3 a.m. is dedicated to dai-ly newspaper production for various pub-lishers with print runs ranging between 5000 and 40,000 copies; these papers are dispatched from Stokke to readers in the southern and eastern parts of Norway.

1 At Amedia in Stokke, Muller Martini has installed an inkjet system as part of the production chain for the first time ever.

2 Due to its complex job structure, Amedia depends on seamless production processes in its mailroom.

Tried and Tested Ramp System

In addition to the ProLiner, three News-Stack compensating stackers, three TABA F top sheet feeders and the MPC control system, the updates in machin-ery in Amedia’s mailroom in Stokke in the last two years have also included a ramp system with a NewsSorter bi- level high-performance bundle conveyor.

This system was installed over Easter in 2011 by 20 Muller Martini technicians working nonstop in two shifts to ensure that Amedia did not have to interrupt production (see “Panorama” 2/11).

“That was an exemplary installation,” recalls Project & Strategy Manager Svein B. Sæbøe. In the same breath he notes: “The NewsSorter is a very good system and has proven its worth in our demanding production processes.”

MPC Tipped the Scales“Due to our complex job structure – each day is different from the next – we depend on seamless production processes for printing and inserting,” em-phasizes Sæbøe. “That’s why we chose a solution from Muller Martini when we opened our mailroom in 1998. Having the buffer sys-tem to separate printing from finishing pro-vides us with a high degree of flexibility and reliability for production at night. It enables us to deliver 99.6 % of all newspapers in the designated time slot before 7 a.m.”

As the company’s machinery had start-ed to age, Amedia decided to renew its sys-tems step by step. “We’ve maintained good relations with Muller Martini over the years, always finding the right solution,” says Sæbøe. “However, we still performed

has made great progress compared to the predecessor control systems.”

Inkjet System in ChainThe simple, clear and flexible control sys-tem that enables processes in the mail-room to be fully controlled and monitored and presents a target/actual analysis of the production process as both a table and a graph, is especially important for Amedia for one particular reason: MPC also con-trols the inkjet system as part of the pro-duction chain that Muller Martini has in-

stalled in Stokke for the first time ever. This customized solution not only speeds up the production process but also brings great advantages with regard to maintenance of the centralized inkjet heads.

That is not the only special solution. As is the case for many newspaper publishers in the large, yet sparsely populated Scandi-navian countries, Amedia produces a large number of small key bundles down to one copy. It therefore uses a BS 21 small bun-dling station that was specially designed by Muller Martini for such ultra-small jobs.

3 A wind-up station is used for advertising inserts delivered on pallets that are rolled up on FlexiRoll buffers and later inserted into the newspapers along with the preprinted sections.

4 Amedia prints 33 different newspapers in Stokke.

This solution also removes traffic from the ramp, as the postal routes are saved in MPC and the bundles are placed in the de-livery trucks according to each route via the NewsSorter bundle conveyor (see box).

ProLiner Featuring Promo Feeder In addition to two NewsLiner machines that have been in operation for several years, a new ProLiner inserting machine from Muller Martini ensures that each newspaper leaves the plant with the cor-rect inserts. In addition to four feeders for traditional inserts such as pre-printed sec-tions and commercial work, the ProLiner, which has replaced the company’s oldest NewsLiner, features a promo feeder that can also process CDs, DVDs and coupon booklets in A6 format.

Amedia invested in a new ProLiner due to an increase in its number of inserts. That decision has paid off for two reasons, ac-cording to Sæbøe: “First, the ProLiner en-sures stable production even at high pro-duction speeds. Second, we can now insert even heavier inserts with ease.”

www.amedia.no

an extensive evaluation and examined three different manufacturers.”

According to the Project & Strategy Manager, there was one main reason for the company opting for a Muller Martini so-lution again this time: “During a presenta-tion at Muller Martini’s headquarters in Zofingen, Switzerland, we were particular-ly impressed by the Mailroom Production Control (MPC) system, as Muller Martini

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MMServices

3332

Increase Efficiency with Preventative Maintenance and Reduce Costs

Awareness of the importance of servicing has increased considerably in the graphic arts

industry. In order to show customers problem areas and (improvement) potential, experts from

Muller Martini analyze existing production systems using the standardized MMInspect service

tool. “Panorama” was on site while an eight-year-old BravoPlus saddle stitcher was thoroughly

inspected at Wachter GmbH & Co. KG in the southern German town of Bönnigheim.

E Achim Beckbissinger is one of the most experienced service technicians at Muller Martini Germany. He has installed dozens of saddle stitchers over the years and inspected and reconditioned several others. The assembly and service expert knows all the Muller Martini models like the back of his hand, from the oldtimer 321 saddle stitcher through the Bravo from the ’90s to the current Primera generation.

Alfonso Caruana can also look back on 30 years of experience with print finishing systems from Muller Martini. The Italian by birth is one of two machine operators at the BravoPlus saddle stitcher at Wachter GmbH & Co. KG – Printing/Software/Logis-tics in the southern German town of Bön-nigheim (see box on page 33). “I’ve worked with saddle stitchers from Muller Martini throughout my career,” he tells “Panora-ma” proudly.

