Muller Martini Panorama, 2011, Fall by Polygraphimport Webman

The magazine for Muller Martini customers

Fall 2011

The Diamant MC Digital and Diamant MC Hybrid Book Lines Offer the Highest Levels of Efficiency and Flexibility for Very Short Runs

Editorial

The Dawn of a New Era in Book Production

Stefan Zürcher, Head of Marketing and Sales Muller Martini Bookbinding Systems AG

E Changes have been implemented in the book market that are sure to be here for a long time. Electronic media have an almost magical power of attraction, especially for the younger generation, and new priorities in how we use media are clear for all to see. Although E-books do not look to be replacing the printed book, they are still establishing a firm position in the book market – for more on this, turn to the Forum article on page 4 of this issue. You don't need to be a market researcher to be able to make these predictions – all you have to do is open your eyes and observe the market. The changes that have occurred in book production in recent years have not been affected by the economic crisis of the past two or three years as much as we initially thought. Instead, they are more the result of a sustainable restructuring of the market. For book producers, the new state of affairs has had a wide range of effects, e.g. print runs are becoming ever smaller and

clients are requesting increasingly shorter production times. Thanks to the new digital printing technologies, book producers are now able to accommodate the changed demands of the market. There are two main points of focus here: Established book producers are supplementing their offset machinery with digital printing presses with the corresponding finishing processes, with the aim of producing small to medium-size runs more cost-effectively. Offset substitution is the current hot topic. In addition to machine technology, another area of great importance in this process is the production workflow – from order intake all the way through to delivery. If book producers enter the digital printing market using outdated offset printing processes, they will not reach the level of success they are striving for. A second market is that of ultra-short runs to runs of 1. In the USA, there are already multiple facilities that churn out more than 20,000 books each day, with an average run size between 1 and 2. This market is currently growing at a double-digit pace and will also establish itself in other regions. The main driving force behind this is changes to the value-added chain – publishers are reducing the size of or closing their storage facilities, and printers are supplying the end customers or booksellers directly. Online booksellers print on demand, releasing the publishers from the burden of storage costs and the risk of over-production. “We are increasingly becoming a virtual storage facility for large publishing

houses and smaller publishers with a wide range of additional services,” explains Mitch Weiss, Vice President of Sales at Offset Paperback Manufacturers Inc, the largest American book manufacturer (see article on page 32). There is no foreseeable end to this development. It is clear that ultrashort runs will continue to increase in popularity and become a fixed section of the market structure. On the technology front, there are two key themes for this development – machine and network automation is absolutely necessary, and the ability to change sizes within the shortest of time frames is a must. Even more important is the implementation of electronic workflow, in order to be able to handle the large volume of incoming orders. Data management will become a core competency of book manufacturers. Muller Martini is also finding these changes to be far-reaching, as they require new concepts and solutions. Our laser blue machines feature the highest level of automation and represent the ideal starting point from which to approach the challenges of digital printing. We have been working on digital workflow solutions since 2002 and now have a range of fully integrated digital printing systems in operation. The experience we have gained from these projects is incredibly valuable. The changes mentioned at the outset are the start of a long journey for our industry, but there are still many developments that need to be made by book and machine manufacturers. It is not just short-term projects that are important here, but long-term partnerships all the more so. We look forward to accompanying you on your journey! Yours sincerely

Stefan Zürcher, Head of Marketing and Sales Muller Martini Bookbinding Systems AG Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Contents

Imprint

Volume 26 Muller Martini “Panorama” Editor Dr. Markus Angst markus.angst@ch.mullermartini.com Publisher Muller Martini Marketing AG Untere Brühlstrasse 13 CH-4800 Zofingen, Switzerland Telephone +41 62 745 45 75 Fax +41 62 751 55 50 www.mullermartini.com Publication frequency Appears three times a year in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish editions. Reproduction with reference to source is permitted. Printed in Switzerland.

Sales and Service Muller Martini Ltd. Ridgeway Industrial Estate Iver, Buckinghamshire SLO 9JQ Phone Iver 0845 345 3588 Telefax 65 56 58 (Std Code 01753) info@gb.mullermartini.com www.mullermartini.co.uk Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

8 The Photo Book Specialist Albumprinter is Increasing Production Year After Year, and Relies on the Diamant MC Digital Photo Book Line.

20 Brazil’s Graphic Arts Industry is Growing at Twice the Rate of the Country’s Gross Domestic Product.

34 3 x HP + 3 x SigmaLine + 1 x Acoro – the Courier Corporation is Highly Flexible in Production Thanks to its Digital Solutions.

Forum Hardcover – Thanks to New Technology, Books Stay Bright and Attractive

Hardcover Production Albumprinter, Amsterdam – A Photo Book Pioneer with an Impressive Company History

Softcover Production Helbich, Brno – The New Pantera Perfect Binder Optimizes Processes alfaPRINT, Martin – The Pantera Has Increased Productivity by 1,600 Percent Kasico, Bratislava – When the Ministry Insists on PUR for Text Books Koller & Kunesch, Wattens – The Bolero Strengthens the Austrian Bookbinding Industry Grafica Brasil, Brazil – The Acoro A5 at the Heart of Print Finishing Editora Abril, São Paulo – Keeping Perfect Rhythm with the Bolero

11 12 13 14 16 18

BRIC Series Brazil – New Categories of Buyers Stimulate Growth in the Graphic Arts Industry

News

Saddle Stitching Systems Craft, Brisbane – Successful Company Strategy Leads to Investment in New Systems AGS, Novara – The Primera C130 Significantly Reduces Downtime Slovenská, Bratislava – The Primera E140 Proves Its Worth in the Field

26 28 30

Digital Solutions OPM, Laflin – Ten Jobs on the SigmaLine for One Machine Operator Courier, North Chelmsford – From Three SigmaLines to the Acoro A7

32 34

Newspaper Mailroom Systems Edda Trykk, Stokke – Installation of a New Loading Dock System in Four Days “Daily News”, Bangkok – Two ProLiners Make Their Asian Debut

37 38

Printing Presses Metro Label, Toronto – New Alprinta 74V for Shrink Sleeves and In-Mold Labels Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron Bordeaux – The Niche Market of (Bank-)Checks

41 42

Press Delivery Systems OZ Druck, Cologne – A Powerful Press Delivery System is Required

Services Increasing Machine Availability with Retrofits and Training

Forum

Books will remain vital and attractive – thanks to new technologies Since the time of Gutenberg books were the predominant media. In the course of time the media landscape expanded – newspapers, radio, movies, TV, audiobook-CD, the internet and e-books were added. Digitally available information can be read on the computer, e-book reading device, smartphone or tablet. With this abundance the question remains if and how the printed book can survive.

E In the industrialized nations the revenue of published products changed very little in the past years. In fact, total sales increased slightly in the German book trade from 9.159 million Euro in 2005 to 9.691 million in 2009. In 2009 the market breakdown was 70.5 percent hardcover books,

25.2 percent softcover books and 4.3 percent audio books. In France, the book market developed similarly. There, the number of books sold during the same period climbed from 460 million to 464.5 million. In emerging countries the sales volume in part increased sig-

nificantly. This is essentially due to increased demands for educational and text books, but also for fictional literature, nonfictional and children’s books. Books are far from being outdated. Also at the start of the 21st century, the growth rate is increasing worldwide, nevertheless

In emerging countries more and more children are going to school and learn from books.

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

The Diamant MC Digital was developed for photo books, with sequential change-over.

changes are inevitable. These are influenced by new media and mainly concern the production of books. New Media find there place For years, it has been widely predicted and feared that the electronic book could replace the printed book. To date, this has not occurred. In 2010 about 1.5 percent of books sold in Germany were e-books and 3 percent in the United States. This data will surely increase and the electronic book will find its place similar to the audio book. Its share of total revenue in the German book trade in 2003 was 2.8 percent. This share rose steadily to 4.8 percent in 2007 where it remained unchanged in 2008 and declined in 2009 to 4.3 percent. The audio book will most likely level off in the area of 5 percent. The audio book enriches the me-

dia landscape without jeopardizing the printed book. A similar development is possible for the e-book probably with a slightly higher share. Change in production A more dynamic change is taking place in the area of book production – invisible to the consumer. More and more productions are shifting away from conventional to digital printing. It allows small inventory with high availability. Since the first digital printing press with a signature width of more than one meter was introduced to the market in March 2011, it is clear that digital printing can also conquer the book production. Already with the existing machines the triumph of digital printing has enabled new applications in the area of books. Two areas are particularly significant: photo Reading takes you to new worlds, as pictured on this sign for a polish reading promotion campaign.

Digital printing opens up new book applications The change from 35 mm film to digital photos opened up new possibilities. In the first years the images were mainly viewed on a screen. About 10 years ago the first photo books entered the market and business is booming ever since. The internet became popular about the same time and increased supply and demand. Due to improved software it became easier for everyone to create photo books. Processing and data transmission are now carried out rapidly.

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Photo books have become popular gifts in many countries and hold precious memories for millions of people. Weddings and vacations are the most popular topics. It is estimated that in 2010 in the United States over 20 million photo books were sold. In Europe the amount was only slightly less and the boom continues. The growth rates are not as high anymore as in the first years but still double digits. At Albumprinter, a photo book producer in the Netherlands,

who was the first in Europe to offer photo books via the internet, the revenue, from 2003 to 2007, climbed a gigantic 22,000 percent and, in 2010, still reached a plus of 35 percent (see article on page 8). Not only images can be added to photo books but also words. That way a self-written poem, short stories or memories can be quasi “self-published” in a “photo book”.

Forum

New equipment for new types of production To produce short runs of digitally printed books economically; machines are needed that recognize the characteristics of such productions from the start. For hardcover, Mueller Martini developed the photo bookline Diamant MC Digital based on the successful Diamant MC bookline. It adapts to small changes of book thicknesses; at bigger changes it adjusts itself automatically – without stopping the production. The tandem headbanding station and the variable case feeding system further automate the production. The commercial production of photo books is herewith a reality. The Diamant MC Hybrid combines all possibilities of the classical Diamant MC with the ones of the Diamant MC Digital and therefore offers the highest flexibility. Rolf Kanzler, Bookbindery Manager at fgb, is convinced that getting into the production of digitally printed books will pay off. The company in Freiburg, Germany entered into the digital book production – from the digital printing press to the thread sewing machine and the bookline, fgb offers now a whole variety in digital print which previously was only offered in offset print. Rolf Kanzler has a lot of requests from publishers and the new equipment will be busy from the start. Until now for sewn hardcover there were no production possibilities for small runs. That is now changing.

books and short runs of publishing productions. Digital printing is ideal for short runs and reprints For years, the variety of titles is on the rise, however, the circulation sizes are declining. Digital printing is not only accommodating this trend but also encourages it. Due to lower costs for small and very small runs publishers can publish titles whose success is not clear from the outset or those which only cater to a smaller audience. Especially reference books and scientific publications have a chance to be available in print. Publishers can still offer titles even if they are not asked for very often. A small inventory is sufficient; books are quickly available on demand. Oliver Schimek, CEO of the digital print manufacturer “Digital Print Group” in Germany mentions that his business with publishers doubled since 2006. He reports that 60 percent thereof are reprints, 30 percent first editions and 10 percent pre-samples. Easier revision We publish today already 5 percent of our titles digitally printed. However, only a few are hardcover, as digital printing or special printing on demand so far is not offered in combination with lightweight stock and thread sewing,” states Dr. Rolf Jaeger, Pro-

duction Director for the scientific publishing houses of the Oldenbourg Group. “But we have high hopes for digital and the percentage will rise considerably in the coming years.” “We rarely have unchanged reprints,” says Jaeger. “The textbooks are revised and published in new editions. The average ranges between 200 and 3,000 copies and so far are produced with offset printing.” Diverse forms of media The textbook publishing group Huethig Jehle Rehm (Germany) has primarily looseleaf, but also newspaper, softcover and hardcover in their program. As per Production Director Rainer Donhausen, 70 percent of the available titles are in a XML-data structure and can therefore easily be published in diverse media forms. Digital print is predominantly used in the areas of loose-leaf and softcover and so far very rarely for hardcover. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, one of the major publishers in German speaking countries with authors like Heinrich Boell, J.M.G. Le Clezio and Nick Hornby, releases annually 120 to 140 new books. At initial print runs of 5000 to 50.000 copies digital print is no subject. However, stresses Monika Koenig, Production Director of the publishing house: “I can very well imagine that in a few years next to the print production which will always be there, some titles will Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

only be available electronically and can be printed digitally on demand. First editions digital In the United States most publishers meanwhile keep their inventory rigorously small and get digital reprints. There, the digitally printed share of hardcover books is estimated at 10 percent. In Scandinavia and Finland where the language populations are relatively small and books were always produced in small runs, more and more first editions are printed digitally. There, the digital print share for hardcover is located already at 15 to 20 percent.

