19.03.2019 | Knud Wassermann

Why does Generation Z find print daunting?

The use of media has changed considerably and this is also reflected in print volumes. Added to that is the fact that this generation finds it difficult to place print orders. Digital allows you to try something out quickly and change it, whereas print is static and its finality makes it slightly daunting. It is therefore important to teach young people about the benefits of print and show them how digital tools can be used today to make print production very simple and flexible.

12.03.2019 | Harry Marian

Trusting Is Good – Monitoring Is Better! Quality assurance with MMVision

Have you ever received customer complaints because of incorrectly cased books? I see this error occur time and again with my customers when manual interventions are required during various stages of the casing process.

05.03.2019 | Selina Schmitter

My training as a commercial clerk

When I opted for this vocational training course, I came up against various kinds of stereotype ideas in my environment. "Great job! Another pencil-pushing clerk that doesn't have to do anything and earns a lot. You can make coffee all day, fill up the printer and look after the office chair!" That was just one comment I had to put up with. But I don't let such prejudiced ideas get to me.

01.03.2019 | Adrian Mayr

"Exactly What We Need"

At the Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne, Muller Martini had two reasons to celebrate. On the one hand, we registered a big crowd of visitors at our stand over all four days. On the other hand, some customers decided to purchase our solutions for finishing digitally printed products presented at the trade fair.

28.02.2019 | Paul Fischer

The motor show for digital printing

In the automotive industry, there are numerous global trade fairs for the sector to present and celebrate itself: the IAA in Frankfurt, the Tokyo Motor Show, the Detroit Auto Show, the Paris Motor Show, and the Geneva Motor Show. The fact that such a gigantic show is also held in Switzerland is actually astonishing. Although Switzerland is home to many industrial companies that supply the global automotive industry with key components, the lack of any major final assembly lines makes it impossible to speak of "automobile nation Switzerland".

27.02.2019 | Knud Wassermann

A digitalization hotspot

The Hunkeler Innovationdays are always worth a visit - as they are again in 2019. In recent years, the event has developed into an international hotspot for digital printing and everything it takes to map end-to-end workflows.

26.02.2019 | Ronald Reddmann

"Do you also offer this for hardcover?"

The large number of visitors at the Muller Martini stand on the opening day of the Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne shows that we are hitting the bull's eye with the new endsheet feeder/Vareo/InfiniTrim solution for the industrial processing of hardcover book blocks in runs of one, which was presented to the public for the first time.

25.02.2019 | Andreas Aplien

"And what's your solution?"

Our customers know that Muller Martini is the world's leading manufacturer of finishing equipment and they rely on a wide variety of machines from our company around the clock. However, only a few people know that Muller Martini is also the leading manufacturer of individual integration and workflow solutions for finishing.

19.02.2019 | Randy Shannon

Quality saddle-stitched products ensure customer-saving results

When I was a young bindery manager, a customer service representative handed me a stack of books, all with signatures in the wrong order. Naturally, the rep was upset. The order was for an important customer – and the books had been delivered to their office.

12.02.2019 | Pascal Keller

Every product is different – with Finishing 4.0 you still make money!

The subject of variable data is highly topical in the graphic arts industry and, in addition to automation and an integrated workflow, is an important component of our Finishing 4.0 development strategy. Today, Variable Data Printing (VDP) goes well beyond simply printing the name of the customer on the product or switching blocks of text. Businesses that have precise knowledge of their customers and their requirements can produce customized print products in a targeted manner.

05.02.2019 | Knud Wassermann

A book - a media accolade for YouTubers

This is not the first and certainly not the last example of how the internet is giving new impetus to the book market and making children and young adults more familiar with printed books again. The first books written by social media celebrities were already being published five years ago, and the trend continues. YouTubers consider having their own book to be a media accolade. The positive aspect of this for publishing companies is that the authors already bring potential buyers with them in the form of subscribers. This is not an entirely new, but nevertheless an interesting business model with a lot of innovation potential.