Small Problems Add UpThe two saddle stitcher experts crossed paths at Wachter a few weeks ago. The

ten go out to customers, playing an active role.”

Jump Start at DrupaThe great interest at last year’s drupa showed that Muller Martini has got its tim-ing right. A six-year-old Prima Plus was used to demonstrate live how the saddle stitcher is analyzed and its improvement

“If we only provide printing services, then we are replaceable,” says Thomas Juros, Technical Manager at Wachter GmbH & Co. KG in Bönnigheim. For that reason the cross-media company, which was founded 61 years ago and today employs around 90 people, has its own IT department, en-abling it to offer its customers a full service for wide-ranging print jobs – from bro-chures and pamphlets to hardcover books (which are produced by external partners)

family business founded by Eugen Wachter in 1952 asked Muller Martini Germany to put the BravoPlus, which was manufac-tured in 2004, through its paces. Caruana explains that Wachter performs periodic maintenance itself, for example to the stitching heads, feeders and belts. How-ever, with the years, the need arose for a more thorough inspection of the saddle stitcher, says Thomas Juros, Technical Manager at Wachter.

“With 20 to 25 million stitching process-es per year, we work the BravoPlus, which often runs in three shifts and at the upper limit of the maximum cycle speed, ex-tremely hard. With time small problems add up, which is why we wanted to know exactly, using MMInspect, what condition the machine is currently in because main-taining production reliability is our number-one objective.

Three to five times a year, we produce a high-volume run totaling 15 million copies. Since these products are placed as inserts in newspapers, they are very time-sensi-

tive. We simply can’t afford a failure of our machines.”

Increased Service Awareness“I also take my car to be serviced every 20,000 km, rather than waiting for it to break down on the open road,” says Wolf-gang Kurz, Project Manager at Muller Mar-tini Germany. He has observed that in the graphic arts industry, awareness of the im-portance of servicing has increased consid-erably in the past few years, both among customers and at Muller Martini. Leading companies – and not only those in the au-tomobile industry – are showing the way by increasing their efficiency in a targeted way, while decreasing costs.

“Therefore we’ve significantly strength-ened this area of our business and have trained our service technicians intensively. For us this field has become an important element of our business, with all our distri-bution channels from sales personnel to service technicians, who are particularly important in this respect because they of-

Wachter GmbH & Co. KG, Bönnigheim (Germany)

and personalized mailshots, which are printed using two digital systems. “Our co-ordinated service portfolio and integrated software development in the printing house are the basis for efficient production processes, which make us a strategically valuable full-service partner,” says Juros.

The job structure in saddle stitching for customers across Germany is very varied. It ranges from 1000 to over a million cop-ies per print run. Frequent changeovers are

Using the standardized MMInspect program tool all components of the saddle stitcher, i.e. the stitching machine (1), feeder (2), cover feeder (3), three-knife trimmer (4), and compensating stacker (5), are assessed and problems and the need for spare parts are entered electronically on site (6).

therefore just as important to customers as a high degree of production stability. Wachter earlier used a 335 saddle stitcher, but in 2009 commissioned a BravoPlus, manufactured in 2004, with seven feeders and a Rapido compensating stacker. Since this often operates to capacity around the clock, Wachter also has some jobs stitched externally.

potential identified by means of various service modules. “We really struck home with this professional service presenta-tion,” says Kurz.

“Many of our customers have been pleasantly surprised that, as a long-stand-ing partner, we also take care of their older production systems. Recently we recondi-tioned a roughly 30-year-old 227 inserting

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MMServices

3534

machine. That puts customer relations on an entirely new level.”

Last May at the Muller Martini stand in Dusseldorf, more than 20 customers from Germany opted for the MMInspect package. “For me that was a clear indication that the service expertise of the machine manufac-turer is in demand and appreciated,” says Kurz.

Standardized Service ProductThat is especially true when customers benefit from a professional solution for monitoring of their machinery. While in-spections until recently were carried out in-dividually by all sales organizations, Muller Martini now offers a standardized service product with a uniform checklist under the MMInspect label (see box on page 35), which

belongs to the MMServices range. Accord-ing to Beckbissinger that benefits not only customers, but also the service techni-cians: “Earlier I had to write a detailed re-port in the office after each inspection. These days I take my laptop with me and have a special program tool for stitching machines, feeders, cover feeders, three-knife trimmers and compensating stackers, and can assess the actual condition of all components of the saddle stitcher there and then on site and can identify problems and the need for spare parts.”

The information about the machine is analyzed in an overview diagram according to pre-defined categories without any time delay. The “spider’s web” diagram pro-vides information about operator safety (Kurz notes that the value should always be

1 Following an inspection, the compiled information is evaluated – like in this example – in an overview diagram according to pre-defined categories.

2+3 Open communication between the Muller Martini service technicians and the machine operators is important at every inspection (Photos: Achim Beckbissinger from Muller Martini Germany talks with Alfonso Caruana and Ali Özkan from Wachter).

