Daniela Klampfer made an exception with the new Primera PRO saddle stitcher from Muller Martini. Due to the pandemic, the Managing Director of Universitätsdruckerei Klampfer GmbH in Sankt Ruprecht an der Raab in Austria invested in a system for the first time without having seen it live beforehand.
At 70 percent of the print volume – and the trend has been rising in recent years – saddle stitching accounts for the lion's share of the products manufactured at Klampfer. Klampfer produces a wide range of stitched magazines and brochures from A6 to A3 format, with a focus on A4, for smaller publishing houses, commercial, industrial and retail companies, as well as for individual customers from Vienna to Upper Carinthia. Circulations vary widely and – with an average between 5000 and 6000 – can be as few as five (digitally printed) or as many as a million copies.
From left: Stefan Riedl (bookbindery manager), Daniela Klampfer (Managing Director) and Roland Henn (Regional Director Muller Martini Eastern Europe) in front of the new Primera PRO saddle stitcher from Universitätsdruckerei Klampfer GmbH.
"The journey for the ST 450 was over"
For exactly a decade, Klampfer, which employs 70 people in 24/5 mode, relied on a saddle stitcher from Heidelberg. "But the journey for the ST 450 was over," says bindery manager Stefan Riedl. Combined with this, according to Daniela Klampfer, "faster delivery times have come to a head with the corona pandemic, and our sales volume, which has remained roughly the same, is spread over 20 percent more jobs."
In other words: production has become more small-scale because larger runs of the past are now split. This, in turn, was a weighty argument for investing in a new Primera PRO with four flat pile feeders and two vertical feeders, as well as a
Robusto compensating stacker. This is because the targeted expansion of motion control technology for the Muller Martini saddle stitcher ensures a significant reduction in job set-up and throughput times and increases profitability thanks to the fast and error-free set-up processes.
Four mini-streamfeeders further increase the productivity of the Primera PRO by providing automatic sheet feeding.
Four Mini-Streamfeeders and an addressing system
The sheets are automatically fed to the feeders via four mini-streamfeeders, which further increases the productivity of the Primera PRO at Klampfer. An addressing system is also integrated into the saddle stitcher line. One of the specialties of Klampfer, who just a few weeks ago commissioned two additional new high-performance systems – a Heidelberg Speedmaster HD XL 106-8P-4/4 offset press with Stahlfolder and a P-Stacker – is the personalization of products by printing the recipient's address.
Keyword high performance: Klampfer always runs the new Primera PRO at maximum production speed of 14,000 cycles per hour – true to the company motto "Klampfer makes pressure".
No more complaints thanks to Asir PRO
"The Primera PRO is exactly the machine we need," emphasizes Stefan Riedl and mentions another plus point of the new saddle stitcher. In addition to the motion control technology and the associated faster setup processes, the completely redesigned three-knife trimmer with individually adjustable format axes and the large-screen display that provides a quick overview, its highlights also include the new
Asir PRO camera system developed by Muller Martini. This recognizes and compares the printed sheets using 1D/2D barcode and/or image comparison.
Faulty end products are thus definitely a thing of the past. "With the previous model, we had no such control system, which promptly led to occasional customer complaints. Since the Primera PRO went into operation, however, there has not been a single complaint," says Stefan Riedl.
Also integrated into the Primera PRO line is an addressing system.
A pandemic premiere
Before Klampfer decided to invest, the bookbindery manager visited three Austrian customers who already had a saddle stitcher of this type. In addition, together with Daniela Klampfer – because travel was more difficult in corona times – he enjoyed an online demo from Muller Martini. "Frankly, I would have preferred to check out the machine at Muller Martini's Print Finishing Center so that I could talk to the experts on site," says Daniela Klampfer. In the same breath, the trained printing technologist, whose grandparents Barbara and Anton Klampfer founded the family business in 1947 and who runs the family business together with her husband Robert, adds: "This was definitely the first machine I bought without seeing it live beforehand!"
With the new Primera PRO, Daniela Klampfer not only wants to secure a higher market share, but also send a signal to the inside. "It fills our employees with pride when we rely on high-tech equipment. That's why we always promote our new investments on our social media channels – such as the Primera PRO video on
Facebook."
Why Universitätsdruckerei?
Which, last but not least, only leaves the question: where does the term Universitätsdruckerei (“university printing”) Klampfer actually come from? The company was given this title by the University of Graz in 1994 because Klampfer used to print a lot for them. In addition to Universitätsdruckerei Klampfer GmbH, the Klampfer Holding GmbH with its total of 106 employees and Daniela Klampfer as Managing Director also includes
Druckhaus Thalerhof GmbH in Feldkirchen near Graz, KPrint Produktions in Sankt Ruprecht an der Raab,
Druckhaus Rettenbacher GmbH in Schladming,
Druckhaus Kurz GmbH in Mürzzuschlag and
Druckhaus Moser Gmbh in Voitsberg.
Daniela and Robert Klampfer run the family business founded in 1947
While Universitätsdruckerei Klampfer GmbH prints exclusively offset, digital printing is also offered at four other locations. Druckhaus Thalerhof, managed by Robert Klampfer, also specializes in finishing.
Read more about the Primera PRO saddle stitcher in this blog on the Muller Martini website.