29.01.2019 | Knud Wassermann

The post-digital age has already begun

In their annual report, Matthias Horx and his Future Institute based in Frankfurt and Vienna offer an insight and outlook into current trends and innovations. A source of inspiration to look outside the box at the start of the year and perhaps take a few things into consideration in your own plans.

22.01.2019 | Richard Allart

If you want to produce a high-quality book spine, don’t ignore these tools – or you may pay dearly!

Behind ink on paper, the printed word, and the stunning images found in a book, lies the critical binding step, “spine preparation.” Far too often, spine preparation tools are not properly maintained or forgotten about. If ignored too long, or not properly configured, the binding process can become compromised or fail, resulting in costly resolution.

15.01.2019 | Alexander Kraitsch

Printing ultra-short runs: The photo book is revolutionizing the printing industry

Over the past ten years, gluing in holiday and family photos for hours on end has been digitized: Photo books produced digitally by end customers in very small runs or even runs of one have been experiencing a real boom since their market launch in 2006.

08.01.2019 | Roland Kost

Will there be a need for printing plants in the future?

Our high-quality and durable print finishing systems often give rise to the following question during the purchasing process: Is it worth investing now? Many customers sense the great uncertainty over the future of the printing industry. Will printing houses still exist in 2040? To what extent will machines purchased today be compatible when the next major technological revolution occurs?

25.12.2018

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a good start to 2019!

Baking cookies, wrapping up the last presents and enjoying mulled wine while snowflakes gently fall: During the idyllic festive season, the blog editors will also be treating themselves to a break. And at the same time, the end of the year offers us the opportunity to take a look back: Since starting our blog four months ago, 19 posts have been published and we‘ve had lots of fun!

18.12.2018 | Adrian Mayr

We‘ve turned two into three – and are taking it to the Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne as a world premiere!

We will be presenting a world first at the Hunkeler Innovationdays from February 25 to 28 in Lucerne. With its new endsheet feeder, presented to the public for the first time, Muller Martini will be demonstrating how the Vareo perfect binder/three-knife trimmer InfiniTrim Duo can industrially produce hardcover book blocks of the highest quality in runs of one copy.

11.12.2018 | Knud Wassermann

Why is print still the anchor for strong media marketing?

No matter what part of the media industry you’re in – digital transformation will affect everyone. Preparing for the future requires the development of a 360-degree perspective that integrates all channels, with print as the anchor for strong multimedia brands. We’ve put together some interesting ideas for how you can implement a 360-degree perspective.

04.12.2018 | Pascal Keller

What role do automation and networking play in Finishing 4.0?

In the first article of our Finishing 4.0 series, I provided you with a basic overview of the Finishing 4.0 development strategy. Today, I would like to provide you with a more detailed look at the role played by automation and networking.

27.11.2018 | Patrick Treyer

Is Practice Alone the Way to Perfection?

Do you know the risks you run with poorly trained machine operators? Your company is at risk of losing extensive knowledge and years of experience if an operator with longterm expertise retires, is promoted or seeks a new challenge elsewhere and therefore leaves the company. Knowledge that a new machine operator will not initially have and that must be learned from his or her colleagues.

20.11.2018 | Adrian Mayr

A cool day at Muller Martini

Many companies in Switzerland hold a “future day” once a year. This event allows boys and girls aged 11 to 13 to swap their school desk for a work desk and spend a day at the company where their mother, father or another family member or friend works. It provides them with a “live” look at the world of work, giving them an opportunity to see what adults do all day long.

13.11.2018 | Andy Fetherman

What happens, if you only think about your new digital printing technology – and forget about finishing?

Here in the United States, digital printing established itself over the past years faster than in other countries, taking root in many of our customers’ business segments. For fifteen years as Director of Digital Solutions at Muller Martini, I had the chance to work on various projects regarding the investment in new digital printing technologies. While working on these projects, I have seen many operation and production managers spend countless hours combing through print engine specifications and running samples after samples on various competitive technologies. At the end they proudly choose the printer that rises to the top as a result of their analysis. However, this sense of achievement is short-lived, when they realize that they ignored the most important aspect of a digitally printed product – how will they finish it! That’s when I usually get a call for help.