Vital and attractive Reading books is educational, suspenseful and promotes communicative competence. Reading promotion programs like in Germany “Mein Papa liest vor” (My Dad reads to me) the French reading festival “A vous de lire” (It’s your turn to read) or “Cala Polska czyta dzieciom” (All of Poland is reading to children) make sure that children will start reading at an early age and motivate young people to continue. It is the stories and the authors of course, that take the reader into new worlds which can only be discovered between book cases. Books also allow discovering many

non-fiction topics and the readers like to go deeper into these topics with printed publications. New media complement the book market and enrich the media landscape but the book will remain vital and attractive – primarily due to new technologies. 

www.mullermartini.com

1 Scientific books are often produced in short runs – an area for digital printing. 2 Beautiful memories in photo books delight people.

2 Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Hardcover Production

Albumprinter: a Photo Book Pioneer with a Short but Impressive Company History

Already in 2003, Hans Velthuizen had the idea of photo books. He developed a special software everybody could use to create their very own digitally printed photo book. He founded Albumprinter in Amsterdam and was the first provider of photo books via Internet in Europe with a direct home delivery service. Since then Albumprinter automated the production processes to satisfy the rapidly growing demand for its products. For casing-in, the company chose the Diamant MC Digital and is thrilled with it.

Eâ&#x20AC;&#x192; Photo books offer a variety of advantages compared to albums. With very little effort they can be produced one or more times. The user determines the number of pages in the book and chooses not only the contents but also the cover. It is no surprise that the customer response was extremely positive and the growth rates overwhelming. The business is booming. From 8

2003 to 2007, sales at Albumprinter increased by a gigantic 22,000 percent. Enormous Revenue Growth The number of employees grew from four people in 2005 to 130 just four years later. In 2007 FEM/Business, the leading Dutch business magazine, classified Albumprinter as one of the fastest growing compa-

nies. Red Herring Europe 100 lists the 100 most promising Technology companies in Europe and Albumprinter was one of the finalists in 2008. In addition, they were the winner of an award given by Deloitte, a consulting and testing company, awarding 50 of the fastest growing companies in the technology sector for their entrepreneurial achievements. The Investment Company Muller Martiniâ&#x20AC;&#x192; Panorama Fall 2011

Van den Ende & Deitmers invested longterm at the beginning of 2007 with Albumprinters creating the possibility for further growth. The Albelli brand was launched in 2008 for retail business. The production plant, already located in Den Haag, was moved into a new building offering more space and an open-plan design. Constructive Cooperation with Muller Martini The strong company growth made it necessary to adapt the machine pool as well as

1 Plant and production management is just as satisfied as the bookline team about the achieved results with the Diamant MC Digital bookline. Front from left: machine operator Roy Autar, plant manager Jacco Buurman, production manager Ed Koks, Enno Smid from Muller Martini Benelux, machine operator Anna Nagel. 2 Bookline operator Roy Autar loads a case stack. Each book is different. Clear processes and the right technology ensure flawless productions.

the operating methods. During its start-up years, Albumprinter used small machines and modified them to meet the special requirements. “Since these machines involved a great amount of manual work the book quality largely depended on a single machine operator,” states production manager Ed Koks. “What we needed now was operating equipment that guaranteed a consistently high quality.” The workflow needed a great deal of automation to ensure continued high quality. Processing small print runs was a totally

3 From the gallery, the visitors have a great view of all production areas – here onto the digital printing section.

2 new market with no existing solutions available. In order to find them, Albumprinter and Muller Martini Buchtechnologie started a very creative and constructive cooperation. The Diamant MC proved to be an excellent basis to integrate exactly those extensions necessary to produce highquality photo books on a large scale. 16,000 Photo Books per Day “The employees at Muller Martini Buchtechnologie not only had open ears for our requirements but were amazingly

3 Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Hardcover Production

Two policemen are picking up the memory photo book they designed for a colleague who is about to retire.

1 2

1 While in the background the current thinner book (yellow endsheet) is still being cased in . . ., 2 . . . the headbanding station has already changed over and the bookline is supplied with the thicker books (white endsheet).

quick to come up with trendsetting solutions,” compliments plant manager Jacco Buurman. Since June 2010, Albumprinter has been casing in hardcover photo books day in and day out with the Diamant MC Digital photo bookline – even as many as 16,000 books a day. “We were looking for a machine that could provide uniform quality and got a machine that also enables an output of considerably larger quantities of books. It provides the prerequisites to increase business into the future.” Customer Satisfaction is the Key to Success And the company keeps expanding – although not as spectacular as in the first years but still significantly. Albelli grew 35 percent in 2010 and, since the takeover of two smaller British photo book producers, is aiming at as much as 50 percent growth for 2011. It involves further automation and intelligent linking of the existing machines. Jacco Buurman has clear goals. „A satisfied customer is important to survive in the market and keep growing. Only then will they come back again and again. We reach customer satisfaction with quality, speed and reliability.” He wants to reduce delivery times. At the moment, Albumprinter promises deliveries in Holland no 10

more than four days after placing the order – and has succeeded in actually delivering about 93 percent of all orders within just three days. Customers in other countries receive their books after no more than six days. The product portfolio is extended on a regular basis. Besides photo books in many formats and designs, Albelli offers personalized wall calendars and appointment books, greeting cards and canvas prints. Slightly more than half of Albellis customers reside in the Netherlands and Belgium. The other half are in England, Germany and France. In 2010, Albelli delivered photo books to 144 countries. The Internet makes it possible. Customers are welcome at the production plant. Almost daily, groups of visitors watch production from the gallery extending into the workshop. From there, they have a great view of the entire manufacturing plant. Those living close by can even pick up their books personally. Albelli is in every sense close to its customers, their wishes and requirements. 

New Solutions for New Markets The incoming orders at Albelli are gathered in batches and then run through the production chain together. Since the customer is not limited to a fixed number of pages the book block thicknesses vary within a single batch. Due to the thickness adjustment possibilities offered by the Diamant MC Digital the photo bookline automatically adapts to each book thickness and does not need adjusting within certain thickness tolerance limits. When the tolerance limits are exceeded the bookline changes the single units over to the new format step by step.

www.albelli.nl Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Softcover Production

Tiskárna Helbich has managed to improve quality and respond better to customer needs despite the economic crisis. From left to right: company founder and owner Robert Helbich, machine operator Petr Jašek and Managing Director of Muller Martini in the Czech Republic Lubos Kunze.

The Pantera Optimizes Processes Thanks to the New Pantera Perfect Binder from Muller Martini, Brno-based Tiskárna Helbich a.s. Is Even Better Equipped to Meet Customer Requirements and to Sustain Unbridled Growth Despite the Economic Crisis.

E 5 cm thick and spanning 1400 pages: This art book with a print run of 3500 copies represents the biggest (in every sense of the word) challenge Tiskárna Helbich has ever faced, yet the Pantera passed with flying colors according to owner and Managing Director Robert Helbich (Ing.). Employing 39 people, the full-service graphic arts company, which was founded in 2006 and completes every phase of processing, Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

from prepress and printing through to finishing, commissioned the Muller Martini perfect binder just a few short months ago. Frequent Changeovers “We have produced softcover books in the past,” explains Robert Helbich. “Our priority of investments in the past created a situation where our printing production exceeded our finishing capacity. We had to find an answer to this status-quo. An in-line solution to optimize our processes was the decision.” The thickness of the spine and fairly impressive copy count made this art book an immense challenge in more ways than one. Circulations of the books and magazines printed and bound at Helbich often are around 500 copies, which results in frequent changeovers. “Therefore we needed a perfect binder that covered a large size range and could also be changed over very quickly,” stated Robert Helbich. A Marked Improvement in Quality After performing well with some of their own products in tests at the Muller Martini

Bookbinding Academy in Felben, Switzerland, the Pantera, complete with gathering machine (12 stations) and three-knife trimmer, was installed in Brno just a few months later. The Pantera is currently used exclusively for hotmelt processes but is also equipped for PUR processing. Since then, Robert Helbich maintains that not only has the process improved, but there has also been a marked improvement in the quality of the bound products. “The Pantera helps us to understand where we went wrong in the past …,” says the company founder with a smile: His great-grandparents were already running a printing house before the Second World War. According to Robert Helbich, responding better to customer needs is just as important as quality when it comes to making the relatively new company a success: “Our customers are primarily based in this region and the fact that we respond to their every need means that we have continued to grow despite the economic crisis.” 

www.helbich.cz 11

Softcover Production

From left: Daniel Majdiš (Head of Production and Technology) and the two machine operators, Katarína Bacˇiková und Zuzana Burdová, in front of the new Pantera at alfaPRINT.

Productivity Increased by 1600 % Better, faster, cheaper – alfaPRINT s.r.o. in the Slovakian city of Martin has acquired new customers as well as winning back some old ones following its investment in a new Pantera perfect binder from Muller Martini. E “Previously, we were just about managing 1000 softcover books per shift,” recalls Daniel Majdiš, Head of Production and Technology at alfaPRINT. “Today, our output has increased to at least 2000 copies – and that’s per hour.” On balance, this amounts to a productivity increase of a fantastic 1600 %! Winning (Back) Customers Prior to autumn 2010, alfaPRINT was still using a small perfect binder for its production processes and book blocks were gath12

ered by hand. Today’s productivity figures are down to the decision to commission the new Pantera. This is the first Muller Martini solution alfaPRINT has purchased in its 16-year history. The complete graphic arts company was founded in 1995 with a staff of just three people, but it now employs 65 led by the two managing directors, Vladimír Cˇižmárik and Milan Hucˇko. “Before we invested in the Pantera, we had lost a few customers because production delays were too great, leading to long waiting times,” explains Daniel Majdiš. But in the same breath he adds: “We have won them all back again though – and we even gained a few new customers too!” Often Fewer Than 500 Copies The individual runs of magazines and catalogs printed predominantly for the Slovakian market, but also for customers in the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Great Britain, Denmark and Belgium, can easily reach up to 25,000 copies. But there are also times when fewer than 500 copies are required.

As a result, the two machine operators, Katarína Bacˇiková and Zuzana Burdová, frequently need to change over the Pantera line. In addition to the perfect binder, the line comprises a 12-station gathering machine, a criss-cross system (book blocks for hardcover production) and a book block feeder. The line is also suitable for PUR production, but it is currently only used for hotmelt production. “We were impressed at just how quickly the Pantera can be changed over when we viewed two demonstrations at the Muller Martini bookbinding academy, and saw the machine in action at another bookbinder’s premises,” says Daniel Majdiš. According to the Head of Production and Technology, the quality of the printed products produced with the new perfect binder has improved significantly too. “We can now offer our customers better quality products within a faster time frame and at a better price.” 

www.alfaprint.sk Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Softcover Production

Viktor Ferencˇík (left), Member of the Board of Directors at Kasico: “The good price-performance ratio, the short job setup and job changeover times, the easy-to-change glue pot and the gauzing station convinced us to purchase the Pantera.” On the right is Martin Minár, Head of Sales at Muller Martini Slovakia.

Board of Education Demands PUR As text books must now only be bound using the PUR process, Kasico Security Printing House, based in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, has replaced its Pony perfect binder with a new Pantera.

E The core business at Kasico is security printing – as illustrated by the addition to the company’s name, “Security Printing House”. Since 1993, the publicly traded company has been commissioned by several Slovakian Ministries to produce ID cards, securities, cheques, customs stamps, road tax discs, savings books and plastic cards. Kasico was founded 20 years ago and now employs around 100 people, who are also tasked with printing commerMuller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

cial work, magazines, brochures and books for both private customers and public authorities. From Pony to Pantera The company also produces text books for the Board of Education. Until just under a year ago, these books were bound on a 25-year-old, second-hand Pony. As the Board recently stipulated that graphic design companies must use PUR binding for quality reasons, Kasico decided to make a new investment. According to Viktor Ferencˇík, Member of the Board of Directors, there were four reasons for choosing the Pantera perfect binder from Muller Martini: “The good price/performance ratio, the short job setup and job changeover times ensured by the Automatic Make Ready System, the easy-to-change glue pot and the gauzing station.” Important Gauzing Station Products from the Muller Martini Ventura can be processed in the Pantera with mull.