4 Wolfgang Kurz (Project Manager at Muller Martini Germany): “Many of our customers have been pleasantly surprised that, as a long-standing partner, we also take care of their older production systems.”

5 Thomas Juros (right), Technical Manager at Wachter GmbH & Co. KG: “With 20 to 25 million stitching processes per year, we work the BravoPlus, which often runs in three shifts and at the upper limit of the maximum cycle speed, extremely hard. With time small problems add up.” Right: Peter Stein, Sales Manager at Muller Martini Germany.

MMStartupExperienced specialists plan and direct new investments such as the restructuring or expansion of a plant. Service professionals ensure that commissioning is executed rapidly and that the equipment has a high level of processing reliabili-ty.

MMRepairSince even the best equipment can fail occasionally, highly qualified service engineers are on hand quickly to provide expert assis-tance. Original spare parts ensure uninterrupted, high-quality pro-duction.

MMRemoteCustomers can choose between three flexibly expandable modules according to their needs: MMHelp (24/7 support), MMRemote Access (online analysis, 24/7 support), MMRemote Online (telephone con-ference, webcam, online analysis, 24/7 support).

MMServices from Muller Martini: Wide Range of Support Services

MMUptodateRegular upgrades and updates prolong the life span of the ma-chines and ensure that they main-tain their high performance for ma-ny years.

MMInspectExperts analyze the production systems and report problem areas and (improvement) potential to the customer.

MMImproveExperienced Muller Martini ex-perts provide operating personnel with a host of tips and tricks as well as in-depth know-how.

MMSelectWith a service contract customers benefit from a comprehensive and expert Muller Martini service pro-gram.

100 percent in this category), product qual-ity, job changeover times, performance-limiting factors and the reliability of the ma-chine.

Point-by-Point ChecksMuller Martini Germany typically allows eight hours for a full saddle stitcher inspec-tion and two days for perfect binding lines, which are rather more complex. The idea is to keep the downtime as short as possible for customers. Beckbissinger runs through each point at Wachter. Good communica-tion between the Muller Martini service technicians and the machine operators is also important.

Beckbissinger, who played an important part in developing the standardized service tool, asks Caruana about problems he has noticed before the start of the inspection. As a result, he knows that he needs to pay particular attention to transfer in the sew-ing station and to the trimmer transfer in the three-knife trimmer. The infeed belts in the three-knife trimmer are a prime exam-ple, according to Kurz, of how an update can reduce set-up times and increase pro-ductivity.

Personal Consulting Following InspectionOpen and honest communication between the customer and the machine manufac-turer without taboos is important for suc-

MMServices, the global service portfolio from Muller Martini comprising seven modules, op-timizes operational and invest-ments costs, ensures productiv-ity, quality and added value, provides reliable investment protection for production ma-chinery, and maintains and in-creases the profitability of ma-chines.

Your Machine

Setup Times

Machine Peformance Reliability and Machine Safety

Personal Safety

Product Qualitycessful continued operation of the machin-ery before and during the inspection, and especially after it. “We always present our customers with the results of the inspec-tion at a personal meeting and advise them as to what repairs are urgently needed, which machine components need work in the medium term and which updates would increase productivity.”

Juros does not yet know what conclu-sions the Wachter printing house will draw from Muller Martini’s inspection report. “Whether to bring existing machinery up to date or make a new investment natural-ly depends to a great extent on the cost of reconditioning and updating the older ma-chinery.”

Gain in ImportanceHowever, there is no doubt in the mind of the Technical Manager of the family busi-ness in southern Germany that, partly ow-ing to the increasing proportion of electron-ic parts in production systems, maintenance

and servicing has grown in importance be-cause of ever tighter deadlines. “In addition to the pressure of deadlines, the quality re-quirements of our customers are also in-creasing, which is why our production sys-tems need to be in good condition.”

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Saddle Stitching Systems

3736

“Don’t Expand, Optimize Instead”

The data arrives in the morning, and the stitched products are out for delivery

by afternoon – the new Presto II saddle stitcher from Muller Martini contributes greatly

to the high level of flexibility provided by the traditional family business Tipografia

Cavalli in Tenero, Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Tessin.

The Presto II saddle stitcher which debuted at the drupa ’12 now features the tried and tested setup wizard familiar from the Prim-era models. Along with the interface to the Connex data and process management sys-tem, this feature leads to increased operat-ing comfort while greatly reducing change-over times. Since Muller Martini introduced the setup wizard at the launch of the Primera models at the drupa ’08, customers worldwide have appreciated the convenient operation of the new saddle stitcher gener-ation (see also “Panorama” 2/12). The setup

1 In operation at Tipografia Cavalli since the founding of the company in 1972: the B1 pad and booklet stitching machine from Muller Martini.

2 The simple and comfortable operation of the Presto II is a great advantage for Tipografia Cavalli when it comes to products with short print runs.

Presto II Now with Setup Wizard

wizard offers simple and practical naviga-tion. The operation is clearly structured and quickly leads to excellent production results – even when processing ultra-small sizes with an end size of 93 x 60 mm. Even rela-tively inexperienced machine operators can set up a job step by step using the in-tuitive user interface and gather, stitch, cut and stack the sections. Using pictograms, the setup wizard provides a standardized operating language – both on the central-ized and comfortable ten-inch touchscreen as well as on the local control device (HMI).

