At Printing United Expo in Orlando from October 22 to 24, Muller Martini will be presenting a world first. Visitors to the trade fair will see live demonstrations of how the Antaro Digital perfect binder can now be used to produce hardcover books as well as softcover books.
At the premiere presentation of the Antaro Digital at drupa 2024, several customers asked whether the new perfect binder could also be used to produce book blocks for hardcover books. Now, Muller Martini has the answer: yes, it can!
To achieve this, the Antaro Digital perfect binder has been equipped with an end sheet feeder. It is compact and therefore particularly space-saving when integrated into the infeed. This means that hardcover book blocks can now also be produced industrially in copy 1 – and in the highest quality. The Antaro Digital, which has been in use by numerous satisfied customers worldwide since its launch, thus demonstrates another inline strength in the smart factory.
High investment protection thanks to modular design
The ability to now also produce hardcover book blocks makes the Antaro Digital even more versatile. In the on-demand sector, it achieves an output of 2,000 cycles per hour, which no other machine on the market can match today. And it does so with minimal personnel, requiring less than half the number of operators compared to current solutions for the same output in single-book production.
It can be used in both digital nearline and inline production, thus covering a wide range of customer requirements. At the same time, it offers a high level of investment protection, as the system can be expanded and adapted on a modular basis.
Fully automatic thickness adjustment
The Antaro Digital produces with a continuously running swing clamp system. The book blocks are transported in horizontally, standing on their spines, and are reliably handled by the clamps, which are always fully open. In addition to the swivel clamp principle, the large pitch of clamp of 610 mm enables the continuous production of brochures with varying block thicknesses from 20 mm from book to book with up to 2,000 cycles per hour. The thicknesses are adjusted fully automatically. This unique working principle applies to both softcover brochures and, now, hardcover book blocks.
The Antaro Digital produces with two spine milling stations, ensuring perfect spine processing. The gluing units can be easily exchanged. EVA and PUR are used, as well as a glue monitoring system in the PUR nozzle, which checks that the glue is applied correctly.
High product variability
Combined with a downstream buffer wheel, the newly designed drum envelope feeder guarantees reliable separation of the envelopes. It also enables uninterrupted, efficient production thanks to continuous feeding. A barcode reader ensures that the book block and envelope fit together securely.
The Antaro Digital also demonstrates its full flexibility in the end products. Depending on the level of equipment, softcover brochures as well as hardcover book blocks, flex brochures, glued book blocks, and layflat brochures (such as Swiss or Otabind brochures) are possible.