Print finishing businesses are confronted daily by challenges with regard to job structures, varying format sizes and print run volumes. The broad range of needs of your customers demand customized system solutions with high output, reliability and flexibility.

The Primera E160 saddle stitcher presented at the drupa 2012 is a high-performance all-round machine featuring up to 16,000 cycles per hour for a wide range of sizes. With two-up production for the A3 size, it can even produce 32,000 A4-size copies per hour.

With 16,000 cycles per hour for mid-sized and larger print runs coupled with a wide range of sizes, the Primera E160 from Muller Martini is a high-output all-round machine. Products in sizes from A7 to A3 can be produced with various customized options – even with two-up or three-up production. The Primera E160 has a modular design and can be individually expanded, thereby enabling it to meet the market requirements of today and tomorrow.

User Friendly with Quick Changeovers
Thanks to its ergonomic design and modern control concept, the Primera E160 saddle stitcher is very user friendly and can be changed over very quickly. This is particularly important in today’s markets, as print runs are becoming smaller and smaller, which means that the machines must be changed over more often.

The clearly laid out setup wizard significantly reduces changeover times in just seven simple steps, and thus the average setup time for the automated Primera is only about six minutes. The feeder, gathering chain, stitching machine and three-knife trimmer are all synchronized automatically, and the ideal launch point for the feeder can be calculated automatically.

Connex, the data and process management system from Muller Martini, also contributes to lower production costs. Connex consistently uses already available data for a job during the entire production process as well as reduces manual process steps, which not only keeps down costs but also guarantees a high level of production security and quality.

Process Controls Ensure a High Net Output
A comprehensive process monitoring system is important when it comes to achieving high net output. Extensive quality controls on the Primera E160 ensure impeccable stitching quality, perfect products and considerably less production waste. For example, the automatic signature recognition system, Asir 3, guarantees that the signatures are gathered by the feeder in the correct sequence. The lateral thickness measurement determines whether all the signatures have been fed into the machine before stitching begins, and the oblique and length control rejects any signatures if they are fed at any angle or are not correctly aligned. The staple control function, Smart Stitch Control, not only checks for the presence of staples, but also if they have been applied correctly. A sensor on the three-knife trimmer controls the quality of the trimming.

The Primera E160 that will be on display at the drupa features a total of 46 quality and process controls that ensure a high net output, minimal production waste and excellent quality of the end products. The saddle-stitched products are transported from the Primera E160 to the Sitma inserting machine, which film-wraps the products also at a speed of 16,000 cycles per hour.