Each twin feeder is equipped with such a decentralized operation. The Presto II sad-dle stitcher, which can produce up to a maximum of 9000 cycles per hour, can now be connected to the Connex data and process management system from Muller Martini. The setup wizard reads all informa-tion relevant to production from the JDF file sent by the Management Information Sys-tem (MIS) via Connex. Orders can be sent to the saddle stitcher from the MIS as a JDF file, and production data is transferred to the MIS in real time as JMF messages.

ning,” Fausto Cavalli explains the flextime model that is based on trust.

Continuous InvestmentsTipografia Cavalli’s flextime model is not the only modern aspect of the company; its machinery is also state of the art. “In line with our company’s motto ‘don’t expand, optimize instead’, we continually invest in

E Tipografia Cavalli, with a mere 13 em-ployees, is a perfect example how a small business can be successful in the graphic arts market even in difficult times thanks to its high level of flexibility. “This means, however, that we need to be able to quick-ly respond to our customers’ needs at all times,” says Fausto Cavalli, who still runs the company four decades its foundation in 1972.

Three GenerationsIt can happen regularly that a job comes in during the morning and the finished print-ed products are delivered in the afternoon on the same day. This of course requires a great amount of flexibility from employees. “Our success is based largely on our excel-lent working atmosphere,” says the com-pany’s head with some pride. For example, practically every employee completed an apprenticeship at Tipografia Cavalli and then remained with the traditional family business. Moreover, no time clock is used

by the staff, which also includes Fausto Ca-valli’s daughters Micaela and Tiziana as well as Tiziana’s son Simone, who as the first representative of the family’s third generation at the company is completing an apprenticeship to become a printer. “Our employees know exactly when there is a lot to be done, and they can therefore go home early when fewer jobs are run-

new production systems,” emphasizes Cavalli. For example, the full-service com-pany also has two digital printing presses in operation in addition to two four-color sheet-fed offset printing presses. As a re-placement for a saddle stitcher from anoth-er manufacturer, since last September Tipografia Cavalli has been using one of the world’s first Presto II saddle stitchers, which Muller Martini presented for the first time to the public at the most recent drupa trade fair (see box).

The Deciding Factor Is Fast Setup Times“A fast setup of the saddle stitcher is much more crucial for us than high production

speeds,” comments Cavalli on his decision in favor of the Presto II. Brochures, maga-zines, leaflets and numerous other com-mercial products are printed mostly in A4, A5 and A6 format predominantly for cus-tomers in the canton of Tessin, the Ger-man-speaking regions of Switzerland as well as neighboring Italy usually in print runs between 500 and 50,000 copies. “Whenever we are stitching orders with short print runs, the simple and comfort-able operation of the Presto II becomes a great advantage for us,” says Cavalli.

In addition, the new saddle stitcher with three twin feeders (one of which is tilt-back), the Semko lateral thickness mea-surement, the three-knife trimmer and the

shingle delivery do not have an exclusive machine operator. An essential part of the level of flexibility provided by Tipografia Cavalli, which has also had a B1 pad stitch-ing machine from Muller Martini in opera-tion for the last forty years, is based in the fact that its employees are able to operate several different machines. Indeed, they learned to run the new Presto II on site af-ter receiving just a few brief instructions.

All Types of Signature OpeningsThere is also an important technical advan-tage provided by the new saddle stitcher: The Presto II, which can also stitch digital-ly printed products, can handle all types of signature openings. For example, Tipogra-fia Cavalli can now open signatures in low and high folio laps, and it is also possible to use the suction opening.

Cavalli is in no doubt “that we have strengthened our market position with this new investment. Due to the higher level of production security, I can now take on jobs with greater volumes without worry. Every now and then we also process jobs with print runs of up to 250,000 copies.”

www.tipografiacavalli.ch

3 Company founder Fausto Cavalli (second from left), next to his daughters Micaela Cavalli Scanzi and Tiziana Cavalli as well as Tiziana’s son Simone, who works as a printer apprentice, in front of the new Presto II saddle stitcher at Tipografia Cavalli in Tenero. Peter Egli (left), Sales Manager at Muller Martini Switzerland.

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Belgium Is a Primera Country

Within a very short period of time, 13 Primera saddle stitchers have been installed in Belgium,

a country with a population of only 11 million. “Panorama” visited six Belgian customers

in search of the secret to the success of this Muller Martini saddle stitcher known for its simple

operation and fast changeover times.

“Solar Printing”

The innovative capacity of Delabie s.a. in Mouscron is not limited to its new ma-chinery and printed products, but also to the use of alternative sources of ener-gy. The roof of the facilities and open parking lots are covered with solar pan-els, making it the largest solar plant in Belgium’s Walloon Region.

