The JGV saddle stitcher from Muller Martini, which had been used by the company for almost half a century, was showing signs of age, so Rudolf Huser, managing director and for 25 years owner of the Hochuli AG printing house, decided to invest in a replacement. Huser had first intended to buy a second-hand model, but ultimately he opted for a new Presto A90, which is essentially Muller Martini’s entry-level saddle stitcher. Although the saddle stitcher only operates for roughly 500 hours annually at Hochuli, Huser decided to invest in a new machine after performing detailed calculations. “The new Presto A90 was somewhat more expensive than the second-hand machine that we first had our eye on, but in the medium-term the investment makes better sense for us because the depreciation of a new machine is much lower than that of a second-hand model,” says the printing house owner.

Martin Ryser (left), print finishing team leader and machine operator, and Richer Hofer, Sales Manager at Muller Martini Switzerland.

Reliability, quality, flexibility
The Presto A90 provides the Hochuli printing house with considerably greater production reliability, quality and flexibility. All three aspects are of great importance to the long-established company, which employs ten people. Production reliability is important because it means that even large print runs can be stitched without any problems. Quality is important, “because our good reputation demands high-quality print finishing”, says Huser. Flexibility is important because delivery times are increasingly short. “Today we print and stitch 30,000 copies in two days, which earlier was unthinkable,” says the managing director.

What is more, the Presto A90 commissioned last July has a cover feeder in addition to three twin feeders (with a total of six stations). Hochuli needs the cover feeder for the local events calendar in particular, which has a large print run and generates a considerable proportion of the printing house’s turnover. In addition, Hochuli produces periodicals, annuals and advertising brochures in A6 to A4 format for many companies, business associations, cantonal institutions, foundations and private schools in Basel and the surrounding area. “In other words, the classic commercial printing range," says company owner Huser.