The range of gimmicks is wide and varies from film-sealed toys for comics, CDs and DVDs for computer magazines, to the most extraordinary product samples or bound-in magazine inserts.  The manufacturers’ creativity knows no bounds and their eagerness to develop unique products results in an on-going race to come up with new creations.

Print finishing companies are constantly analyzing the individual needs of producers and offer several inline solutions which generate added value.

Glued-in CDs or DVDs make the product more interesting for the buyer. 

Gluing of product samples
Reply cards, CDs or product samples glued into magazines have long been considered state of the art gimmicks. Muller Martini sample and card gluers, integrated in saddle stitching or perfect binding systems, offer the opportunity to glue these products into the magazines in a very simple manner. They can be used at any feeder position and are capable of producing at high production output speeds.  

At present, the trend is towards post-it notes carrying advertising messages. So far, post-its could only be applied offline. Now, thanks to an auxiliary device especially developed for the card gluer, the post-it notes can be applied on the magazine signature inline as well.  

Inline stitching, trimming and die cutting
Creative, die-cut signatures catch the customer’s eye and give added value to manufacturers of saddle-stitched printed products. To achieve this, the reliable and sturdy BOGRAMA die-cutting machines expand the capabilities of Muller Martini’s Valore, Presto, BravoPlus and PrimaPlus Saddle Stitchers. An inline configuration with stitching, trimming and die-cutting ensures efficient production of a variety of die-cut, hole-punched and perforated products also for multi-purpose utilization (for small sizes: up to eight-up saddle-stitched production).

The trick of personal addressing
“Congratulations, Mr. XY. You’ve won!” – ”Dear Ms. Johnson, this is your personal copy!” With personally addressed messages, manufacturers of subscription magazines and advertising mailings try to increase the popularity of their products. Databases containing detailed reader profiles are a precondition to personally addressing the readers. These days, personal addresses and messages to the readers can be easily applied with commonly used inkjet systems. Thanks to this technology, finishers and their customers stand out from their competitors and further improve the added value of their products.

Today, many editors, having readers’ data at their disposal, are capable of producing target-group-specific products. This method, called selective binding, is carried out using an appropriately equipped saddle stitcher of Muller Martini, such as the Prima Plus SB. Every feeder of this stitching system can be individually controlled with a central Controller allowing many different signature combinations and stitching alternatives.

Film-wrapping as protection
Efficient finishing of varnished products can be performed inline, i.e. right after the product has been processed by a saddle stitcher or a perfect binder. With the Onyx/Rubin Inserting and Film Wrapping Line, Muller Martini offers the ideal solution for achieving this objective. Already varnished products can be further varnished with the Onyx/Rubin Inserting Machine. Additional inserts can be added to the main product at different positions or address sheets placed on the cover before the product is film-wrapped with the Rubin Film Wrapping Machine, sealed and finally supplied to the mailroom. Film-wrapping protects printed products from exposure to the elements and prevents inserts and product samples from falling out or being stolen.

Controlled Quality
Muller Martini provides comprehensive quality control for all major process steps in order to guarantee producers perfect stitching quality, complete products and much less waste:

Asir 3
Asir 3, the optical image and barcode recognition, offers the most reliable control for complete and correctly assembled products.

Copy Control
If the Copy Control recognizes a wrong signature, the signature feed to the subsequent feeders is stopped and the waste rate significantly reduced.

Side thickness measurement (Semko)
All copies are checked and compared to a reference value. Incomplete copies are rejected and the waste ratio reduced.  

Oblique sheet monitor
Photocells check the position of all signatures. If printed signatures are recognized to be in oblique positions, the product is rejected without being stitched.

Thickness measurement by ridge caliper
All copies on the chain are checked for correct thickness. Wrong copies are rejected.

Trim monitor
During the trimming process, each product is checked for the appropriate trim accuracy via the built-in trim monitor. Wrong copies are rejected.

Sequential On/Off
At the beginning of the production process, the feeders are sequentially switched on and at the end of production they are switched off in the same manner. This procedure ensures that only complete products leave the saddle stitching line.