Recently, the 125-employee sheetfed and non-heatset web printing company installed a new Muller Martini BravoPlus saddle stitcher with full AMRYS (automatic makeready system) and compensating stacker. “We expect to see significant improvement in job turn times with the use of the automated set-up and setting retrieval system,” said Peter J. Dunne, Franklin/Trade President. “With the BravoPlus and the addition of our new automated folders, we expect to move product through our bindery 40% faster than before, with lower labor costs.”

Franklin/Trade runs 6 days per week, 24 hours daily, producing annual reports, magazines, newsletters, programs, media guides, catalogs, direct mail pieces, books, and an array of other printed products. In choosing the BravoPlus saddle stitcher, Franklin/Trade personnel compared features and performance among several competing brands and the company said that it believes the Muller BravoPlus is better designed and that it is the best equipment to meet Franklin/Trade’s increasing production requirements. The new stitcher replaced an old Consolidated-brand piece of equipment. Franklin/Trade also has a Muller Martini Fox stitcher.

Among the immediate benefits that Franklin/Trade is deriving from its new stitcher is more responsiveness to demanding customer needs. For example, the company has utilized the memory feature on the BravoPlus to reduce set-up times on numerous repetitive jobs, such as sports programs it creates for the Miami Heat NBA basketball team and the Florida Marlins MLB baseball team.

“The advanced automation features [on the BravoPlus] will allow us to interrupt jobs for the ever-present rush job that comes through,” continued Mr. Dunne. “We also will see dramatic improvements in the cycle time of large stitching jobs.”

The user-friendly Muller Martini BravoPlus saddle stitcher delivers a superior level of automation that is unmatched in the mid-range performance class. Capable of producing product at 13,000 c/hr., Bravo Plus also provides maximum uptime and exceptional net output. Other key features include variable feeding with a choice of feeder options (flat pile feeder, vertical pile feeder, stream feeder, card and cover folder feeder, and merchandise and card gluers). Top-quality production on the BravoPlus is also closely controlled through selectable options that include: copy control, ASIR (optical automatic signature image recognition), lateral thickness measurement by side caliper, oblique sheet monitor, thickness measurement by ridge caliper, stitch monitor, trim monitor, and sequential on/off.

When equipped with AMRYS, BravoPlus delivers convenient and highly efficient computer-aided makeready and changeover, enabling the machine to be customized in moments to meet changing job requirements. In fact, automated size settings on feeders, the stitching unit, the three-knife trimmer and the compensating stacker reduce the time needed for makeready by up to 50%.