Through the three knife trimmer they continue on to the hard casing line. The quick job changeover time is just what Kasico needs as fiction runs are often as small as 500 copies, meaning there is a correspondingly high number of job changeovers. Kasico now binds just under 20 % of softcover products using the PUR process – a figure that is on the increase. On the subject of trends, the company still primarily manufactures products for the Slovakian market. “As the Pantera now allows us to offer products of much higher quality,” says Viktor Ferencˇík, “our aim is to increase our export share.” 

www.kasico.sk 13

Softcover Production

Koller & Kunesch: A New Location and Bolero Boost the Bookbinding Trade in Austria Koller & Kunesch, which has its head office in Lamprechtshausen (Salzburg), can now serve its customers in the western regions of Austria and in neighbouring countries more quickly, thanks to its new site in Wattens, near Innsbruck. A Bolero perfect binder and a new Ventura sewing machine from Muller Martini deliver excellent quality for softcover products.

E “With our investment,” says Managing Director Josef Koller, “we are not only plugging a gap in western Austria, but also expanding our technical capabilities and efficiency to ensure that we can rise to the challenge of the ever more demanding requirements.” Shorter Production Time Slots Previously, Koller & Kunesch – a company that focuses exclusively on processing –

served its customers in Tyrol from its site in Lamprechtshausen, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. However, this long distance led to deadline pressure, particularly when it came to urgent orders. “Now,” says Günter Kunesch, who, like Josef Koller, is a Managing Director, “we can offer our clients substantially more flexible production time slots.” At the same time, the organization, which elevates its flexibility still further

with its own fleet of trucks, is aiming to tap into new target areas (Vorarlberg, South Tyrol, southern Germany and Switzerland) by virtue of its central location. Acoro Now with Frontero and Splitting Saw Koller & Kunesch opted for the Bolero line, in the company color, red, with an 18station gathering machine, criss-cross system, Orbit three-knife trimmer and CB

1 14

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

1 With the Bolero line in Wattens, Koller & Kunesch can now also operate a two-up production process. 2 Together, Josef Koller (right) and Günter Kunesch (center) run Koller & Kunesch, a trade bindery that is now also present in Wattens. Left: Peter Cerer, Product Manager at Muller Martini Austria.

16 counter stacker, as a result of its positive experiences with the Acoro in Lamprechts hausen. The perfect binding line in operation there was commissioned three years ago. Recently, it was supplemented with a splitting saw for two-up production and a Frontero face trimmer for full-flap books. “Using two-up production,” says Günter Kunesch, “we have both elevated our flexibility and secured a competitive advantage for our customers.” In addition, the Fronte-

2 ro allows Koller & Kunesch to produce fullflap books using a single procedure. “The demand for brochures with flush or overhanging cover flaps is rising sharply.” Ideal for Large-Volume Orders On the topic of new capabilities: The Bolero line in Wattens, which is intended for PUR production, features a crash station that not only allows Koller & Kunesch to use the Swiss Brochure method, but also enables the bindery to advance into new dimensions. “By expanding our capacity,” says Günter Kunesch, “we are strengthening our position as a partner for quality printing houses with large-volume orders and, at the same time, we have a back-up, in case we should ever be impacted by mechanical problems.” Asir 3 Signature Control on Both Perfect Binders Alongside text books for Austria, Germany and Italy, with print runs of between 60,000 and 100,000 copies, Koller & Kunesch also produces periodicals and special interest magazines (particularly in the field of medicine) with print runs of between 3000 and 30,000 copies. Since rigorous quality checks are a must for pharmaceutical jobs in particular, but also for other market leaders, the gathering machines in the two Muller Martini perfect binders at Koller & Kunesch feature Asir 3 signature control. This system ensures that the order of the signatures is correct and that the products are complete. Ventura for Hotmelt Products A host of company brochures for wellknown Austrian organizations are also produced alongside books and magazines. Koller & Kunesch, which has 50 employees in Lamprechtshausen and 25 in Wattens, recently produced the annual catalog of a

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

reputable Austrian motorbike manufacturer, comprising several hundred thousand copies in various languages and formats. Because another customer, well known also outside Austria, wants to see produced his image brochures with hotmelt, Koller & Kunesch invested also in a Ventura sewing machine from Muller Martini. Thanks to sewing, the softcover products glued with hotmelt also have a high quality. Excellent Consulting Skills Koller & Kunesch defines itself as a full-service provider of processing services. It all starts with cellophaning machines, and alongside the two perfect binders, there are eight folding machines, two stitching machines and one mailing line in use at the two sites. “We are increasingly becoming involved in the earlier stages of projects,” says Günter Kunesch, “before our partners’ printing presses are running. Since we also have a background in printing, we have excellent consulting skills in this area. Companies that order printed products benefit from this as much as the printing houses.” 

www.koller-kunesch.at 15

Softcover Production

Grafica Brasil: The Acoro A5 at the Heart of Print Finishing In Brazil, the “giants” of the graphic arts industry put their faith in customized solutions from Muller Martini to meet their print finishing needs. Grafica Brasil, based in the capital city Brasilia, is no exception, and boasts an Acoro A5 perfect binder. The company is Brazil’s premier large size printer, and its acquisition of the Acoro A5 marks the continuation of partnership with Muller Martini that spans several years and dates back to the company’s earlier purchase of a Tigra perfect binder and a Presto stitching machine. E By purchasing the Acoro A5, Grafica Brasil, founded in 1966, has secured the most flexible and product-efficient system currently available on the market for use in its softcover production processes. This modern company, which since its 40-year anniversary in 2006 has been based in the new “Parque Grafico” premises that covers an area of over 20,000 m2, specializes in

printing high-quality softcover magazines and books. The Brazilian government and its various ministries account for some 70 % of the company’s total sales and are its biggest client. Grafica Brasil produces quality products for these official bodies as well as a number of well-known publishing companies and advertising agencies.

Innovation is the Name of the Game Grafica Brasil’s president Romeu José de Oliveira has every faith in the Acoro A5: “The investment was an important milestone in securing further productivity enhancements in print finishing. It serves as confirmation of our complete satisfaction with Muller Martini and has consolidated our partnership. This latest acquisition un-

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Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

1 The sound binding quality and short job setup and changeover times helped Grafica Brasil arrive at its decision to purchase the Acoro A5 perfect binder. 2 Romeu José de Oliveira, president of Grafica Brasil: “Our investment in the Acoro A5 underscores our aim of offering the latest technologies in every area of production.” 3 Grafica Brasil had also had positive experiences with the Presto stitching machine from Muller Martini.

3 derscores our aim of offering the latest technologies in every area of production and delivering maximum quality and performance for our customers.” Quality and Performance Production manager Romulo Gregorio da Silva believes that the new perfect binder, which sets itself apart from competitors by virtue of its impressive level of automation and ease of use, is at the very heart of print finishing: “The flexibility and product quality delivered by the Acoro ensure that the product processes in which it is involved Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

are both effective and efficient. The sound binding quality and short job setup and changeover times are truly impressive.” Professional Service The superior performance data for the Acoro A5 line with 16-station gathering machine and Merit S three-knife trimmer were not the only things that influenced Grafica Brasil’s decision to make the purchase; the company was also won over by the service side of things. Romeu José de Oliveira reveals that: “Muller Martini Brazil has been a professional partner for us, pro-

viding efficient solutions and exceptional advice and support for all aspects of development, training, maintenance, and spare parts supply. We truly appreciate the security offered by the partnership and have built up a solid business relationship, just as we did with our partner for the sheet-fed offset machines. Our success hinges upon having strong partners in every area of production on whom we can rely absolutely.” 

www.graficabrasil.net 17

Softcover Production

Editora Abril: A Perfect Rhythm, Thanks to the Bolero Based in São Paulo (Brazil), Editora Abril, one of the largest media groups in Brazil and Latin America, has optimized its magazine production with a new Bolero B9 perfect binder from Muller Martini.

E The printing center’s latest investment to modernize and increase its capacity signifies the continuation of a long and successful partnership between Editora Abril and Muller Martini. Since installing a Jetbinder for softcover production some 44 years ago, Grafica Abril has commissioned no fewer than eleven stitching machines and four perfect binders. A Perfect Rhythm The latest Muller Martini perfect binder takes its name from a dance style that-is very popular through all of Latin America. And it’s a name that has proven to be very fitting: The Bolero B9 installed at the Abril printing center works at a rate of 9000 cycles per hour, meaning that it is in perfect

harmony with the company’s production requirements. The fully automated line, featuring a 21-station gathering machine, Zenith three-knife trimmer and CB 18 counter stacker, is an impressive tool for producing the most challenging products thanks to its large size range, super short job changeover times and high net output, and it sets new standards for the mid-performance range. The Bolero B9 joins Grafica Abril’s Trendbinder, commissioned in 2004, and a Bolero B8, installed in 2008. Impressive Production Figures The Abril group has developed into one of the largest media groups in Latin America since it was founded in 1950. Today, over

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Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

1 The new Bolero B9 is in perfect harmony with Grafica Abril’s production requirements. From left: Denise Oliveira (Abril technician), Jose Paulo de Sousa (Muller Martini Brazil Sales Manager), Eduardo Costa (Abril Superintendent Director), Renato Dias (Muller Martini Brazil Sales Manager), Silvio Tassinari (Abril Bindery Manager). 2 This Jetbinder perfect binder, which was recently decommissioned after producing over 500 million products, established the partnership between Grafica Abril and Muller Martini in 1967.

7000 people are employed by the group, which also includes the Editora Abril publishing company and its printing company, Grafica Abril. Grafica Abril has the largest printing center in South America and is located close to the heart of São Paulo, with a staff of 1045. Over 100,000 metric tons (!) of paper are used each year to print the company’s range of periodicals, magazines, inserts and books. With 36 in-house brands, including Brazil’s best-selling weekly ma gazine “Veja”, and 351 titles printed for external customers, Editora Abril is the undis p u ted market leader in Brazil when it comes to magazine production. Trust in Technology and Service Eduardo Costa, Superintendent Director at Grafica Abril, is proud of the printing company’s partnership with Muller Martini and its Brazilian subsidiary, which is based just across the road from the Abril printing center. “Our long and successful business relationship comes down to just one word: trust. This applies in equal measure to the range of products, the technology, the development, and the service provided. With help from Muller Martini, we have mastered every print finishing challenge that has come our way in recent years, and we Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

feel incredibly well looked after and informed.” Reliable and Efficient The reliability of Muller Martini systems is demonstrated by the Jetbinder, which continued to put in an impressive performance by producing one million magazines per month until it was decommissioned last October after 43 years in service – that’s a production total of over 500 million copies throughout its service life. But Eduardo Costa is looking to the future: “New perfect binder generations like the Bolero B8 and Bolero B9 feature a whole host of new developments and enhancements that have considerably increased our efficiency and productivity. We need variable size, highly automated production lines that are able to cope with our three-shift rotation that operates six or seven days a week, while still being able to deliver a consistently high level of quality, regardless of the circulation size.” Magazine Production Poses Real Challenges The company’s production varies from magazines to books: There are times when the volume of both production modes is roughly the same, but sometimes maga-

zine production accounts for 80 % of the work. “It’s for magazine production in particular that we need a strong partner for our print finishing process,” says Eduardo Costa. “We have a 58 % market share of the Brazilian magazine sector and we produce seven of the titles on the local top-ten bestsellers list. Extremely short delivery deadlines and significant time pressure are part of our production process, particularly when we are working on weekly magazines such as ‘Veja’, our flagship title.” 

www.grupoabril.com.br 19

“Panorama” Interview Series BRIC Countries

Brazil, Russia, India and China are commonly referred to as the BRIC countries. According to prominent economists, the four emerging markets can overtake

the seven most important industrial nations (G7) in two decades. Parallel to a healthy economy and a high level of dynamic economic growth, the graphic

Interview with Claudio Baronni

“New Categories of Buyers Have a Considerable Stake in The Growth of Our Industry” Over the last two years, the Brazilian graphic arts industry has grown at twice the rate of the country’s gross domestic product. This boom can mainly be attributed to the success of magazines – according to Claudio Baronni, Projects Director at Editora Abril S.A. in São Paulo and Chief Representative of two Brazilian inter-trade organizations.