The gigantic photovoltaic system produces 1600 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity per year, of which 1100 MWh is used for the printing facil-ities. Overall, it needs 2400 MWh to run its systems, which means that Delabie produces 46 percent of its energy needs itself. This is quite an impressive propor-tion, considering the fact that the European Union has set the goal of 20 percent by 2020. On weekends and hol-idays, 500 MWh is fed into the power grid. With this, Delabie s.a. has defini-tively earned its “Green Printing” label.

1 Given its changing range of products, the new Primera is the ideal solution for De Cuyper.

2 The new Primera at Moderna now produces the same amount of printed products that were previously stitched using two machines.

3 With the largest solar plant in Belgium’s Walloon Region, Delabie s.a. produces 46 percent of the energy its needs for its printing facilities itself.

4 In addition to the Primera saddle stitcher, VD also uses an Acoro A5 perfect binder from Muller Martini.

5 Jan Stals (Machine Operator at Hendrix NV): “Setting up eyelet stitching on the Primera is much faster – particularly when using four eyelets.”

6 Philippe Geers (Co-owner and Managing Director of Geers Offset): “By finishing every-thing in-house, we have optimized our workflow and increased our added value.”

Three Important Success FactorsProducing existing jobs more cost-effec-tively is one thing; opening up new market opportunities is another. “Today, we are able to take on more jobs than we used to, allowing us to achieve greater added val-ue,” says Wim Hendrix, Co-owner and Pro-duction Manager at Hendrix NV.

As company owners, production man-agers and machine operators all point out, simple operation, short changeover times as well as the stable production at the high speeds on the Primera enable significantly higher production levels.

E Simple Operation: Thanks to the setup wizard, setting up jobs is extremely sim-ple. “Even inexperienced machine oper-ators can quickly learn to operate the saddle stitcher,” says Steven Mondy, Head of Print Finishing at Delabie s.a. Wim Hendrix wanted to experience the philosophy behind operating the Prim-era first hand, and attended a four-day course at the Muller Martini Training Center in Switzerland. “First, I wanted to see for myself what the machine can re-ally do, and second, I also wanted to know just as much about the saddle stitcher as our machine operators.” Ac-cording to Wim Hendrix, not only is it more convenient to operate the ma-chine, but the short distances also make it more comfortable for the machine op-erators: “For me, ergonomics is more about legs than arms.”

E The three graphic arts businesses Dela-bie s.a. in Mouscron, Hendrix NV in Peer and Geers Offset in Gent-Oostakker all had the same problem. Due to capacity bottle-necks in print finishing, they were forced to outsource the stitching of a part of their in-creasing print job volume. Their production processes obviously suffered as a result –

particularly given the increasingly tighter deadlines that are demanded by their cus-tomers.

Increased Added ValueThat is why the three companies – in addi-tion to ten other graphic arts businesses in Belgium in recent years – have invested in

a Primera saddle stitcher from Muller Mar-tini. According to Co-owner and Managing Director Philippe Geers, with this solution Geers Offset killed two birds with one stone: “By finishing everything in-house, we have optimized our workflow and in-creased our added value. Customers aren’t the only ones pleased by the fast produc-

tion times, as they are also a factor in labor costs.”

This is one aspect that, according to Hans Delabie, owner and CEO of Delabie s.a., played the most important role in the decision to make an investment: “Thanks to the Primera, we improved the cost-effi-ciency of our production by scaling down from three to two shifts.” Or as Eric Bon-gaerts, Owner and CEO of Moderna in Paal-Beringen, puts it: “We can now finish sev-eral jobs per shift.”

“Domino Effect”

Three questions for Luc Sonck and Xavier Haegeman from Muller Martini Benelux on the success story of the Primera saddle stitcher in Belgium.

“Panorama”: You have sold 13 Primera saddle stitchers in just a short time in your country, which has a population of only 11 million. How has Belgium be-come a “Primera Country”?Luc Sonck (Sales Manager at Muller Martini Benelux) and Xavier Haegeman (Product Manager at Muller Martini Benelux): It certainly was a domino effect. Here in Belgium, there are a lot of family businesses, and they observe one another

of course, always on the lookout for new trends. In this way, the Primera impressed one customer after another. In addition, many of our customers were able to con-duct successful tests with their products at the Muller Martini Training Center in Swit-zerland, which of course helped to con-vince them to make a new investment.

In addition to the convincing tests, are there any other success factors?Almost all the Primera machines were in-stalled at graphic arts businesses that print and finish their products simultaneously. A few of these companies used to have to outsource their print products due to a lack

of capacity. The Primera eliminates this problem, and they have much more flexi-bility and can switch seamlessly from the printing press to the saddle stitcher.

What kind of feedback have you re-ceived from your customers regarding the new Primera?Many of them simply say, “It is the best in-vestment I ever made.” They continue to rave about the great advantages of the Primera, which include simple operation (which is particularly important if they have inexperienced machine operators), fast changeovers, stable production, and high net output.

