Muller Martini continues facilitating print finishing worldwide

Finishing in the sense of added value is just as important as printing – that goes for both production speed as well as the quality of the end product. Being convinced that state-of-the-art solutions from Muller Martini are just the right ones to ensure top-of-the-line quality finishing, various leading printing companies worldwide continue optimally equipping their facilities with these solutions for the finishing of offset and digitally printed products. A brief about some of such companies, which shall bring in new prospectives to our readers spread all over. Recently Walsh Colour Print in Ireland became one of the first graphic arts company worldwide to commission the new Alegro perfect binder from Muller Martini. Tony Wal sh, who founded and owns Walsh Colour Print together with his wife Pat, does not hesitate for a second when asked why Ireland’s leading offset printing house, which has been in business since 1991, spontaneously decided to invest in the Alegro perfect binder, which was unveiled in May at the Muller Martini stand at the drupa and answers: “Short setup times and high quality of end products.”

ony Walsh (left), owner of Walsh Colour Print in Castleisland; Machine operator Arik Surzyn (center) and Michael Murphy, director of the Irish Muller Martini agency Central Press Services Ltd.Just four months after signing the purchase contract at Muller Martini’s drupa stand, Walsh Colour Print, located at Europe’s westernmost tip, began production with the new Alegro featuring an 18-station gathering machine, PUR binding, splitting saw for two-up production, a Merit three-knife trimmer, a CB 18 book stacker and a film wrapping unit. The three machine operators familiarized themselves with the new system during the first two weeks of production with help from Muller Martini technicians. “The on-the-job training was absolutely perfect,” says Tony Walsh. “Our operators got to know the Alegro under production conditions right from the start. None of them would like to go back to the old machine.”

Founded in 1993 as a digital printing house, Dupli-Print in Domont near Paris is the leading company in France for digital solutions due to its many innovative products. The most recent investment to optimize its inline print finishing behind an HP T350 digital printing press is a SigmaLine from Muller Martini featuring a SigmaFolder, SigmaCollator, Pantera perfect binder, Esprit three-knife trimmer, Uno compensating stacker and a film-wrapping unit.

“We conducted an extensive evaluation involving technical studies and also looked at the SigmaLine in several plants,” says Frédéric Fabi, president of Dupli-Print, “That convinced us that the solutions from Muller Martini are just the right ones for us, as finishing in the sense of added value is just as important as printing – that goes for both production speed as well as the quality of the end product.” According to the company’s president, another important aspect of the purchase decision was the after-sales service from Muller Martini: “Our machines have to run around the clock, which is why it’s important to have any problems remedied quickly.”

Very thick and very thin books are among the specialties of La Pieve. Giuseppe Pedrosi, co-owner observing a book.The new production system is controlled by the data and process management system Connex and enables Dupli-Print to increase the size of its print runs in digital printing considerably and offer customers more attractive prices. The T350/Sigma/Pantera combination is used for the digital production of books and brochures with print runs of up to 2,500 copies, which are bound using the Pantera machine. The new system, which the machine operators at Dupli-Print have learned to run smoothly despite the great technological challenge, also allows the company to target new customer segments directly and open up new markets. “Ultimately, we made these investments to expand our customer base and increase our business volume,” says Fabi.

Besides, La Pieve Poligrafica Editore Villa Verucchio srl, located in Villa Verucchio near the Italian seaside resort of Rimini, is now producing softcover products in-house using a Pantera perfect binder from Muller Martini.

Even before, La Pieve performed almost all production steps in-house, from pre-press and printing to folding and wire stitching (using a 335 saddle stitcher from Muller Martini). The family business, only had the perfect binding of books, magazines and brochures done by a partner until a few months ago. According to Giuseppe Pedrosi of the company, there were three main reasons for closing this last in-house gap in March: “We want to have the entire value-added chain in our own company and have better control of deadlines and quality”.

As per Pedrosi, La Pieve’s decision to enter perfect binding and to do so with the Pantera from Muller Martini owes a great deal to the visit that he made to the Muller Martini Bookbinding Academy in Felben, Switzerland. “The large machine line-up there reassured me that we can count on Muller Martini as an experienced partner also in perfect binding,” says Pedrosi.