E “Panorama”: Despite the global economic crisis and the resulting stagnancy in most Western industrial nations, the Brazilian graphic arts industry reported unbridled growth between 2008 and 2010. To what do you attribute this welcome development in Latin America’s largest graphic arts market? Claudio Baronni: The positive position of our graphic arts industry has a lot to do with the success of the local consumer ma gazines. The boom in popularity of these magazines is in turn a result of the impro ved economic situation in broad sections 20

of the population. In recent years, there has been a considerable improvement in the in come situation of over 30 million people in Brazil. These people now have more dis posable income and as such are an attrac tive target group for advertising.

Claudio Baronni (left), Projects Director at Editora Abril S.A. in São Paulo and Chief Representative of two Brazilian inter-trade organizations, together with José Paulo Sousa, Sales Manager at Muller Martini in Brazil.

Economic growth in Brazil between 2008 and 2010 amounted to 2.3 % per year; however, over the same period the graphic arts industry grew by 4.2 % – almost double that amount. What is it that makes the printing industry in your country so strong?

Until recently, the Brazilian population pyr amid comprised the three classic catego ries: upper class, middle class and lower class. For all intents and purposes, only the top two classes could afford printed prod ucts. However, the economic upturn in our country has bridged this gap. Now, we can Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

arts industry is flourishing in all four countries – for “Panorama”, the aim of an interview series is to take a look behind the scenes at printing houses

and finishing businesses in the BRIC countries.

talk about five categories, A–E; more and more people from the former lower class are now able to access magazines. A greater volume of advertising is used at kiosks, which are increasing marketing efforts in a bid to reach new customers. What’s more, in recent times, numerous Brazilian companies have been taken over by multinational groups as a result of the favorable economic situation in our country. Of course, these multinational groups want to amortize their investments as quickly as possible and launch a whole host of advertising displays for their products.

An investigation carried out by the Brazilian institute, the IVC, reveals another striking statistic: Growth of printed products costing more than 1.15 real (70 US cents) between 2006 and 2009 was only 1 %, while printed products with a sale price of less than 1 real grew by 32 % over the same period. What conclusions do you draw from this? These figures clearly show that – as mentioned above – the potential is still great and new categories of buyers play a considerable role in the growth of our industry. In the future, we must focus even more of our attention on these new buyers. Part of this will involve selectively producing different pages of the magazine so that the same title will appeal to diverse readership categories in this large country.

In addition to 13 % more magazine titles, Brazil has also seen a somewhat higher increase (of 15 %) in the volume of pages printed over the last two years. Is this as a result of the advertising displays or do you respond to the modified readership categories with regards to the contents? Yes, of course we respond to them in what we print. If new sections of the population have access to printed products, then new format and subjects for stories are also demanded of these magazines. Obviously, as publishers we have to cater for tastes of our (new) readers. Otherwise, the run numbers wouldn’t be so high. It is interesting to note that the average Brazilian buys just two different magazine titles each year. If you consider that this total is 39 in Sweden, 30 in Japan and 20 in Great Britain, Brazil’s potential in this field seems even greater… Without a doubt, there is huge potential in this area. In Brazil, there is a trend toward special-interest magazines, as more and more people can afford to buy them. For this reason, an increasing number of major international magazine titles are now being published in Portuguese. Even though Abril already publishes 100 different magazines, in the past year we have launched four new magazine titles – three of those for the newly formed middle class. Four or five new publications are planned before the end of the current year. The huge challenge is in making these magazines so attractive that consumers in the new middle class will buy them. Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Can other printed products besides the consumer magazines be attributed to the considerable growth of the Brazilian graphic arts industry? Inserts and flyers, in particular those distributed by supermarkets, have shown noticeable growth; these printed products are used to vie for the new customer segments that have money to spend. Large customer catalogs are also becoming ever more popular. Let’s look at one example. At Abril, we print and stitch the product catalog for a major cosmetic company every 20 days – in one print run of nine million copies! One of our rotogravure presses is dedicated to solely producing work for this customer. In times gone by, doing something like that would have been unimaginable. Looking to the future, are you expecting the graphic arts industry in Brazil to report similar growth over the next few years? Yes, I am very optimistic. The graphic arts industry may no longer grow at the same rate it has done over the past few year. However, it will definitely keep pace with the growth rates of the Brazilian economy.

“In Brazil, there is a trend toward special-interest magazines.”

“Undoubtedly, the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will bring the added bonus of stimulating sales of printed products.”

What impact will the two major upcoming sporting events – the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro – have on the graphic arts industry? Undoubtedly, the two biggest world sporting events will bring the added bonus of stimulating sales of printed products. In fact, I cannot (yet) express in figures, the wave that’s about to hit us. But, I’m assuming that the magazine sector in particular will benefit greatly. What is the situation of the Brazilian graphic arts industry in relation to exports? We are not particularly strong in this area (unfortunately). In fact, we have a negative

Claudio Baronni Claudio Baronni is Projects Director at Editora Abril S.A., which is headquartered in São Paulo. Abril is one of the largest print production companies in Latin America and the undisputed market leader in Brazil. The company’s flagship publication is the weekly magazine “Veja” – a print run of over 1.2 million copies makes this the magazine with the highest circulation in Latin America and the third largest in the world. As President of the Board of Associaçao Brasileira de Technologia Gráfica (ABTG) and Vice-President of the Associaçao Brasileira das Empresas com Rotativa Offset (ABRO),Claudio Baronni is an expert on the Brazilian graphic arts industry.

Interview with Claudio Baronni “Large customer catalogs are also becoming ever more popular.” balance of trade with regard to printed products because we import a lot of products – particularly from China. Indeed, we do export certain products such as diaries, paperbacks and car manuals, but we are not particularly competitive due to our high taxes. I’ll give you just one example. The magazines we publish are levied with various excise duties, amounting to around 35 % overall, which I think is far too high!

“Many companies have recently invested both in printing presses and finishing processes.”

Have the graphics arts industries in Brazil’s neighboring countries experienced similar levels of growth over the past few years? The situation is just as good in the majority of our neighboring countries. However, no other country in Latin America has definitively reached the same high levels of growth that we have achieved. In parallel to the growth of the graphic arts industry, companies have also significantly increased investment in pro-

duction machinery over the past few years. Are these increases predominantly capacity adjustments or are they also motivated by the desire to modernize production systems? Both. Until a few years ago, expanding capacity was the primary objective. However, in recent times, modernization has very much come to the fore. We also feel compelled to increase productivity and decrease costs to make ourselves more competitive. I don’t see any more room in our industry for “novices”. Ultimately, there is only a demand for professionals – those who participate fully in the consolidation process directed towards industrial production. What is the situation with regard to production machinery in medium to largesized Brazilian printing houses and finishing companies? The large and medium-sized companies are in a very good position. In contrast,

“We have the right solution for any organizational structure” “Panorama”: José Carlos Barone, despite the global economic crisis, the graphic arts industry has been enjoying consistent growth in your country for years now. What does this mean for Muller Martini Brazil? José Carlos Barone (Managing Director of Muller Martini Brazil): We want to use our long-standing local market presence and high market share in a targeted way, to provide customers with modern technological solutions and a good level of service. Thanks to our wide product range (stitching, book and newspaper production and web offset printing), the high level of growth and constant need for modernization in the Brazilian graphic arts industry opens up many opportunities for us. Only 4 % of Brazilian printing houses are large and medium-sized companies. How does this impact on machine sales? It is not only large and medium-sized companies that can benefit from growth, but al-

so many of the smaller graphic arts companies. As Muller Martini has the right solution for any organizational structure, thanks to its wide range of machines, we of course focus on these customers too. Our strong sales team is essential in fully exploiting the opportunities available to us. With a population of 190 million and a surface area of 8.5 million square kilometers, Brazil is a huge country. How do you guarantee a high level of customer service and timely delivery of spare parts for such a widely spread customer base? Thanks to our long-standing local presence, we have become a reliable partner for many graphic arts companies across the country. Customers value our technical expertise as well as our service. The service aspect – the focus being machine availability – is becoming increasingly important in our country too. Brazil is, of course, a very large country. But two thirds of our customers are based in the south-east regions,

so they are all relatively close to our headquarters in São Paulo. We do, however, still supply spare parts to customers situated further away within the shortest of time frames.

Thanks to our long-standing local presence, we have become a reliable partner for many graphic arts companies across the country.

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

many small companies are increasingly having problems with their older machinery. Have these larger companies done their homework when it comes to innovative production machinery? Yes, I’m fairly sure they have. Many companies have recently invested both in printing presses and finishing processes. You mentioned the finishing process: How important is it in Brazil? (keywords: finishing, inserts, merchandise tipper)? Parallel to growth of the magazine, finishing has also become increasingly important. On the one hand, the increasingly larger advertising agencies in Brazil, which are becoming more and more professional, are demanding new and attractive advertising solutions. On the other hand, magazine publishers have been forced to automate the manufacturing processes in order to cut down on costs. This is why, at

Abril, we have been using Muller Martini in-line systems in both the stitching and adhesive binding processes. On the topic of Brazilian printing companies: 96 % have 19 or fewer employees. Will this still be the case in ten years’ time or do you expect to see an increasing concentration process that will, in turn, impact on machine investment? The small companies will only survive if they find special product niches – and that won’t be easy. Some of them think they have found this niche with digital formats, but they don’t make any money in this area. Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Keyword “digital”: A clear worldwide trend toward digital printing has developed in the graphic arts industry. Is this also the case in Brazil? Not yet. The technology (Claudio Baronni smiles) is considerably more advanced than its local consumers. Up to now in Brazil, digital printing has made everything except money (yet). An important aspect here is the fact that the Brazilian book market is very specialized. The market is dominated by text books because our government goes to great lengths when it comes to education. However, I’m convinced that the higher standard of education amongst the wider sections of the population will have a positive impact on the book market within a very short space of time. Despite this, we obviously still make use of the special features of digital printing from time to time. In fact, we recently supplied one million copies of three different front pages of our magazine “Veja” with a personal address to the subscribers on behalf of an advertiser from the banking sector. How strong is the competition from electronic media in Brazil? Not too strong, yet. Not least of all because the current tablet PCs on offer to the wider sections of the population are simply too expensive. However, in Brazil we are also seeing an increase in the number of cross-media products on offer and thanks to these, printed products have recently flourished. At Abril, we have a special creative team that works exclusively on developing print and new media com binations. With what kind of results? A good example from our publishing company is the teen magazine “Capricho”. The circulation of this magazine began to the decrease because many Brazilian teenagers today keep themselves informed via electronic media. To combat this, we launched several media products under the “Capricho” brand. The website was a real hit amongst the younger generation in particular. The gratifying consequence of this was that, parallel to the hits on the homepage, the print runs also increased significantly.

“In Brazil we are also seeing an increase in the number of cross-media products on offer and thanks to these, printed products have recently flourished.”

Therefore, would you say that you have confidence in the print industry? For me, “Capricho” is a prime example that highlights the fact that digital products will not be the end of printed products – just as the television didn’t consign cinema to history.  www.abril.com.br www.mullermartini.com/br

Facts and Figures on the Printing Market in Brazil E Brazil has approximately 21,000 printing companies with a workforce of over 275,000. E 77 % are small businesses with up to nine employees. Small businesses with 10 to 19 employees make up 19 %. Only 0.5 % are large businesses with a workforce of more than 250. E The graphic arts industry generates 1.5 % of the country’s gross domestic product.

News from Muller Martini Ten Years of CIP4 and Muller Martini – A Success Story in the Graphic Arts Industry

August Faller KG Enhances its Production Processes with the Alprinta 74

Today’s fully integrated, digital production systems would be inconceivable without a digital workflow system. What’s more, the CIP4-compliant connection of all machines is the basis for a modern workflow for any graphic arts business. For the past ten years, Muller Martini has therefore been working with the CIP4 Organization to ensure that finishing systems can communicate effortlessly with prepress and printing systems. Ever since the foundation of the organization ten years ago, Muller Martini has been an active member of the International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress. CIP4 is an association of machine manufacturers, consultants and customers from the graphic arts industry and its objective is to foster the adoption of process automation on the basis of widely recognized standards. In addition to making a name for itself with JDF/JMF specifications and the automation of production processes, Muller Martini has also hosted two CIP4 conferences this decade with the organization:

August Faller KG ranks among the market leaders for pharmaceutical packaging in the German-speaking world and has invested in a new production line – the only one of its kind in Europe – for its site in Binzen (Germany). This system comprises an Alprinta 74 web offset printing press from Muller Martini with a stack delivery system for sizes up to 74 x 101 cm, as well as a finishing line with a folding machine supplied by GUK. A recommendation from the European Union sparked the decision to invest in a new production line. In future, package inserts are to be printed in a larger font to make them more legible, and new statutory regulations will also require package inserts to be provided in more than one language. The Alprinta 74 variable-size web offset printing press, which is combined with a newly developed sheeter plus stacker unit, allows August Faller KG to produce both web-printed products and sheet-fed printed items. The most striking feature of this setup is the fact that the 740-mm wide signatures can be up to 1.016 mm

The CIP4 Organization has created its own jubilee logo for its founding members.

one in 2004 in Zofingen (Switzerland) and one in 2010 in Newport News (USA). Across the globe, an increasing number of machine manufacturers and graphics arts businesses are taking advantage of the great benefits offered by Job Definition Format (JDF) and Job Messaging Format (JMF) and their various applications. Numerous Muller Martini customers have integrated their finishing systems into their Management Information Systems (MIS) based on JDF.