E Fast Setup Times: On a Friday recent-ly, Marco De Ridder, owner and CEO of VD in Temse was able to see just how fast the changeover times are on the Primera. “We had to complete twelve jobs in six hours before the weekend – each one with a different format. This can only be done using a Primera. We

Location: MouscronDate of foundation: 1964Number of employees: 100Homepage: www.delabie.beFocus of production: Catalogs, insert brochures (often very thin), folders, personalized direct mails (with perforations and adhesives)Muller Martini saddle stitchers (2): Primera C140, Prima S (plus a model from another manu-facturer)Why we chose the new Primera C140: “Since our two existing saddle stitchers were running at full capacity and we were forced to outsource jobs, we wanted to expand our capacities. After com-missioning a second MAN Rotoman in November 2013 (after the first new Rotoman in January 2010), we’ll be able to produce all of our print prod-ucts in-house. Moreover, we improved the cost-ef-ficiency of our production by scaling down from three to two shifts.” (Hans Delabie, Owner and Managing Director)What we particularly like about the Primera C140: “It ensures stable production even at high speeds. This is particularly important for us, be-cause certain jobs require us to produce at high speeds. The feeder shaker for loosening the signa-tures ensures that they are fed into the machine smoothly, preventing malfunctions.” (Hans Delabie)Working with the Primera C140 day in and day out: “Thanks to the setup wizard, setting up jobs is extremely simple. Even for inexperienced ma-chine operators, it is easy to learn how to operate the saddle stitcher.” (Steven Mondy, Head of Print Finishing)

Left: Hans Delabie (Owner and CEO), right: Xavier Haegeman (Product Manager at Muller Martini Benelux).

Location: PeerDate of foundation: 1937Number of employees: 45Homepage: www.drukkerijhendrix.beFocus of production: Brochures, (glossy) maga-zinesMuller Martini saddle stitchers (2): Primera C140, PrimaWhy we chose the new Primera C140: “As we previously had to outsource many jobs to other companies, we decided to invest in a second sad-dle stitcher. We chose the Primera based on our long-standing partnership with Muller Martini – in particular the technicians – and we have had very good experiences with the Prima saddle stitcher.” (Wim Hendrix, Co-owner and Head of Production)What we particularly like about the Primera C140: “There are three major advantages that come to my mind. First, we can now switch from one job to the next much faster. Second, the air in-take in the feeders ensures seamless production flows. Third, the three-knife trimmer with its con-venient start/stop function is significantly easier to operate.” (Wim Hendrix) Working with the Primera C140 day in and day out: “Switching from one-up to two-up production is very fast. And the quality of the end products has increased considerably. For example, there are no markings on the Primera.” (Jan Stals, Machine Operator)

Left: Wim Hendrix (Co-owner and Head of Production), right: Jan Stals (Machine Operator).

Location: Paal-BeringenDate of foundation: 1947Number of employees: 85Homepage: www.moderna.beFocus of production: Brochures/catalogs/maga-zines (80 %), leaflets (15 %), inserts (5 %) Muller Martini saddle stitchers (2): Primera C140, Tempo 22Why we chose the new Primera C140: “To put it somewhat simply, for us it really was like ‘killing two birds with one stone’, in view of the increased productivity in the medium saddle stitcher output range. We replaced two older Muller Martini mod-els, a Prima and a BravoPlus, with a fully automat-ed Primera line. Just as with our Tempo 22 high performance saddle stitcher, it is completed by a stream feeder and a Cohiba palletizer.” (Eric Bongaerts, Owner and CEO)What we particularly like about the Primera C140: “As far as I know, the Primera is the saddle stitcher that enables the fastest changeovers on the market, and we have reduced our changeover times as a result. Our new Primera now produces the same amount of printed products that were previously stitched using two machines.” (Eric Bongaerts)Working with the Primera C140 day in and day out: “In terms of how user-friendly our new sad-dle stitcher is, one of the greatest advantages is the option to save the settings for each product. This allows us to save time compared to our two previous models, as we have numerous repeat jobs.” (Eric Bongaerts)

Owner and CEO Eric Bongaerts (right) talks with Xavier Haegeman (Product Manager at Muller Martini Benelux).

Location: TemseDate of foundation: 1996Number of employees: 40Homepage: www.drukkerijvd.beFocus of production: Extensive range of commer-cial products, brochures, and magazinesMuller Martini saddle stitchers (1): Primera C140Why we chose the new Primera C140: “As most of our jobs have print runs between 2000 and 5000 copies, we have to change over our saddle stitch-ers eight to ten times a day. That’s why the Prim-era stood out with its unique setup times. We were also very satisfied with the Bravo and have contin-ued to have a good relationship with Muller Marti-ni for many years now.” (Marco De Ridder, Owner and CEO)What we particularly like about the Primera C140: “Most definitely the short changeover times of the whole system – including the three-knife trimmer. We need just five minutes to pre-pare for a new job. And then there is of course the high degree of reliability of the system. But this is nothing new; we already got used to it with the Bravo . . .” (Marco De Ridder)Working with the Primera C140 day in and day out: “Since the setup steps are completed auto-matically on the machine, allowing our excellent machine operator, who has experience with three generations of Muller Martini saddle stitchers, to work even more effectively, we now produce in one shift what many others usually manage in two shifts.” (Marco De Ridder)

Left: Owner and CEO Marco De Ridder, right: Luc Sonck (Sales Manager at Muller Martini Benelux).

