Increase added value with PUR extension for high-quality softcover products

Lorenz Cajochen (left), director of technology/printing production for customers at Südostschweiz Presse and Print AG in Chur; Richard Hofer, sales director at Muller Martini, Switzerland; and Alfred Deflorin, head of the Bookbindery Department.PUR is all but indispensable for high-quality softcover products today, which is why perfect binding lines set up for hotmelt are often retrofitted with PUR, just like the Pantera from Muller Martini at Südostschweiz Presse and Print AG in the Swiss city of Chur. Since only hotmelt production was possible on the Starbinder from Muller Martini, Südostschweiz Presse and Print AG had to outsource production of all PUR-bound products until just under a year ago. According to Lorenz Cajochen, director of technology/printing production for customers at the company in Chur, that had two consequences: “First, demand for PUR among our customers of high-quality company brochures and annual reports increased owing to the better layflat behaviour of the print products. Second, we didn’t have the entire value chain in-house.” In order to close that gap, Südostschweiz Presse and Print AG installed a secondhand Pantera to replace the Starbinder. “It suits our job structure perfectly, fits our limited space exactly in terms of layout, and the price was also right,” says Cajochen, explaining the decision to invest in the perfect binder from Muller Martini.

Since the Pantera, which was manufactured in 2008, was originally designed only for hotmelt production, it was retrofitted for PUR after the move to Chur under the Uptodate label. The Pantera with PUR extension was just the right solution for our budget. Südostschweiz Presse and Print AG now binds all its products using the PUR process, which removes the need to keep cleaning the glue pot.

The increase in quality of the softcover books and brochures produced in Chur following commissioning of the Pantera, which is coupled with a 14-station gathering machine (with Asir 3 automatic signature image recognition) is also a result of the new threeknife trimmer. Südostschweiz Presse and Print AG decided to invest in a secondhand Zenith, rather than using the system of its predecessor. It ensures a clean three-side trim, after which the products are stacked in the CB 16.

The Muller Martini technicians also made various adjustments, such as to the scoring rollers at the cover feeder, and replaced some wear parts.

The extension of existing perfect binding lines for production with polyurethane adhesives is not only due to pressure from publishing companies and their end customers, but also in some countries, especially in warmer climates, because of statutory regulations. The Brazilian government, for instance, requires that school textbooks be PUR-bound to improve durability. The thermal stability guaranteed by PUR (in terms of both heat and cold) is required, for instance, for brochures placed in cars such as manuals or guide books. And PUR is essential when it comes to softcover products with coated paper or paper with few wood fibers. Production with photo paper isn’t possible without PUR, as customers who order the production of prestige books, such as those in the automobile or watch industries, require good pull values, which can be achieved far better with the thinner glue application that is characteristic of PUR. Shorter-lived products, on the other hand, such as weekly or monthly magazines are mostly bound with hotmelt.