The Alprinta 74 with a newly developed stack delivery system – August Faller KG has a web offset printing press for producing pharmaceutical packaging solutions, which is the only one of its kind in Europe.

long, meaning they can be used to produce a huge range of package inserts. The Alprinta 74 has also been enhanced with a finishing line for web-printed products, complete with a folding machine supplied by GUK. “Thanks to this new line, we are well equipped for the production of large-size package inserts; this is an area that will continue to grow,” says Dr. Daniel Keesman, Managing Partner at August Faller KG.

Customer Event at CTPS in China: 150 Visitors Flock to See the Asian Premiere of the SigmaLine The commissioning of the first SigmaLine digital book production system on the Asian continent was celebrated with a customer event at the premises of China Translation & Printing Service Ltd. (CTPS) in Dongguan (Guangdong province), attended by around 150 visitors invited by Muller Martini and HP. According to Finn Nielsen, Managing Director of Muller Martini Hong Kong, the throng of visitors from China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia and many other SouthEast Asian countries could barely believe their eyes because “this was the first time they had witnessed an in-line solution for the production of digitally printed

books live in action.” CTPS, headquartered in Hong Kong, has a plant in Dongguan covering nearly 30,000 square meters and employing around 1000 people. Solutions from Muller Martini are already in use: The site is home to several Ventura book sewing machines for hardcover production and two Diamant booklines, and now CTPS has decided to install a complete SigmaLine, making it the first graphic arts company in Asia to employ this technology. The SigmaLine consists of an HP T300 digital printing press, a SigmaFolder, SigmaCollator, SigmaBuffer, SigmaBinder, SigmaTower, SigmaTrimmer and SigmaControl.

Thanks to the first fully integrated, total industrial solution for digital book production from Muller Martini, CTPS can now produce printed products economically, even in smaller runs, from prepress data to digital printing and finishing, right through to the finished, perfect-bound product. After watching a performance of the traditional Chinese lion dance, the visitors were able to see in detail how the SigmaLine works while it produced a sample of the Greater China Newsletter, as published by Muller Martini Hong Kong. The newsletter was first printed and finished in-line and then subsequently displayed at the Print China convention –

When the visitors to the CTPS customer event in Dongguan witnessed the SigmaLine live in action, it was the first time they had seen an in-line solution for the production of digitally printed books.

also held in Dongguan – where it attracted a great deal of interest from the audience. Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Contract signing ceremony between Jordan Press Foundation and Muller Martini (from left to right): Fahed Al Fanek (Chairman of the Board at Jordan Press Foundation), Nader Hourani (Managing Director at Jordan Press Foundation), Alois Hochstrasser (Director of Muller Martini Marketing AG), Enrico Farinacci (Sales Manager at Muller Martini).

Jordan Press Foundation: New Printing House and New Mailroom System In order to optimize the produc tion of their two daily news papers, “Al Rai” (published in Arabic) and “The Jordan Times” (published in English), Jordan Press Foundation has opened a brand new printing house in Jordan’s capital Amman. And to ensure perfect finishing results

for pre-printed sections and in serts, the printing house has put its trust in an extensive mailroom solution from Muller Martini. The solution comprises two NewsGrip A newspaper convey ors, a FlexiRoll buffer system and a labeling system from Sitech, as well as a ProLiner inserting

system with a CoLiner pre-gath ering unit. Thanks to this flexible solution, Jordan Press Founda tion is ideally equipped to deal with any fluctuations in insert vol umes. What’s more, the CoLiner can be upgraded with additional feeder positions at any time, to suit specific requirements.

Jordan Press Foundation is lso incorporating a NewsStitch a stitching unit with a NewsTrim cutting system into the solution, which will enable them to pro cess semi-commercials and magazines that are similar in appearance to newspapers. This new system will give the new mailroom the capacity it needs to print additional printed prod ucts.

Successful Muller Martini Performance at the First digi:media in Düsseldorf A host of high-profile visitors to the stand and some exciting, indepth discussions about the ef fects of digital printing on in-line finishing processes – Muller Mar tini enjoyed a thoroughly positive response to its exhibition, in spired by the slogan “Grow with Digital Solutions”, at the first digi:media trade fair in Düsseldorf (Germany). “There’s no doubt that digi:media was an experi ment for many,” explained Dra gan Volic. “And we also viewed our participation at this new trade fair, roughly a year before drupa, in much the same way.” According to Volic, Head of Marketing for stitching systems and digital solutions at Muller Martini, who presented Muller Martini solutions linked to new

graphic arts growth opportunities on the digi:media technology stage, appearing at the trade fair has more than paid off: “Obvious ly there were not as many visitors as at the larger trade fairs for the graphic arts industry. But that meant customers and us, the ex hibitors, had more time for seri ous discussions and to really go into detail on topics such as digi tal printing, in-line finishing and photo books. It was also great to see that some important decision-makers from graphic arts companies made the trip to Düsseldorf.” The fact that some big indus try names were represented reflects the significance of the new trade fair, says Ed Koks, Production Manager at Album

printer in Den Haag (Holland): “I think the digi:media trade fair has got off to a good start. I saw various new solutions, although there was nothing really revolu tionary on show. Thanks to new inkjet capabilities, development has exploded in the digital print ing segment – a new solution comes onto the market every couple of months. This means we need plenty of flexibility when it comes to finishing solutions, too.” A. Tamer Ardiç (Ankara), pub lisher of the two Turkish trade magazines “Matbaahaber” and “Printmarket”, is in complete agreement. “In Turkey, digital printing is still a niche market predominantly served by printing shops, but it is becoming increas

There were plenty of interesting discussions taking place at the Muller Martini stand at the digi:media trade fair Düsseldorf. They centered on topics such as digital printing, in-line finishing and photo books.

ingly popular and continues to attract market share away from offset printing.”

Weber Offset GmbH Invests in new Primera C110: Low(er) Print Runs Call for Shorter Set-Up Times “Changeovers must be faster from one job to the next,” says Magnus Weber, Sales Manager at Weber Offset GmbH in Munich (Germany). This full-service gra phic arts company, which specia lizes in high-quality promotional leaflets, is seeing figures of around 500 copies for the lower runs. In order to lower finishing set-up times, the 335 stitching machine, which has performed impeccably over the last 25 years, is being replaced with a Primera C110. The company opted for the Primera C110 due in part to a long and successful partnership Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

with Muller Martini. In addition, the simplicity of the machine’s operation was also a decisive fac tor. The previous stitching machi ne was always operated by the same machine operator, who had a great deal of expertise in this area, but is now going into retire ment. As the new-generation Muller Martini stitching machines are significantly easier to operate, thanks to a convenient touch screen and automatic size adjust ments, Magnus Weber believes that “we will be able to use seve ral different machine operators in the future.”

Convenient touch screen, automatic size adjustments – the C110 stitching machine couldn’t be simpler to operate.

Saddle Stitching Systems

Craft Inprint: Successful Company Strategy Leads to Investment in New Systems Craft Inprint, one of Australia’s largest private commercial printing houses, is responding to increased demand by investing in a new Primera E140 stitching machine with Onyx inserting machine from Muller Martini.

E With production locations in Brisbane and Sydney, Craft Inprint is one of the leading printers in Australia thanks to its extensive portfolio of reputable customers and a team of 350 employees that allows the company to operate around the clock. Craft is part of IPMG, the largest private marketing and service company and second largest printing house in Australia. The company’s history stretches back to 1887 – 15 years before Australia became a

unified country. IPMG is still owned by the Hannan family, who founded the company. The fourth and fifth generation of the family are now involved in running the company’s various divisions. Publishing and Retail Craft Inprint in Brisbane is a relatively new division of the company that was founded in 1997 as Craft Printing. It did not become the Inprint division until three-and-a-half

years ago. Lindsay Hannan is CEO of the company, which is made up of four different divisions: commercial printer Craft Inprint, packaging printer Inpack, commercial printer Bolton Print and Pep Central (prepress/design). Craft Inprint prints both heatset and sheetfed products for customers in the publishing and retail industries. Lindsay Hannan says, “We provide a first class service to our clients and build long term rela-

2 market before every investment – this is the only way to ensure we find the optimum solution.” After completing a thorough analysis, Craft opted for the Primera E140 with Onyx from Muller Martini. Ms. Hannan says, “The sheer flexibility that the Primera E140 provided was very attractive. We use the stitching machine to manufacture many different products – from tabloid to DL-size. The short set-up times and simple operation of the Primera E140 are an enormous advantage for our company when completing this work.”

1 Lindsay Hannan (CEO of Craft Inprint): “We use the new Primera E140 to manufacture many different products – from tabloid to DL-size.” 2 The automatic signature infeed using Streamfeeder is one of the main reasons why the new Primera E140 stitching machine at Craft Inprint is producing at such fast cycle times.

tionships with them. We use the latest technology and machines to ensure that our printing solutions meet our customers’ demands and deadlines.” Successful Strategy This approach has led to Craft Inprint becoming one of the first printing houses in Australia to obtain the ISO 12647-2 quality standard. It was also one of the first Fogracertified companies. According to Lindsay Hannan, externally verified standards are important “to ensure customers can derive the optimum benefit from our solutions.” Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

This successful strategy has led to Craft Inprint winning a host of new orders, and also investing in new machines. At its Brisbane location, a new Goss M600 and a new stitching machine with inserting system, have been put into operation alongside the three heatset printing presses that were already installed. Many Different Products “For 30 years, we have had a business relationship with Muller Martini that has been fundamental to our company,” says Lindsay Hannan. “But we still reanalyze the

Around-the-Clock Operation The Primera E140 and Onyx have been in operation for a couple of months, and Lindsay Hannan’s impression has been unfailingly positive: “The Primera meets our expectations in every respect. It is in use for five, six or even seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and achieves fast cycle times. At the same time, idle times between jobs have been reduced to a minimum. Our customers are happy with the printed products they receive, and the frame line in which they receive them.” 

www.craftinprint.com.au 27

Saddle Stitching Systems

Smaller Print Runs Cause Changeovers to Gain in Importance Simpler operation, faster changeovers, improvements in product quality â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AGS (All Graph System) s.r.l. in the northern-Italian town of Novara is reaping the benefits of the new Primera C130 saddle stitcher from Muller Martini in a number of ways.

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Muller Martiniâ&#x20AC;&#x192; Panorama Fall 2011

3 1 The Primera C130 saddle stitcher at AGS is changed up to eight times a day for job sizes of between 500 and 10,000 copies. 2 Nello Rabozzi (left), founder and co-owner of AGS, “The Primera C130 impressed me with from the very first presentation thanks to its modern tech

E If printed products runs become smaller and instead the number of jobs increases, then there is only one solution for brothers Nello and Pier Rabozzi: “We will need systems that we can simply changeover in the shortest possible time.” Immediately Impressed It soon became clear to the two founders and owners of the family business, AGS, which successor model would replace the 321 saddle stitcher, which was decommissioned after a decade and a half of use. “From the very first presentation, the Primera C130 impressed us thanks to its modern technology – we were certain that we wanted to continue our partnership with Muller Martini, as we had had such good experiences with the 321 saddle stitcher over the years.” 500 to 10,000 Copies A quick glance at the print-run structure shows how important the make-ready factor and saddle stitching really is for AGS, which at full operation employs 24 staff and uses three four-color sheetfed presses Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

and several folding machines. Most of the flyers, leaflets and periodicals that are produced on the saddle stitcher in various formats are ordered in job sizes of between 500 and 10,000 copies. Nello and Pier Rabozzi say that “up to eight changeovers are required every day.” As the machine operators had a lot of experience in using the 321 saddle stitcher, they were soon able to get to grips with the extremely easyto-operate Primera C130 after a short training program with the technicians at Müller Martini Italy. “The Primera saddle stitchers are very functional machines and their operating panels are very easy to use,” say Nello and Pier Rabozzi. Noticeably Improved Quality According to the two owners, there is a second important aspect to be considered. “Thanks to the re-design of the three-knife trimmer on the Primera line, the quality of our saddle-stitched products has improved significantly.” For AGP, this is a decisive argument, as it means they can continue doing business successfully with their longstanding regular customers.

nology”. Center, daughter Annalisa Rabozzi (responsible for internal organization); right, Claudio Scotto (Sales Manager for Muller Martini Italy). 3 Machine operator Pier Giorgio Rogatti likes how easy the Primera C130 is to use.

