State-of-the-art saddle stitcher also speeds turnaround times, increases capacity 

Save costs, increase efficiency, and grow sales potential.  It’s a strong combination for business success, and it’s what the Muller Martini Primera E140 saddle stitcher has helped bring to Webcrafters, Incorporated.  Webcrafters installed a Primera E140 in December, 2008 and the machine’s automated operation, innovative feeder technology and many other next-generation features are already paying dividends.  “Our make-ready times are faster; and with the log feeding, we are  more efficient in labor required to run jobs,” says Kirby Frank, Bindery Superintendant at Webcrafters, a full service book manufacturer based in Madison, Wisconsin.

“We are already seeing faster turnaround times,” continues Mr. Frank in describing another advantage Primera technology has provided.  The new Primera E140 has also brought more capacity to Webcrafters.  Specifically, the company anticipates that with Primera’s speed and flexibility, Webcrafters can grow its market share in saddle-stitched educational books.  Mr. Frank goes on to explain how smoothly the installation was completed and how Muller’s training expertise was a key element.  “Muller Martini met every demand and timeline we put before them. Their new training program with Internet, classroom as well as the traditional machine training was great and very much a benefit to our Operators and Engineering staff. The operators were able to hit the ground running after their training was completed.”

The Muller Martini Primera E140 saddle stitcher runs at up to 14,000 cycles per hour and is fully automated for rapid set-ups and changeovers.  Job preparation is made even more efficient with enhanced HMI (Human Machine Interface) technology, including HMI controls at each pocket.  New touchscreens and an intuitive set-up wizard take the operator step by step through the various phases of readying the equipment for production.  Proprietary “Magic Wheel” feeder technology controls signatures with unsurpassed precision, enabling difficult stitching jobs such as lighter and thinner stocks, smaller-size products, off balance forms, creased signatures and perforated edges to be processed quickly with the highest efficiency possible.  Inline adjustments can be made conveniently and line stoppages are virtually eliminated.  Primera E140 is ergonomically designed to provide more convenient access to controls and a smoother interaction between operator and machine, as well as enhanced safety.  The Primera E140 saddle stitcher processes a wide range of sizes and produces top quality stitched products.  Modular engineering enables expandability as production needs grow.

ABOUT MULLER MARTINI

Muller Martini is the world’s largest producer of print finishing solutions for commercial and book printers, trade binderies and newspapers as well as short-run and digital book manufacturers.  Muller Martini is also the world market-leading manufacturer of variable size web offset presses.  The company is the foremost provider of innovative workflow solutions that can empower printers and binding specialists to enhance processing efficiencies, increase profitability and build new revenue streams.  Muller Martini Corp., with U.S. headquarters in Hauppauge (Long Island), New York, serves as the leading source for bindery and printing expertise in the United States, providing nationwide sales and service support and customer-specific training and responsive service to printers and binderies coast-to-coast.  The company operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing center in Newport News, Virginia along with Muller Martini Mailroom Systems, Inc. in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

ABOUT WEBCRAFTERS

Webcrafters, Inc. offers a comprehensive range of book manufacturing services from prepress and printing, to delivery and fulfillment.  Print finishing services include saddle stitching, perfect binding, spiral and case binding.  Among the products manufactured by Webcrafters are 4-color educational books, trade books and catalogs.  Products for educational customers include teacher editions and student editions for K-12 school book publishers. The company’s trade and catalog work continues to grow and a broad range of clients in many different industries depend on Webcrafters for top quality production, solid value and attentive customer service.  Located in Madison, Wisconsin, Webcrafters employs 640 people and revenues were $100 million during the company’s 2008 fiscal year.  Webcrafters’ approach to business is to set the standard for flexible and responsive partnerships with publishers and catalogers.  The company’s website is: www.webcrafters-inc.com.