Cedar Falls, Iowa – As the Vice President of Operations for Woolverton Printing, Mitch Weinberg is continually looking for ways to speed workflow and boost productivity at the printing plant while also increasing the versatility of the plant’s production capabilities.  All of that has been accomplished since Woolverton installed a Muller Martini Presto saddle stitcher in early summer, 2005.

“We’ve become at least 50% more efficient,” states Mr. Weinberg.  “Changeovers are much quicker and with the Presto, we can jump back and forth with different size jobs in a faster amount of time.” 

Woolverton Printing Co. is a full-service commercial printer with 44 employees.  The company produces annual reports, catalogs, yearbooks, direct mailers and a diverse range of other products.  Woolverton’s new Presto saddle stitcher was configured with 6 pockets and a cover feeder. 

Woolverton has utilized a Muller Martini Minuteman stitcher successfully for many years, so making the decision to install another Muller stitcher was an easy one.  “Our operators are very familiar with the brand and the equipment, and our company has had great success with Muller Martini equipment,” explained Mitch Weinberg.  Another deciding factor was the world-renowned robust design and easy operation of Muller Martini print finishing equipment, as well as Muller’s commitment to its customers.  “[The Presto] offers reliability and is user-friendly...[and] Muller Martini provides excellent support and service,” continued Mr. Weinberg.

The 9,000 cycle per hour Presto saddle stitcher is engineered for small to medium size run lengths and is a sturdy and dependable investment.  Furthermore, Presto features automated menu-guided PLC controls and easy touchscreen operation.  With Presto, makereadies and changeovers can be completed extremely quickly, enabling faster job turnarounds while allowing more diverse projects to be scheduled in a shorter amount of time.

Presto can handle an extensive variety of different size books, encompassing standard products ranging in size from 12” x 14 3/8” to 3 15/16” x 5 11/16”.   Presto operates in 1:1 or 1:2 modes, providing the capability to run difficult signatures or to maintain the highest speed productivity when loading bulky projects.  And to meet the requirements of growing operations, Presto offers expansion up to a maximum of 6 twin feeders.  Other benefits of the Presto saddle stitcher include Muller Martini flying stitching heads to assure precise stitching and to reduce wear, as well as a Semko side caliper and missing stitch detector technology to further ensure optimum quality.  The Presto saddle stitcher also features an in-line three-knife trimmer along with an efficient Apollo compensating stacker...and it offers the advantages of a high/low folio, gripper and suction opening, and flat loading feeders.