The third important factor to take into consideration is that the new Primera C130 guarantees AGS that they will be not only be able to promise their customers the highest quality printing, but also that they will meet the deadline set in advance. “Due to the fact that we print and stitch practically all of our orders in-house,” say the Rabozzi brothers, “a smooth production process is very important to us, from prepress, printing and saddle stitching, all the way to delivery.” Primarily a Printing Plant AGS, which was founded as a photolithography company in 1975 and with which the brothers decided to enter into the printing business in 1984, has also been able to land a couple of additional contracts since the Primera C130, with its five feeders and cover feeders, was installed last summer. “We define ourselves primarily as a printing plant,” says Nello Rabozzi, “but we will now be able to finish orders that have been printed elsewhere.” 

Saddle Stitching Systems

Primera E140 Proves Itself in Practice after Convincing Tests As the size of the print run and the number of pages is reduced, changeovers become increasingly important. This is why Slovenská Grafia Print & Finishing Services in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, chose the highly automated Primera E140 stitching system from Muller Martini.

At 64 %, periodicals make up the largest share of Slovenská Grafia’s sales.

E As the only printing house in Central Europe to offer its customers sheet-fed as well as web offset and rotogravure printing, Slovenská Grafia is the clear leader in the Slovakian market for magazines, catalogs and publicity brochures. At 64 %, periodicals make up the largest share in terms of sales. Slovenská Grafia, which is part of the Grafobal Group, prints around 100 periodically published magazines with circulations of between 150,000 and 700,000 copies for several well-known publishing houses across Europe. More than half of 30

these are sent abroad. “We are an exportorientated company,” says Martin Ilavský, Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Flexibility, Job Changeover Time, Finishing Slovenská Grafia employs around 400 staff in four-shift operation and celebrates its 90-year anniversary this year but, despite experiencing strong growth before the economic crisis, the company now faces slightly decreasing print run sizes and reduced numbers of pages in its core busi-

ness. “This has three consequences for us,” says Martin Ilavský. “First of all, we need to have greater flexibility in production. Secondly, job changeover time is becoming increasingly important, and finally, the finishing of printed products using inserts, coupons, personalization and film wrapping is gaining in significance.” Fast and Quiet Slovenská Grafia, which prints over 50,000 tonnes of paper annually, invested in its new stitching system last autumn, and it is Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

1 Martin Ilavský (center), Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Slovenská Grafia: “The Primera E140 meets our requirements exactly.” Left: Peter Kosík, Production Director at Slovenská Grafia, right: Martin Minár, Head of Sales at Muller Martini Slovakia.

3 Machine operator Július Meszaros operates the entire Primera E140 line via the touchscreen. 4 + 5 Two further stitchers from Muller Martini, a PrimaPlus and a Prima S, are already in use at Slovenská Grafia in Bratislava.

2 Can be changed over quickly from one job to the next thanks to the high level of automation: the new Primera E140 stitcher at Slovenská Grafia.

exactly these criteria that the system had to be able to meet. “We have a long-standing partnership with Muller Martini,” says Martin Ilavský, referring to the Prima S and PrimaPlus stitchers that have now been in operation at the company for a number of years. “That’s why we performed several tests with our products on the Primera E140 at the Muller Martini training center in Oftringen. We were surprised not only by how quickly this modern stitcher can be changed over from one job to the next, thanks to the high level of automation, but Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

also by how quietly it operates. To put it simply: the Primera E140 meets our requirements exactly.” Connex Records Operational Data In addition to a cover folder feeder and five pile feeders, the new line also includes a merchandise tipper with conversion trolleys for even faster positioning and offers automatic loading of signatures via a stream feeder. “The fact that the new Primera allows us to produce in bundles further increases our flexibility,” says Martin Ilavský, “as does the Connex workflow system,

which we use to record our operational data.” In addition to the superior quality of the stitched products, the ease of operation of the new line also contributes to the overall positive impression. “We have had very good reactions from our machine operators,” says the Managing Director. 

www.grafia.sk 31

Digital Solutions

When a Machine Operator Does Ten Different Jobs on the SigmaLine Offset Paperback Manufacturers Inc., one of the world’s largest book manufacturers, is the latest company to put more and more faith in digital printing. That is why OPM has put a SigmaLine digital book production system from Muller Martini into operation at its plant in Laflin in the US state of Pennsylvania, complementing its two Kodak PROSPER digital printing presses.

1 E Offset Paperback Manufacturers produces books exclusively for the American book market, and three figures from the company’s order books from 2005 to 2010 underline the striking change that has taken place in this market: E The number of books printed during these five years increased eight-fold. E The total number of pages printed almost doubled. E However, the number of copies printed per book fell by a factor of 6. “So you can see that our industry is changing rapidly,” says Mitch Weiss, Vice President of Sales at OPM, when analyzing recent events. SigmaLine with Both Roll-to-Roll and In-line Configuration Although detailed figures are classified for competitive reasons, Mitch Weiss has no doubt “that we are not only increasingly becoming a virtual warehouse for large 32

2 publishers and smaller publishers with a wide range of additional services, but also that even more books will be printed digitally in the future and new markets will be opened up, particularly in color printing.” That is why OPM put two inkjet digital printing machines from Kodak – a PROSPER 1000 for monochrome and a PROSPER 5000XL for four-color – as well as a SigmaLine digital book production system from Muller Martini with SigmaFolder, SigmaCollator, SigmaBinder, SigmaTower, SigmaTrimmer and SigmaControl into operation at its plant in Laflin, PA in summer 2010. This is the first phase of implementation and represents a roll-to-roll solution, as unveiled by Muller Martini this year in similar form – with a stitching machine in place of a perfect binder – at the Hunkeler innovationdays event in Lucerne, Switzerland (see “Panorama” 1/11). However, the SigmaLine at OPM is also calibrated as a complete in-line system.

Runs: 1 to 1500 The current production method grants OPM the greatest level of flexibility to manufacture books from both Kodak printing presses on the SigmaLine. The preprinted roll includes a couple of meters of white space between each individual book; the SigmaLine detects the new job, rejects the unprinted paper and allows a fully automated job changeover. The upper limit per book is around 1500 copies. “But we make books every day with a run of one,” says Nancy M. Lavan, Customer Service Manager at OPM. “An Intelligent System!” “For short runs, the SigmaLine is the perfect solution – it really is a great machine,” says Nancy. Machine operator Andrea Castanaro agrees: She used to work on an Amigo perfect binder from Muller Martini, but now she often operates the SigmaLine alone as a “one-woman show.” “I carry out ten different jobs along the entire line,” she Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

1 + 2 SigmaLine machine operator Andrea Castanaro: “When a preprinted roll is running, I often only need to walk around and complete checks.” 3 The SigmaLine digital book production system is the perfect solution for the large number of short runs at Offset Paperback Manufacturers. From left: Mitch Weiss (Vice President of Sales at OPM), Nancy M. Lavan (Customer Service Manager at OPM), Andy Fetherman (Division Manager Digital Solutions at Muller Martini USA), Andrea Castanaro (Machine Operator at OPM). 4 The SigmaLine at OPM is a roll-to-roll solution, but it is also calibrated as a complete in-line system.

Overview of OPM

4 says with a mischievous smile, before adding: “When a preprinted roll is running, I often only need to walk around and complete checks. There are many different books on a roll and the jobs are automatically changed over thanks to the white space, which of course saves a lot of time and is less labor-intensive. In short, it’s an intelligent system!” High Level of Safety Thanks to Connex This system also features a Connex digital workflow system that ensures all the units Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

integrate seamlessly. It provides a high level of safety and transparency in production and generates the job data for all systems, which is a crucial advantage for OPM in view of their large number of short runs. 

Offset Paperback Manufacturers Inc. (OPM), one of the world’s largest book manufacturers, is part of the Bertelsmann/Arvato Group. It prints exclusively in digital format at its plant in Laflin, PA. As well as the two Kodak PROSPER machines, it operates other digital printing machines. “Digital printing allows us to produce short runs in an efficient and cost-effective way,” says Mitch Weiss. “We help publishers to prevent books going out of print, reduce stock levels and test new books on the market.” OPM headquarters in Dallas, PA prints exclusively using the offset printing process – just like its sister company Berryville Graphics in Berryville, VA.

www.opm.com 33

Digital Solutions

3 x HP + 3 x SigmaLine + 1 x Acoro = High Level of Production Flexibility

Three months ago, Courier Corporation commissioned a third SigmaLine from Muller Martini for its plant in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts (USA), thereby expanding its capacity for the fast-growing digital book industry. Softcover and hardcover books are printed on three HP T300 digital presses, and subsequently bound on an Acoro A7 perfect binder from Muller Martini.

1 Joseph L. Brennan, Vice President of Engineering at Courier Corporation (left): “The SigmaLine gives us a range of options when it comes to format and number of signatures.” Right: Scott Merrick, Project Engineer for Courier Corporation, middle: Frank Donnelly, Sales Manager at Muller Martini USA. 2 From the HP T300, the paper web goes to the SigmaFolder, the only web-based, variable-size signature folder in the world.

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

E Up until 2009, Courier Corporation’s facility in North Chelmsford housed corporate staff and fulfillment services. In record time, the site was transformed into a stateof-the-art production facility for the digital printing and finishing of books, under the new brand name Courier Digital Solutions (CDS). In March 2010, the first SigmaLine with HP T300 was commissioned in the new plant, which is situated some 30 miles outside of Boston. The second machine was commissioned seven months later and the third in May 2011. Books Should be Sold, Not Stored! “Panorama” talked to Joseph L. Brennan, Vice President of Engineering at Courier Corporation, who explained “the fact that we are already commissioning the third production line in such a short space of time is a clear indication of the growing importance of digital printing.” Courier, founded in 1824, is the third-largest book manufacturer in the USA. It produces books for the educational, religious and specialty trade markets. According to Brennan, “we have achieved our initial goal of building a highly productive short run digital book manufacturing facility. This capability has allowed our customers to order shorter runs, thereby reducing inventories and obsolescence.” Brennan has not only kept a close eye on market trends over the years, but also on

the development of solutions provided by equipment manufacturers. “The fact that the new inkjet color printing presses have become so productive has prompted us to invest in this technology. And, there is no doubt that this technology will continue to evolve, becoming even more productive. As it does, Courier will be positioned to adapt to the continued market trend of reducing order quantities. In addition, our digital manufacturing capabilities will allow

us to tap into new digital markets as they emerge.” When it comes to the machinery, all three production lines at Courier in North Chelmsford are configured in the same way – HP T300, SigmaFolder (the world’s only web-based, variable-size signature folder and an important link between the printing press and the finishing process), SigmaCollator (gathers the signatures into book blocks), SigmaControl (controls the

Complete Digital Networking Using the Connex Workflow System Whether it’s softcover production with the Acoro and Pantera perfect binder lines, hardcover production with the Diamant MC in-line bookline or saddle stitching with the highly automated, powerful and extremely configurable Primera family, the digital Connex workflow system developed by Muller Martini and used on a company-wide basis ensures seamless interplay and optimum

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

control of all assemblies in all finishing processes. Connex forms the basis for the seamless integration of softcover, hard cover and saddle stitching systems into the SigmaLine digital complete system. Connex communicates with all the machines involved: it ensures high levels of safety and transparency during production, generates job data for all systems and facilitates sorting, grouping and planning of orders. These are indispensible assets,

particularly given the trend toward increasingly short runs. Another major benefit of Connex, upon which all Muller Martini’s new and future developments are based, is the close cooperation between Muller Martini and the world’s leading manufacturers of digital printing systems. This cooperation forms the basis for seamless integration of printing presses into the entire production systems workflow.

