For MultiPrint Litho, customer proximity and keeping up with the latest technology has been very important since the company was founded in 1951. Led by the husband and wife team of David and Mary Baker, MultiPrint Litho has developed a reputation for high-quality printed products with fast turnaround times.

Reliable and experienced partner
The need for a new saddle stitcher to replace an ageing Muller Martini Bravo model became apparent due to the demand from clients for faster turnaround. Despite the long-lasting success of the old machine, the Bakers still undertook an investigation of available technology. David Baker commented, "We always look at all the new products on the market, before making a final decision."

"According to our analysis, we found, that based on the criteria of production capabilities, service support and reliability, Muller Martini clearly stands out from its competitors. In South Africa Muller Martini is a tried and trusted supplier and it was a natural progression for us to upgrade with the market leader. Additionally, the level of support that we receive from Thunderbolt Solutions and Muller Martini is always a plus factor."

Multi-purpose utilization takes out an enormous amount of strain
Based on production requirements, MultiPrint Litho decided on the BravoPlus T with six flat pile feeders, a cover feeder station and a manual feeder station as well as a Perfetto compensating stacker. The saddle stitcher is configured for multi-purpose utilization allowing two or three products to be stitched, trimmed and stacked at the same time, says Baker.

"This is a very sophisticated piece of equipment. It is a highly efficient machine and the combination of two-up production and compensating stacker means that you are pushing out two books at once, which are ready for delivery. It takes an enormous amount of strain out of finishing the products."

Bindery foreman Allen Saunders inspects copies exiting the Muller Martini Perfetto compensating stacker while machine assistant Andries Simelame puts the stacks into boxes for delivery.

Three-phase training
According to the company owner, training was handled in an innovative way. Instead of providing operators with two weeks of training in one go, the training was broken down into three phases. During the initial training, essential machine functions were explained allowing the operators to get a feel for the machine. Thunderbolt Solutions was called and the next phase of training conducted as the first questions came up.

Once the third phase of training was complete, the operators were comfortable. Says Baker, "There was an enormous amount of information to be acquired during the training and too much to be handled in one session."

The very first production job put through the machine was a product with heavy cover and a run of half a million. "Not easy at all", Baker explained, "but it was a valuable exercise, from which our operators learned a lot from the Thunderbolt instructors."