More than 120 visitors were able to experience what level of automation is possible in book production at the Muller Martini Print Finishing Centre (PFC) on 21 September. The book production lines presented will sustainably increase productivity in print finishing.
The highlight was the presentation of a new compact book production line designed for applications that are printed on web digital printing systems. From the combination of the SigmaLine Compact, the new Antaro Digital perfect binder and the InfiniTrim three-knife trimmer, digital book production can now be raised to a new level of productivity.
SigmaLine Compact/Antaro Digital
The output is 2000 copies per hour with a thickness variance of 20mm from book to book, and without any loss of speed. This corresponds to a threefold increase in output compared to previous solutions. The issue of personnel is an ongoing one, both in terms of availability and costs. Only two people are needed to operate the complete production line: a machine operator and a helper.
The space required for the entire process chain from folding to gluing to cutting is just 170sqm. In the past, a space requirement of well over 300sqm had to be estimated for this. The continuous barcode-based production enables a completely contact-free changeover. This happens de facto on-the-fly and offers the flexibility that is required especially for short runs or book-of-one production. ‘Changing folding schemes, for example from triple to quadruple-up, takes less than 10 seconds,’ assured Ingolf Fritzsche, Product Manager Digital Solutions at Muller Martini.
As part of the product presentation, 50 jobs, which varied in terms of run length, format and thickness, were produced live without manual intervention. Muller Martini thus once again demonstrated how flexibly and efficiently softcover brochures, hardcover book blocks or layflat brochures can be produced. The digital mastermind of the bookline is the Connex workflow, which prepares the data in the appropriate form for production. The solution also has a lot to offer in terms of sustainability and saves waste and energy.
As a rule, the first book can already be sold. ‘In the development of the Antaro perfect binder, we have incorporated all the experience gained so far from previous product generations as well as new ideas,’ emphasised Roland Reddmann, Product Manager Perfect Binding Systems. The format-variable and efficient three-knife trimmer InfiniTrim has already proven itself in practice in other constellations. With the book production line, Muller Martini has recognised the current demands of the market and created an innovative solution.
THUNDERBOLT SOLUTIONS
+27 11 657 7000
www.thunderbolt.co.za