Digital Solutions

entire system) and the Connex digital workflow system (ensures seamless interaction of all assemblies). Connex Makes Things Simpler In addition to the solution’s overall concept and Courier’s partnership with Muller Martini that spans over 30 years, it was – according to Brennan – due in no small part to Connex that the balance was tipped in favor of the SigmaLine system. Connex communicates with all the machines involved: it ensures high levels of safety and transparency during production, generates

job data for all systems and facilitates sorting, grouping together and planning of orders. These are indispensable assets, particularly given the trend toward increasingly short runs (see box). From SigmaLine to Acoro At Courier, the book blocks leaving the SigmaLine are bound into books on an Acoro A7, supplemented by an Orbit three-knife trimmer and CB 18 counter stacker. “The SigmaLine gives us a range of options when it comes to format and number of signatures,” says Brennan. “The Acoro of-

fers us extra production flexibility that we simply would not have with a different solution.” In order to ramp up the production of the perfect binder line as quickly as possible, the machine operators attended a training week at Muller Martini’s bookbinding academy in Felben, Switzerland. As Brennan is keen to emphasize, “The Acoro machine operators are a very important part of our digital production process, and we attribute great importance to good team building.”  www.courier.com

Joe Brennan: “The Acoro offers us extra production flexibility that we simply would not have with a different solution.”

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Newspaper Mailroom Systems

20 Technicians “Celebrated” Easter by Installing a New Ramp System in Four Days Operation ran with military precision: A total of 20 Muller Martini technicians, together with employees from Edda Trykk, made sure that not a single hour of production time was lost.

In a nonstop operation, planned and carried out with military precision, 20 technicians from Muller Martini replaced the old ramp system in the mailroom of Edda Trykk in Stokke with two new NewsSorter high-performance pallet transporters. Two weeks later, the Norwegian newspaper printer had already signed the acceptance letter for the new equipment.

E Skipping to the end of this story, at 6 pm on the dot on Easter Monday, just like planned, the first newspaper bundles were processed using the two new NewsSorter systems – exactly four days after the installation process had started. Taking this approach meant that Edda Trykk did not lose a single hour of production time; this is because no newspapers would have been printed over the Easter weekend anyway. “We are very satisfied with the installation process. The crew of Muller Martini did an excellent job,” says Svein B. Sæbøe, Project Manager at Edda Trykk. A total of 20 Muller Martini technicians from various countries ensured that replacing the ramp systems went according to plan. “They worked,” says Daniel Frey, project managMuller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

er at Muller Martini Print Finishing Systems, “virtually around the clock from Good Friday onwards, working in two shifts together with Edda Trykk employees. Thanks to the outstanding cooperation between our people and the customer’s employees, it was possible to ensure that the new systems were installed bang on schedule.” A few Muller Martini technicians stayed to give advice and support during the first few days of production. Thanks to everything running so smoothly within this brief period, Edda Trykk officially accepted the new equipment after just two weeks. With three NewsLiner inserting systems, two FlexiRoll buffers, two palletizers and a ramp system, Edda Trykk is a long-

standing partner of Muller Martini. Commissioning the two NewsSorter systems forms part of a larger upgrade program, which the producer of several daily and weekly newspapers is hoping will increase efficiency in the mailroom. 

www.eddatrykk.no 37

Newspaper Mailroom Systems

Two ProLiners Celebrate Asian Debut at “Daily News” in Bangkok Paramet Hetrakul, Production Director of Si-Phya Publishing Company Ltd. in the Thai capital of Bangkok, describes his company’s latest investment in two new ProLiners as an important decision and a complete success. In a first for the Asian market, the two insertion systems from Muller Martini were installed a year ago and are now meeting the high expectations of the renowned newspaper publisher.

The comprehensive mailroom solution from Muller Martini at the “Daily News” in Bangkok also includes several high-performance Print Stack stackers. The image shows Si-Phya Production Director Paramet Hetrakul (right) and Chalermchai Tetcharoenpanit, Managing Director of Muller Martini in Thailand.

Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

The two ProLiners are also used for jacketing the broadsheet newspapers with heatset commercial products and for inserting tabloid inserts relating to entertainment, tourism, healthcare and teenage issues.

E The publishers of the Thai “Daily News” – the country’s second-largest daily newspaper with a circulation of 800,000 – have laid solid foundations for enhancing the newspaper’s design appeal and optimizing the insert business with creative production variants. The two ProLiner systems are extremely versatile and powerful. They are used both for jacketing the broadsheet newspapers with heatset commercial products and for inserting tabloid inserts relating to entertainment, tourism, healthcare and teenage issues. This has opened up completely new design options for the advertising environment, which has already helped the “Daily News” – published seven days a week, with between 32 and 40 pages – to achieve considerable growth in sales. Visions for the Future The investment decision taken by the current management generation of the independent daily newspaper, which was founded by Saeng Hetrakul in 1964, is breaking new ground in page design and marketing, and has demonstrated pleasing initial success. “To be successful, you Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

have to take the first step and test the market. Shortly after commissioning the two ProLiners, we informed our advertisers of this pilot project and its attractive advertising options with a large-scale campaign.” According to Paramet Hetrakul, the project reached its target group and was very well received. “We will now work on boosting our successes and implementing more ideas and visions for the future.” Bound by Trust As Paramet Hetrakul says, the successful partnership between Si-Phya and Muller Martini, which spans almost two decades, has proven itself once again with the current ProLiner project: “We considered various potential manufacturers before making our decision to invest. The project began back in 2007. We spent the time up until the contract was signed in 2009 researching state-of-the-art technology, which included finding out about the latest generations of machines at drupa 2008.” According to the production director, it was Muller Martini’s innovational strength and the quality, performance and reliability

of the ProLiners that clinched the deal. “As usual, the technical advice, project management, delivery time, commissioning, training and after-sales service were exemplary. Having direct contact with the manufacturer, the subsidiary in Singapore, which is responsible for the region, and with Muller Martini Thailand has worked very well and given us peace of mind and confidence every step of the way. The two easy-to-operate ProLiner inserting lines are tailor-made for our production requirements and have given us a considerable competitive advantage.” Flexibility is Key The two ProLiners, each equipped with four feeders, enable the “Daily News” to use three different types of production: E The two-page or four-page carrier medium, which is fed in via the first feeder, is opened and the newspaper is inserted into it directly from the printing press via the second feeder. An intermediate opening is then used to re-open the carrier medium and the newspaper, to which two inserts are added in the third E and fourth feeders. 39

Newspaper Mailroom Systems

2 E The two inserts can also be placed in the carrier medium along with the newspaper, with no second opening. E The third option is to use a conventional newspaper insertion process, which involves placing the two inserts into the newspaper without a carrier medium. “Both insertion systems have worked well from the outset,” says Paramet Hetrakul. “A direct online connection with the manufacturing plant in Switzerland pro-

vides support in the event of any required modifications and updates. This means that we always have access to the full potential of both insertion systems.” 

1 The close partnership between Si-Phya and Muller Martini spans almost two decades. The image shows a NewsGrip A newspaper conveyor on the TKS printing press installed in 1992. 2 The two ProLiners, each equipped with four feeders, enable the “Daily News” to use three different types of production.

www.dailynews.co.th

ProLiner: Tailor-Made for All Dimensions The ProLiner insertion system is designed to meet the requirements of newspaper operations of a range of sizes. The open system architecture means that it can be flexibly expanded at any time. Complex mailroom requirements such as zoning and regionalizing, plus the growing number of pre-printed sections and inserts are fully taken into account. To ensure the reliability of the insertion process, the main product and pre-printed sections must be opened and held securely in the inserting pockets. Four grippers open the product safely, fix the open newspaper and provide stability. Even thin tabloid products can be completed effortlessly. The ProLiner feeders process a wide range of products and are extremely simple to operate and configure. The changeover times for insert changes are extremely quick, thus increasing the net output of the insertion systems. The configurable faulty copy and double sheet detector continually checks the insertion quality. Incomplete newspapers can be targeted and ejected or completed using a back-up feeder.

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Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

Printing Presses

Thanks to the New Alprinta 74V, Metro Label Can Now Also Print In-Mold Labels Package printing and labeling specialist Metro Label Group Inc. based in Toronto (Canada) recently inaugurated its new Alprinta 74V web offset printing press from Muller Martini at an open house event attended by around 100 customers. E “The market for in-mold labels is set to grow over the next few years and we want to be there when this happens,” explained Sandeep M. Lal. The president of Torontobased Metro Label decided to invest in the Alprinta 74V and a diecutting machine from Schober primarily to allow the company to focus on in-mold labeling. “Of course, we won’t just produce in-mold labels on the new printing press,” explains Sandeep M. Lal. “We also want to use this equipment to break into other market segments. And this was why we chose the flexible solution from Muller Martini.” Flexible and Efficient The flexibility and efficiency of the new web offset printing press were the two main advantages that convinced the innovative company to go ahead with the investment. “When it comes to label printing, our margins are very tight. That’s why rapid setup times and high production speeds are an absolute must.” Metro Label Group Inc. operates a grand total of 16 printing presses at its plant in Toronto, and the company also owns another two plants in Vancouver (Canada) and in the Napa Valley (California, USA). The new Alprinta 74V is a nine-color combination printing press featuring seven offset printing units and two flexo printing units. The press also comprises an in-line laminating station for surface finishing plus automatic flying splicers for unwinding and rewinding. The processing unit with non-stop disposal of punch scrap is equipped with magnetic cylinders for the manufacture self-adhesive labels. The printing ink is hardened via an integrated UV drying process: The UV heaters are mounted on chill cylinders, allowing temperature-sensitive substrates to be processed. Sandeep, whose father Narinder founded the business in 1974, chose Muller Martini for the first time when he invested in the nine-color Alprinta 74V. And it was a choice that proved to be justified as early Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

as the installation phase: “I’ve never seen such commitment or been so impressed with an installation team from any other machine manufacturer.” Live Demo at the Open House Event Thanks to its excellent reputation, Metro Label has a large customer base that extends beyond Canada and the USA into the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Thanks to a live demo at the company’s open house event in Toronto in mid-June, many of these customers saw first hand the range of package printing options of-

fered by the new Alprinta 74V in combination with the Schober diecutting machine. They also witnessed the emphasis Metro Label places on environmental issues at its 132,000 square-foot plant in Toronto. Company owner Sandeep M. Lal is especially proud of the fact that this modern production facility, which was opened six years ago, was the first printing company in North America to be certified in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.  www.metrolabelgroup.com

1 From right: Sandeep M. Lal (President of Metro Label), Narayanan Venkatesh (Plant Manager at Metro Label), Gary Hughes (Managing Director of Muller Martini Canada) and Bernhard Schmid (Member of the corporate management at Muller Martini) in front of the new Alprinta 74V at the Metro Label plant in Toronto. 2 The new Alprinta 74V web offset printing press was a real hit among the 100 or so visitors to the Metro Label open house event.

