Commercial printer increases customer responsiveness, gains other key advantages

If you ask Plant Manager Ray Weidele one of the reasons why Geographics Inc. installed a Muller Martini PrimaPlus SB saddle stitcher, he’ll say:  “Our customers depend on us for great quality.”  Geographics, a full-service commercial printer located in Atlanta, has been honored 5 times as the PIAG (Printing & Imaging Association of Georgia) Top Notch Printer.  Geographics has also won numerous international print quality awards.

However, quality is not the only benefit PrimaPlus SB has brought to Geographics.   Efficiency is another.  “Our customers in the banking, retail and travel industries rely on Geographics for effective direct mail programs, “continues Mr. Weidele.  “We added the Muller Martini PrimaPlus so we could inkjet-addresses as we stitch…plus automatically insert reply cards and blow in other items.  Previously, this required additional operations in our fulfillment department.”

The PrimaPlus SB saddle stitcher features selective binding capability as well as AMRYS automatic make-ready.  The PrimaPlus SB was configured at Geographics with 6 horizontal pockets with stream feeders, 4 horizontal pockets for manual feeding, 1 cover folder feeder and 1 card folder feeder.  The machine is also equipped with Asir 3 automatic signature image recognition.  “Our customers often print multiple versions of a job and Asir 3 gives us and them iron-clad assurance that versions are not confused and books are produced accurately,“ states Mr. Weidele.

Norvin Hagan, President of Geographics Inc. adds:  “When we started looking for new print finishing capacity, we found that Muller Martini offered a persuasive combination of performance and flexibility.  We expect a lot and Muller delivered on their promises.”  Being able to rapidly start up production on the PrimaPlus SB saddle stitcher soon after installing it was also an important benefit.  “We finished the installation and training a week ahead of schedule,” explains Dennis Olson, Bindery Supervisor at Geographics.  “Then, on the second job, we stitched a quantity of 1.7 million books with two blow-in cards.  No problems!  I wish every start-up went like this one.”

The bottom line for Geographics has been an increase in versatility and enhanced responsiveness to customers.  “This new machine has given us considerable added capacity to our already robust stitching department,” sums up Ray Weidele.  “With customers wanting it faster and cheaper while maintaining a high level of quality, the PrimaPlus SB has added to our ability to deliver what our customers want.”

The 14,000 c/hr. Muller Martini PrimaPlus SB saddle stitcher can be configured with up to 16 feeders.  PrimaPlus SB meets a comprehensive range of print finishing requirements – providing automatic gathering, stitching, trimming, inserting, film wrapping, addressing and palletizing.  AMRYS automatic make-ready technology on the PrimaPlus SB can reduce set-up times by 50 percent, helping to increase the profitability of frequently-changing jobs.