Just one month after the launch of the Prinova, which can run at 9,000 cycles per hour, Muller Martini is doubling its output and this November is launching a second new saddle stitcher, the Primera PRO. One of the highlights of the 14,000-cycle machine is its newly designed, variable-thickness three-knife trimmer. It adjusts itself fully automatically thanks to motion control technology – in the future, forget manual intervention for setup!
We at Muller Martini have always been at the forefront of saddle stitcher innovations. In 1954, Hans Müller, founder of our company, introduced the first saddle stitcher with automatic signature feeders and coupled three-knife trimmer to the market. With a resounding impact on production speed. While the competition at that time stitched at best around 1000 copies per hour, the new fully automatic machine quadrupled this figure – and offered even better quality. 66 years later, a saddle stitcher three-knife trimmer is once again at the center of a technological leap forward from Muller Martini – and once again, the focus is on reducing manual intervention and thereby optimizing the production process and achieving even higher quality end products.
You don't have to adjust anything by hand
The completely redesigned three-knife trimmer of the Primera PRO is fully automated. Thanks to advanced motion control technology and servo drives, each of its format axes can be individually adjusted in case of any corrections – without compromise and without affecting other axes. Its two cut transport rollers can be individually corrected during "lift-off" – just like the two front stops, for example – without stopping the entire line.
For center cuts, the left and right (product) panels can be adjusted independently of each other. Any corrections can then be stored on the central control panel of the Primera PRO for interrupted or repetitive jobs and recalled in the same way at any time. Format and thickness settings – including asymmetries such as thickness, stops and cutting elements – are fully automated, as is product centering.
So if you're tired of time-consuming manual intervention at the three-knife trimmer of your saddle stitcher, the new Primera PRO is just right for you! You don't have to adjust anything by hand – not even the newly integrated full-format side centering for perfect head trim accuracy.
Automation lowers costs
But it's by no means just the three-knife trimmer that distinguishes the new Primera PRO, which has an output of 14,000 cycles per hour. The targeted expansion of the motion control technology for the entire machine ensures a significant reduction in setup and throughput times for your jobs and, thanks to the fast and error-free setup processes, increases your profitability.
To optimize the production process in the delivery, you get perfect quality – you can sell the first product right away. What's more, the independent decoupling of the gathering chain, stitcher and ejector systems opens up new application possibilities such as the flexible stitching head position for format changes. Together with its high format variability, the Primera PRO is therefore the ideal saddle stitcher for a wide range of products – for short runs as well as longer runs.
Fast learning thanks to new interaction
The completely redesigned, even more user-friendly operating concept for the Primera PRO – intuitive operation with local control units and a large touch screen with redesigned visualization – allows context-sensitive displays and standardized user guidance. The new interaction is therefore particularly easy to learn, which in turn reduces the need for training. This reduces your costs and is also a great advantage when changing personnel.
Two Swiss customers rely on the new Primera: Kyburz AG...
Our field test customer
Kyburz AG in Dielsdorf just outside of Zurich was able to familiarize itself with the advantages of the new saddle stitcher for several months. The printing house, which specializes in mailings, invested in two new Primera PRO at the same time and is thus reacting to the shorter runs and more variable format products in its core business. For Patrick Kyburz, CEO, the high level of format variability was one of the main reasons why he chose the Primera PRO. "This is an extremely important aspect for our personalized mailings, individualized leaflets, brochures and flyers, because we have many special products".
However, these are not only becoming more variable, but also increasingly have smaller print runs between 500 and 2500 copies. And that's where the Primera PRO with its advanced servo technology comes into its own: its short changeover time. Together with the high production reliability, the faster makeready at Kyburz ensures a significantly higher net output than the two previous models.
For Patrick Kyburz, the fact that his two new saddle stitchers not only run quietly but also reliably is another important cornerstone of success: "With complex products, it is always the weakest link that determines the cycle. That's why everything must be just right with a saddle stitcher – from the feeder to the three-knife trimmer.
...and Schär Druckverarbeitung AG
Schär Druckverarbeitung AG in Wikon in the canton of Lucerne, another long-standing Swiss Muller Martini customer, has also opted for the new Primera PRO. In addition to many specialties in the short-run sector, the family-owned company also produces classic brochures and timetables with runs in the millions. "There is a trend towards special and eye-catching products," says Chairman of the Board Paul Bucher. "But of course we also need solutions to staple high-volume standard products efficiently and cost-effectively."
Schär chose the Primera PRO particularly because of its innovative motion control technology. It significantly shortens the setup and throughput times for jobs, thus ensuring maximum profitability. "I was already convinced by this technology, the fast, stable production and the ability to make fine adjustments simply on the fly when I followed a demo of the predecessor model Primera MC in the Muller Martini Print Finishing Center some time ago," says Managing Director Yannick Bucher.
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Pascal Ruch
Product Manager Saddle Stitching and Head of Print Finishing Center Muller Martini