Location: Gent-OostakkerDate of foundation: 1920Number of employees: 190Homepage: www.geers-offset.beFocus of production: Everything from picture postcards to art books; saddle stitching: mostly magazinesMuller Martini saddle stitchers (3): Primera C140, PrimaPlus, PrimaWhy we chose the new Primera C140: “First and foremost, it was a question of capacities. We previously had to outsource many jobs for stitch-ing. Now we can finish everything inhouse. That is good for our internal workflow as well as the ac-counting department. The high level of automation on the Primera particularly becomes an advantage especially if the machine operators have little ex-perience with the machine.” (Philippe Geers, Co-owner and Managing Director)What we particularly like about the Primera C140: “In addition to the fast setup times, the op-tion to produce small formats, of which we now have a lot, in two-up production, which of course saves a lot of time. Another really practical feature is the ability to interrupt a larger job to complete a smaller one without losing a lot of time to set it up.” (Johan Goosens, Machine Operator)Working with the Primera C140 day in and day out: “We have quite a lot of repeat jobs, and as we are able to save the settings for these jobs on the Commander, we don’t have to reenter the data each time. I also like the new stitching heads which allow us to use a thin stitching wire even for thick-er products.” (Hans van Acker, Machine Operator)

From right: Philippe Geers (Co-owner and Managing Director), Hans van Acker and Johan Goosens (Machine Operators).

Location: ZeleDate of foundation: 1905Number of employees: 50Homepage: www.decuyper.beFocus of production: Periodicals (50 %), folders/direct mails (50 %)Muller Martini saddle stitchers (1): Primera C130Why we chose the new Primera C130: “As we previously had jobs with large volumes, we used a Tempo high performance saddle stitcher for sever-al years. That is a really good machine – but it was no longer ideal for the changing range of products with many different jobs with 20,000/30,000 cop-ies. That is why we needed a new solution with faster changeover times.” (Chris Reyniers, CEO)What we particularly like about the Primera C130: “Production deadlines for periodicals are getting tighter and tighter. As a result, we don’t have time to combine similar formats when print-ing. As we often have to change between A4 and A5 on the saddle stitcher, the Make Ready system on the Primera is a great advantage.” (Philippe Van Hecke, Assistant Production Manager)Working with the Primera C130 day in and day out: “Let me give you an example of one of our pe-riodicals with 32 to 64 pages and a print run of 35,000 copies: The deadline for purchasing adver-tisements was 5:00 p.m., we received the data at 8:00 p.m., started printing at midnight, stitching began at 6 in the morning and we delivered by 10:00 a.m. There is no room for error on the Primera – especially as it is our only saddle stitcher.” (Chris Reyniers)

From left: Chris Reyniers (CEO), Philippe Van Hecke (Assistant Production Manager), Luc Sonck (Sales Manager at Muller Martini Benelux).


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Delabie s.a. Drukkerij Hendrix NV Drukkerij Moderna Drukkerij VD Drukkerij Geers Offset Drukkerij De Cuyper

now finish a lot of jobs just in time com-pared to before.” With the growing fre-quency of switches between different formats necessitated by increasing time pressure, short setup times are becom-ing more and more important, accord-ing to Philippe Van Hecke, Assistant Pro-duction Manager at De Cuyper in Zele. “The fast Make Ready system on the Primera is a great advantage for us.

E Stable Production: According to Eric Bongaerts, just as important as fast changeover times is the fact “that the

Primera starts fast, quickly reaches the desired production speed and provides stable production.” A high level of reli-ability is of course very important for De Cuyper as well, “especially as we have only one saddle stitcher, and are re-quired to have a higher net output given the falling prices in our industry” (Chris Reyniers, CEO at De Cuyper).

Time and QualityProductivity is increased not only by the ability to change settings on the fly as well as two-up production, but also by being

able to save job settings in the Command-er. “As we have a lot of repeat jobs, this tool is a great benefit to us,” comment Philippe Geers and Chris Reyniers. VD has fewer re-peat jobs, “but a lot of similar jobs, so we often need to retrieve the saved job set-tings,” says Marco De Ridder.

Fast production is one thing, but raising the bar for quality is a completely different matter. According to Eric Bongaerts, con-trol systems such as the Asir 3 ensure the correct sequence of the signatures, and as a result, says Hans Delabie, at the end of the production chain, the three-knife trim-

mer provides a perfect trim, leaving no page unturned.

Simple ScoringThe magic wheel is just as important as the cover feeder. “Scoring has become much easier as a result,” says Johan Goosens, Machine Operator at Geers Offset. In addi-tion, the new cover feeder on the Primera can process larger formats than previous saddle stitcher models.

The Primera also offers new possibilities with regard to stitching. “With the Primera, our service range now features eyelet

stitching, and we were able to promptly es-tablish a customer base for this,” says Eric Bongaerts. Hendrix NV had previously of-fered eyelet stitching also with previous saddle stitchers. “However, the Primera can be set up much faster – particularly when using four eyelets,” says Machine Operator Jan Stals.


