fgb and its predecessor, Herder-Druck, has been producing books since 1808, from pre-press to binding, all from one source. In 1974, fgb became an independent company within the Herder Group. With four sheet-fed offset printing presses, including a four-color machine and a five-color machine, fgb has specialized in producing books in small and medium-sized print runs for years now.

Leo Lenschin (left) and Dieter Futterer (right), machine operators of the two hardcover booklines, together with the bookbinding manager Rolf Kanzler in front of the Diamant MC Hybrid.

Ready for Use in No Time
In order to keep up with the latest technology, the innovative company invested in a digital printing press, new thread sewing machines and a Diamant MC Hybrid. With this bookline, the company can produce print runs of any size at low costs and with the highest level of quality. “We looked at exactly which bookline we wanted to invest in,” reports Rolf Kanzler, the bookbinding manager. “The top quality of the Diamant MC convinced us. We hardly waste paper anymore.”

Since the machine was installed, Kanzler continues to be convinced in its daily operation. He enthusiastically explains how quickly the machine was ready after installation: “We were producing books with excellent quality only five working days after the Diamant MC was delivered.” And this continues to be the case. Since then, nothing but outstanding books has been produced with the Diamant MC.”

Rolf Kanzler, bookbinding manager and member of board, in front of a selection of books produced by fgb.

Fast Changeover Times with Diamant MC
fgb offers print runs of 30 to 5,000 copies to its customers. That means they often have to change formats as quickly as possible. The Diamant MC with its outstandingly short changeover times is the ideal machine for carrying out such jobs. Due to its high level of automation, the machine operator no longer has to take care of the machine settings, which are set automatically after just a few touches on the screen. Other devices, such as the double lining station, also ensure fast changeover times.

Machine operator Dieter Futterer appreciates the clear and user-friendly machine controls of the Diamant MC. In addition, soon after commissioning he was convinced by the tandem station and would not want to be without it. “On one of the lining stations, we have a wide lined mill roll, on the other a compact mill roll. That allows us not only to change jobs on the fly, but we no longer have to carry around heavy rolls. The tandem station really simplifies our work,” he reports.

Machine operator Angelika Rusevljan at the delivery of the Ventura MC thread sewing machine.

Books and Brochures – Thread-sewn and Perfectly Bound
Apart from the Diamant MC, two new Ventura MC thread sewing machines were also installed. What is impressive is how easy it is to operate the machine thanks to its touch screen. “The Ventura MC is so much more comfortable to operate than the old machine,” Angelika Rusevljan, machine operator, exclaims happily. Her colleague, Sandra Bursomanno, adds that the Ventura MC runs very stable – even with difficult products. Apart from the thread sewing for hardcover and softcover books, fgb also offers perfect binding for books and brochures. The book blocks and brochures are produced on a Bolero perfect binder from Muller Martini. This range of high-quality processing for small print runs works very well for publishing houses. The fact that the prices are also right allows fgb to be able to produce jobs for companies from the Far East.

Roughly a third of  theorders placed with fgb come from publishing houses of the Herder Group. Given its location in the tri-border area, the Freiburg company maintains good business relations with French and Swiss as well as Austrian companies. Another third of the print runs come from these countries. The books for customers on both sides of the border have been impressive. The awards that fgb has received for best designed books both in Germany as well as in Switzerland and Austria are testimony to that.