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Printing Presses

The Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron Success Story in the Niche Market of Bank Checks Printing Bank checks may not be used as much as in previous years, but for the Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron printing house, based in the French city of Bordeaux, this business segment is still a budding niche market. As a result, the company has recently invested in a new Concepta web offset printing press with eight printing units. E What started 42 years ago with just a couple of Francs in the kitty and a small printing house in Bordeaux, has become one of the most influential checks printing houses in France for Guy Dupeyron and his wife Nadine. That’s right: They print bank checks. Virtually all of the turnover generated by Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron comes from printing checks for many of France’s important banks or for various companies specializing in personalized checks. “Checks are still important” “As we all know, the total number of checks in use is falling,” says the founder of the printing house. “Despite this, checks are still an important payment method in our country. As various printing houses have 42

taken a step back from this business segment, we have been able to establish ourselves as an important player in this niche market.” The success of the family business, which prints on some 2000 metric tons of paper each year, all comes down to the fact that it has become synonymous with absolute adherence to deadlines and perfect printing quality. This top quality promise has been achieved through continuous investment in state-of-the-art equipment by Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron, which now employs a team of around 12 people. Three Web Offset Printing Presses The company’s first web offset printing press was commissioned in 1987 when the new production plant was opened. The

second printing press followed in 1998 – a five-color Concept printing press from Muller Martini, which was later upgraded through the addition of a further printing unit. All good things come in threes so an eight-color Muller Martini Concepta with a QS 52 sheeter/stacker was added to the collection a few months ago. Following its

3 Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

1 A strong team: Founder Guy Dupeyron (second from right), with his wife Nadine (far right) and son Patrice (third from right) with the rest of the staff. 2 Founder Guy Dupeyron (left): “In France, checks are still an important payment method.” Right: Pascal Brun, Sales Manager for Muller Martini France. 3 Thanks to the eight-color Concepta, Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron now produces even better products. 4 The Concept printing press commissioned in 1994 was the first printing press from Muller Martini to be purchased by Dupeyron. 5 Thanks to the high level of automation that allows the Concepta to be operated easily via touchscreen, Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron now produces its products much faster, so expensive weekend shifts are a thing of the past. 6 The QS 52 with integrated stacker and batch stacker allows the checks to be produced in-line via a compact and cost-effective process.

investment in a Komori sheet-fed press for its production plant eight years ago, Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron has now also diversified into printing the majority of covers for checks books itself. According to Guy Dupeyron, there were some important reasons behind the decision to invest in the new web press: “We wanted to ensure that we were always on the right side of our increasingly tight deadlines and we needed an extra back-up machine. We chose the Concepta because we had achieved good results with the predecessor model from Muller Martini, and the design featuring a flexo cassette allows us to print even better products.” Cost-Effective In-line Production The QS 52, with its integrated stacker and batch stacker, ensures the in-line check production process is both compact and

4 Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

cost-effective, as both one-up and two-up production is possible. Thanks to the new market opportunities provided by this, Imprimerie Guy Dupeyron has already won two new major customers from the banking sector. The future looks bright for Guy Dupeyron, whose printing house complies with the most stringent security requirements and produces its products in accordance with the most important environmental standards, including the Imprim’vert certificate, NF ISO 11112, PEFC and FSC. “Bank checks will still be important for a good while yet. And because our customers are also our most important advocates, I’m very confident about the prospects for our business.” No More Weekend Shifts Guy Dupeyron has also done some timely succession planning. Since 1994 – along-

side Nadine Dupeyron’s brother Denis – Dupeyron’s son Patrice has been working at the company, as has his wife Sabine. Patrice Dupeyron has even been known to operate the web offset printing presses himself during peak times, and is as impressed with the new Concepta as his father: “Thanks to the high level of automation, our production process is so much faster that expensive weekend shifts are now an absolute exception.” 

www.dupeyron.fr

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Press Delivery Systems

When Two Experts Join Forces With an annual insert volume of 35,000 tons, the OZ Druck plant in Cologne, Germany, relies on powerful press delivery systems. A Preciso DS double stream rotary trimmer and two Listo stackers from Muller Martini, ensure that products from the new Lithoman III S printing press reach the mail room quickly and reliably.

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Muller Martiniâ&#x20AC;&#x192; Panorama Fall 2011

1 The Listo stacker produces perfect stacks, both diagonally and in tiers, at a speed of up to 100,000 copies per hour. 2 Roland Behringer (left), Managing Director at OZ Druck: “The solution installed at our plant has proved what can be achieved through successful collaboration at the highest levels of engineering.” Right, Peter Stein, Sales Manager at Muller Martini Deutsch land. 3 The compact Preciso double stream version combines two rotary trimmers.

E If a new investment is being made at OZ Druck, the machine manufacturers must make the grade, as Roland Behringer is not only Managing Director of the family firm, which was founded in 1968 by Hanspeter and Erika Medweth in Rheinfelden in the South of Germany and later expanded with the addition of a plant in Cologne, but he is also a qualified mechanical engineer. This means that nobody can pull the wool over his eyes. In addition to the extensive technical expertise provided by Roland Behringer, OZ Druck boasts a high level of methodological competence, which certainly came into play during the highly analytical selection procedure for the new press delivery system at the plant in Cologne. Objective Points System With the help of its employees, OZ Druck created a points system, encompassing several criteria. The company then divided the prices quoted by the various manufacturers by the points total of the individual machines. “Subjectivity leads to objectivity,” says Roland Behringer. “We were able to calculate exactly how much each point on our list would cost us. In this way, we Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

are able to analyze facts and figures without emotions coming into play.” However, the points list was not the only factor that prompted OZ Druck to opt for a Muller Martini solution – a Preciso double stream rotary trimmer and two Listo stackers – for the first time in the history of the company. According to Roland Behringer, the collaboration between two experts – OZ Druck and Muller Martini – was also a deciding factor. “The solution installed at our plant has proved what can be achieved through successful collaboration at the highest levels of engineering,” explains the Managing Director, referring not only to the deserting chain, designed especially for OZ Druck by Muller Martini, in which two printed products are stacked in a staggered formation before being separated, but also to the bump turns. Up to 100 Tons of Paper per Day! A look at the most impressive figure at the Cologne OZ plant, which employs a staff of 49 who work in four-shift operation, will suffice to demonstrate that the press delivery system, which includes a blocking function and a cross strapping function, as well as an automatic palletizer from anoth-

er supplier, must meet the highest standards: 35,000 tons of paper are printed here every year – that’s almost 100 tons per day. This figure includes inserts for business, with runs of between 100,000 and several million copies. These are delivered directly to the consumer, either as newspaper supplements or as standalone products. “We have a great deal of expertise when it comes to inserts. This is what sets us apart from our competitors,” says Jörg Schmitz, OZ Plant Manager in Cologne. The inserts are printed on a Lithoman III (55,000 r/h), and on a Lithoman III S – with 70,000 rotations per hour, this is the world’s most powerful Lithoman III printing press. In 4-up operation, the machine can print a staggering 240,000 copies per hour. Industrial Production “Our strength is industrial production,” says Roland Behringer. “For this reason, we need suitably powerful and reliable press delivery systems for our time-critical products.” And the exclusively in-line double stream version of the high-output Preciso rotary trimmer was the perfect machine for the job. “It meets all our expectations with regard to output, functionality, operation, service and life cycle costs, just like the two Listo stackers,” sums up Jörg Schmitz. 

www.oz-druck.de 45

Services

Increasing Machine Availability with Retrofits and Training Graphic arts companies operate under severe time and cost pressure, which means that they cannot afford to lose precious hours. Such companies can increase productivity significantly by upgrading existing systems and offering a good standard of training to its machine operators.

E Bernd Wein has no doubt in his mind: “Customer-oriented retrofits offered by the manufacturer can often help to get the most out of existing systems.” According to Wein, who is Technical Director of Offsetdruck Nürnberg GmbH & Co. AG, Papierverarbeitungs-KG and Media Mail Service Nürnberg GmbH (Germany), part of the ODN Group, the Muller Martini MMUptodate machine upgrade offers multiple advantages, including increased energy efficiency, an optimized control system, improved workflow, machinery updates (stitching heads/turnover belts) or enhancement (palletizer) of individual system components and better-quality printed products (increased process security through integrated control mechanisms). However, in view of the declining run sizes and increased pressure surrounding deadlines and costs, one advantage in particular has assumed central importance – reduced set-up times. For example, by integrating a setup wizard, the menu navigation is improved and so is net output. “After all, that is the main point of any investment: In addition to improving quality, we want to increase productivity,” explains Bernd Wein. “This means that a retrofit needs to give us very specific advantages when it comes to reducing costs.” Interesting Green Package Energy costs are one such area where reductions can be made. As these costs are continually on the increase, the ODN group, which operates Muller Martini Tempo (1999 model), Prima SB (2003) and BravoPlus (2008) saddle stitchers at its site in Nuremberg, has introduced targeted measures designed to optimize energy efficiency. As a result, Bernd Wein is particularly interested in the Green Package offered by Muller Martini as part of its service 46

program. Bernd Wein is a regular reader of trade magazines in the graphic arts industry and he can confirm that retrofitting has recently become a hot topic. “As a customer, we benefit from the services offered by the machine manufacturer – the banks’ reluctance to provide funding is also a key reason why companies are investing more money in upgrading existing systems.” Bernd Wein also believes that service is becoming an even more important aspect. “As we operate a three-shift rotation system, we cannot afford to lose precious hours. We therefore need 24/7 support from machine manufacturers to increase the availability of our machines.” Machine Operators Under Pressure One method of achieving higher productivity is through retrofitting; the other way is to optimize training and advanced training for machine operators by using MMImprove from Muller Martini. ”In the last few years, the deadlines for the magazines we pro-

duce have become considerably tighter,” says Hendrik Arndt, Operations Manager at Ortenauer Papierverarbeitung (OPV) GmbH, part of the Burda Group and based in Offenburg, Germany. “We are sandwiched between editing and shipping, meaning we often need to make up ground during the finishing process to ensure the products are delivered on time.” We can only do that if the machine operators have the three Tempo high-speed saddle stitchers under complete control. Three of the machine operators are new recruits to the company and were recently visited by Iwan Iseli, a trainer from the Muller Martini Training Center in Oftringen, Switzerland. “Both of the course options have their advantages,” says Hendrik Arndt. “At the Training Center, you are not distracted by daily production processes. When training is carried out at our premises, the machine operators already have an excellent understanding of the system and are able to apply their experience to the course.” Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

2 1 Bernd Wein (right), Technical Director of Offsetdruck Nürnberg GmbH & Co. AG, Papierverarbeitungs-KG and Media Mail Service Nürnberg GmbH: “A retrofit can help to get the most out of existing systems.” Thomas Schmidt (left), Sales Manager at Muller Martini Germany. 2 Hendrik Arndt (center), Operations Manager at Ortenauer Papierverarbeitung (OPV) GmbH: “We will definitely run these courses at our premises again.” Machine operator Christoph Volk (right), Peter Stein (left), Sales Manager at Muller Martini Germany. 3 Enver Ljeskovica (right) and Thomas Renggli, machine operators at Sprüngli Druck AG: “We are interested in doing our bit to make production more cost-effective.”

Higher Level of Production Reliability Machine operators today need to complete significantly more tasks than in the past. According to Hendrik Arndt, this means that it is even more important for them to have a detailed knowledge of all system components. “We used to have two machine operators per Tempo line, but now we only have one,” says Arndt. This is why one of the primary aims of the training week was to increase confidence among the machine operators. Hendrik Arndt believes that this aim was achieved: “And this was in large part thanks to Iwan Iseli. He explained lots of details about the saddle stitcher to our people (for example, the feeder), gave them some key tips to use during production and also sent us a very useful written follow-up report.” As the machine operators now have a better understanding of how the individual system components interact, Hendrik Arndt has no doubt: “We will definitely run these courses at our premises again.” Muller Martini Panorama Fall 2011

“Really benefited from the course” Enver Ljeskovica and Thomas Renggli, machine operators at Sprüngli Druck AG, also feel positive about their training week. The family business based in Villmergen, Switzerland, put a new Primera E140 saddle stitcher into operation several weeks ago. “We used to have a 321 saddle stitcher that could only be adjusted manually,” says Thomas Renggli. “The process of switching to a new, fully automated model was an equally major undertaking.” As the two machine operators had been present when the new system was being installed and had learned a great deal about it while it was being assembled, they attended a course together at the Muller Martini Training Center in Oftringen. “We really benefited from the course, particularly when it came to setup procedures,” says Enver Ljeskovica. “For example, you can make fine adjustments on the Perfetto stacker during production; this was a completely new feature for us.”

More Cost-Effective Production Thomas Renggli considers the lessons on setup procedures to have been especially valuable, as Sprüngli Druck AG prints and stitches many short runs: “Our work has become a lot more hectic, so it is important that we can quickly change the saddle stitcher over from one job to the next. After all, we are also interested in doing our bit to make production more cost-effective.” The course was led by Remo Ciotti and held at the Training Center, which both men see as a major advantage: “It meant there were no distractions and we could decide for ourselves which production processes we wanted to do.” 

www.odn-gruppe.de www.hubert-burda-media.com www.spruenglidruck.ch 47

Grow with VSOP.

Müller Martini VSOP Variable Sleeve Offset Printing The technology of the VSOP web offset press provides the capability to take advantage of many market trends in packaging: flexible packaging, labels (shrink-sleeve, self-adhesive labels, wet glue labels, IML, wrap-around), folding carton and liquid packaging. The press runs up to 365 m/min (1200 ft/ min) and produces the complete size range (381–762 mm/15–30”) by using lightweight print sleeves. The VSOP is available in web widths of 520 mm (20 ½”) and 850 mm (33 ½”) and offers a great number of hybrid configurations with flexo, gravure, screen etc. – Grow with VSOP. o

lExp Labe t a i artin 0 er M 7L 11 Müll and t S , 7 Hall