Inkjet printing has seen an additional boost from the corona pandemic. But it is no longer reserved for softcover and hardcover books. Saddle-stitched magazines, brochures and catalogs are also increasingly being printed digitally in the Smart Factory. The Prinova Digital, which was presented as a world premiere at the Hunkeler Innovationdays, comes just in time. The hybrid saddle stitcher, which produces at 9000 cycles per hour, is not only perfect as an entry-level model for digital saddle stitching, but it also processes conventionally printed jobs confidently and reliably.
Since Muller Martini launched the first saddle stitcher with automatic sheet feeders in 1950, the first fully automatic machine with first-time coupling of feeders, stitcher and three-knife trimmer in 1952, and the “flying stitching heads” (stitching without stop and go) in 1956, the paper flow has followed the same principle. The folded sheets pass from the feeders onto a transport chain, are guided to the stitching head and then trimmed on three sides. What was a standard process for offset printed and folded sheets for decades, required a new (inline) paper handling with the advent of digital printing for saddle stitching. Keywords here are, for example, unwinding station, cutting unit, buckle plate unit and plow folder.
High investment security
To be able to produce short runs efficiently, cost-effectively and, as far as possible, without manual intervention, you need a completely automated workflow from prepress to the end-product. That’s what our new Prinova Digital saddle stitcher offers you – the fascinating hybrid solution for getting started with digital saddle stitching and stitching conventionally printed products.
With the Prinova Digital, you are equipped for the challenges of the future, and you have a high level of investment security. This is because the new saddle stitcher, with its good price/performance ratio, is ideal for businesses that run conventional offset production alongside purely digital products or produce combined hybrid products (“offset/digital mix”). With the flexibly configurable system, you can produce individualized or personalized print products efficiently and in high quality, down to run length 1 – and always with variable product thickness.
Highly automated saddle stitching
The completely redesigned pass-through folder is the link between the digital feeder and the saddle stitcher. Equipped with the latest operating technology, Asir PRO camera and a completely new infeed, which can now also be equipped with creasing, it is the technical highlight of the Prinova Digital.
The Prinova Digital’s stitching machine also adapts to the product thickness and also controls the stitching wire length fully automatically from product to product. The automated wire feed gear is now located outside the stitching center, making it significantly more accessible to your operators. The three-knife trimmer also adjusts automatically to the product thickness. Cutting takes place with the product stationary, which guarantees the highest trim quality.
Innovative operating concept
The Prinova Digital features intuitive operation. Its new user interface with context-sensitive displays and innovative operating concept increases user-friendliness – which in turn shortens processes. Settings on a large touchscreen are made centrally instead of selectively.
In addition, up to two external screens are available for displaying production data and thus a perfect overview of the production process. In digital production, the Workflow View clearly shows the next job on the reel, which formats are pending, or whether waste has accumulated. Your press operator always knows where he stands with his jobs.
Efficient short(est) runs
Muller Martini redeveloped the entire feeder section on the Prinova Digital. It now had individual feeders with servo drives. You can tilt the up to 14 individual feeders (ideal for hybrid production), which can be easily operated by a single employee thanks to their high loading height. They thus enable several application options at the same time – such as manual loading or setting the perfect discharge height for signatures. This means you can change over the saddle stitcher much faster and produce short (or long) runs much more efficiently. The Prinova Digital thus offers a clear efficiency advantage over other saddle stitchers in this performance class.
In addition to motion control technology and the associated faster setup processes, the highlights of the new Prinova Digital saddle stitcher also include the new Asir PRO camera system developed by Muller Martini. This recognizes and compares the printed sheets using 1D/2D code and/or image comparison. Faulty end-products are now a thing of the past.
Your
Pascal Ruch
Muller Martini
This text is reproduced with kind permission of Müller Martini, you can read the original article first published here