The new Diamant MC digital photo book line produces book blocks of varying thickness in a single procedure. If there is a considerable difference in thickness, the machine quickly adjusts itself without interrupting production.

Memories from a vacation, anniversaries, family parties, development through childhood, progress with construction of a house – regardless of what it is you want to document, a photo book is becoming an increasingly popular and attractive option. Photo books can be created in oblong, portrait and landscape formats with various predefined heights and widths. The customer usually decides how many pages the book should contain, which is something of a challenge for bookbinders because it means the book block thickness is constantly changing. In addition, each book block has a different case, making reliable allocation an absolute must. Muller Martini has developed the Diamant MC digital photo bookline to ensure that photo books are produced efficiently and to specific requirements.

Changeovers in a Flash
The Diamant MC digital cases in book blocks of varying thickness with the same book case spine width. Provided the book block thickness remains within a specific range, the machine will adjust itself automatically without any change in performance. This means that all the required settings relating to the splitter and joint gluing are made automatically. If the thickness is outside of the range but you still use book cases of the same size, the Diamant MC digital changes over automatically and sequentially. The system essentially comprises three sections: the infeed area, the lining area and the casing-in area. Each of these areas changes over as soon as the last book leaves the section in question. The next book blocks wait just ahead of the infeed area until the first section has changed over. They are then fed automatically into the machine and production continues. There are always books in the machine and the changeover process takes place ‘in a flash’.

To ensure that each book block is given the correct book case, the block and case are assigned a bar code. Before the product is fed in, a scanner reads the barcode on the book block. A second scanner checks the book cases before they are fed onward to the casing-in station. The bookbinder can track the position of the individual book blocks and cases at any time on the monitor.

A rapidly growing market: More and more consumers are documenting their memories in the form of photo books.

Rapidly Growing Market
Performing at up to 2100 cycles per hour and delivering a high level of automation as well as proven outstanding book quality, the Diamant MC digital is able to fulfill all the expectations of photo book manufacturers. It is the ideal machine for keeping pace with the huge demand for photo books. The rate of growth seen at Albumprinter, the largest photo book manufacturer in the Netherlands, indicates just how much this market is expanding. Albumprinter first began printing photo books in 2003, and since then business has boomed. In 2009, with an enormous 22,000 percent increase in revenue, Albumprinter became not only the second-largest photo book manufacturer in Europe but also the fastest-growing organization in the Netherlands. Albumprinter produced 1.8 million photo books and photo calendars last year. Around two thirds of the goods produced by this profitable organization are earmarked for the Benelux market, with the remaining third exported to Germany, the UK and France.

Albumprinter is keen to continue its growth and as such it needs to use the very best means of production. Following extensive testing, the company quickly opted for the Diamant MC digital photo bookline as it proved more than equal to the various requirements. A large American photo book manufacturer also recently decided to invest in the Diamant MC digital. In this instance too, product tests very quickly made it clear for the photo book manufacturers that the Diamant MC digital has plenty to offer in terms of flexibility and efficiency.