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In memoriam

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Hans Müller (1916–2013)

Hans Müller, founder of

the Muller Martini Group

and pioneer in machine

construction for the graphic

arts industry has died

at the age of 96 in Zofingen

(Switzerland).

E What started out in 1946 with the first pad and booklet stitching machine devel-oped by Hans Müller gave rise to a global corporate group that enjoys outstanding international renown. Today, innovative system solutions and services from Muller Martini on all continents enable printing houses and finishing companies to posi-tion themselves successfully in the graph-ic arts market.

Pioneering MilestonesMany Muller Martini machines still bear the hallmark of company founder Hans Müller, a trailblazer who set several milestones for

the industrial production of print products. Five years after the first pad stitching ma-chine, he designed his first perfect binder, followed by the first saddle stitcher with automatic signature feeders, coupled with a three-knife trimmer in 1954. While the competition at that time could stitch at most 1000 copies per hour, the new fully automated machine quadrupled that rate and even offered improved quality thanks to Hans Müller’s technical expertise.

In 1956, he astounded the graphic arts industry with “flying stitching heads”, which for the first time stitched without stop and go, enabling a further significant

increase in production speed. Then, in the 1960s he entered the newspaper deliv-ery industry with a stacker program de-signed to meet the needs of newspaper publishers.

Present at the First Drupa in 1951Hans Müller recognized early the great im-portance of trade fairs. In 1951, he was one of the 527 exhibitors who took part in the very first drupa in Düsseldorf. A year later, he caused quite a stir at the Mustermesse in Basel, Switzerland with a BSA automat-ic brochure saddle stitcher. Since the first drupa, Muller Martini has surprised trade fair visitors with innumerable world pre-mieres.

With the founding of the Grapha print-ing press factory in Maulburg, Germany (1964), the integration of Martini AG in the Swiss village of Felben (1969) and of VBF

Many Muller Martini machines still bear the hallmark of company founder Hans Müller, a trailblazer who set several crucial milestones for the industrial production of print products.

Buchtechnologie in the German town of Bad Mergentheim (1998), and the develop-ment of a worldwide sales and service net-work, the group consolidated its position as the leading system provider in the graph-ic arts industry.

The Customer Is Most ImportantThe company’s success was based on the constant focus Hans Müller placed on the needs of customers over the years. “I’m happy that I’ve managed to provide our dis-cerning customers with innovative and market-driven solutions in the form of our machines. Some solutions were developed in response to suggestions by customers and in close cooperation with them,” he said in an interview in 2006 with the Muller Martini employee magazine “Intern” on the occasion of his company’s 60th anniversa-ry. Another important factor for success

was the high esteem in which the compa-ny holds its employees. “I find it highly gratifying that I could provide many people with interesting tasks.”

It is indicative of Hans Müller’s deep commitment to the company and its em-ployees that he showed up almost daily at his office at the Muller Martini head office in Zofingen even at an advanced age and remained active behind the scenes. With Hans Müller’s passing, the world has lost a pioneer who shaped the graphic arts indus-try for decades.

1 Hans Müller worked on the designs for his products around the clock, often sketching his designs on newspaper or packaging paper.

2 In 1952, Hans Müller caused quite a stir at the Mustermesse in Basel, Switzerland, with a BSA automatic brochure saddle stitcher.

3 The legendary B1 pad and booklet stitching machine was the first chapter in Muller Martini’s corporate history. It is still used by graphic arts businesses such as Tipografia Cavalli in the Swiss canton of Tessin (see article on page 36).

4 In 1956, Hans Müller astounded the graphic arts industry with “flying stitching heads” (pictured here on the Junior saddle stitcher), which for the first time stitched without stop and go, enabling a further significant increase in production speed.

5 With the Rotorbinder, Hans Müller rode the increasing trend of moving away from saddle stitching toward perfect binding in the 1950s.

6 The Pony perfect binder, which was unveiled at the drupa 1962, was used for short print runs by numerous graphic arts businesses.

Fit for future markets.

MMStartup Project management – Comprehensive consultation for all needs Installation and commissioning – For a high level of process reliability Machine relocations – Help with organizing the complete machine relocation

MMRepair Repair service – Professionally carried out by service specialists Spare parts – Instant availability of more than 30,000 items from stock

MMRemote Telephone support – 24/7 hotline for technical issues and spare parts ordering Remote services – Fast online troubleshooting, leading to a reduction in downtime costs

MMUptodate Increase the added value of your equipment with regular updates

MMInspect Inspection – Comprehensive analysis and extensive function testing Maintenance – 12 months’ guarantee on all service work included in the maintenance contracts

MMImprove Training – Competent training at your site or at Muller Martini Production support – Consultation on efficiency enhancing measures

MMSelect Service contract – Efficient life cycle management for a high level of reliability and availability of your machines

MMServices – Muller Martini Services at a Glance

www.mullermartini.com, Phone: +41 (0)62 745 45 75

Documents

Muller Martini Panorama, 2013, Spring