06.11.2018 | Jim Kaeli

How Touchless Workflow Optimizes the Efficiency of Simple Hardcover Production.

Touchless workflow is an integral building block of Muller Martini’s Finishing 4.0 engineering philosophy. It provides the intelligence and automation to help speed the processing of products that are printed traditionally, digitally, or in combination to handle changeovers largely without operator intervention.

30.10.2018 | Pascal Keller

Finishing 4.0, or: How can you get the most out of your print finishing?

The concept of Finishing 4.0 has been around or a little more than two years. Today I’d like to take the opportunity to tell you a bit more about our development strategy. What exactly does this term mean?

23.10.2018 | Lukas Budde

Something good is bound to come of it

It has been ten months since Muller Martini and Kolbus set their joint course for the future. The cultures of the two companies have quickly merged – after all, we have the same DNA.

16.10.2018 | Knud Wassermann

Where do the challenges in online printing lie?

Having finally set up an online shop, the main thing is to be able to compete successfully. That this is no easy task was evident from a visit to the 6th Online Print Symposium (OPS) in Munich.

10.10.2018 | Volker Leonhardt

IFRA – Muller Martini Booth Attracts Large Numbers of International Visitors

My experiences of the first two days of IFRA have been thoroughly positive – an excellent visitor response, large numbers of international customers and numerous interesting discussions.

09.10.2018 | Danja Stadelmann

Berlin Becomes the Center of the Newspaper World

People in the newspaper industry from around the world will be gathering at the IFRA World Publishing Expo & Digital Content Expo at Berlin’s ExpoCenter City from this Tuesday until Thursday. Taking “Finishing 4.0: Advanced inserting, zoning and workflow optimization” as our motto, Muller Martini will be presenting economical and forward-looking solutions for processing larger volumes of inserts efficiently, even in smaller zones.

02.10.2018 | Reto Hofer

Planning on moving?

Everyone has to move at least once in their lives. Whether it’s to a new job, a new apartment, a new city or even a new country – nowadays it seems so easy to pack up your things and make your way – confidently or with a bit of trepidation – to somewhere new. But can the same be said when moving a company’s entire range of machinery to a different production location? Judge for yourself.

25.09.2018 | Ulrich Rickli

Consolidation – Survival Strategy for Newspapers

The newspaper market is changing and not a moment too soon – consolidation is the order of the day. This is because publishers are saving where they can – selling publications and merging editorial and production locations. Currently, five publishing groups in Germany own more than 40% of all newspaper titles.

18.09.2018 | Ronald Reddmann

When Mushrooms Sprout from the Spine

Processing thread-sewn book blocks on a perfect binder represents a unique challenge for every bookbinder. This is because, depending on the quality of the thread sewing, the block thickness and the paper used, the so-called “mushroom effect” can damage the print finishing along the spine. But this needn’t be the case.

11.09.2018 | Patrick Treyer

Incorrectly stitched signatures: The Asir 3 serves as insurance against this type of error

Have you ever lost money because of incorrectly stitched or glued signatures? Read about the problems that occurred at of one of our customers and what could have been done to prevent them.

04.09.2018 | Knud Wassermann

Who still uses haptics in their communications nowadays?

At first glance, no one. But on closer inspection, just about everyone does! While the role of the haptic experience in the customer journey is dwindling because of the increasing pace of digitalization, studies and cases show that in a cross-media world, haptics are a crucial factor in determining whether a customer buys a product.

28.08.2018 | Dragan Volic

Saddle Stitcher Market Slowly Recovering

Following a lean stretch, the market is again making increased investments in saddle stitchers. What is the story behind this development?

21.08.2018 | Georg Riva

Welcome to the Muller Martini Blog

Muller Martini is joining the blogosphere! We are launching our new company blog, where we’ll provide you with regular news, not only about the world of Muller Martini, but also about topics related to the graphic arts industry, industry events and selected highlights.