As demonstrated by the Drupa 2012, high-performance inkjet digital printing has made its mark also in the field of high-quality color printing. As a result, it opens up new options for saddle stitched print products in addition to its existing use for the printing of transactions, mail shots and books. Run sizes for magazines, periodicals and brochures are currently falling but, at the same time, product variety is on the increase. Processing times are becoming shorter and the increasing personalization of saddle stitched products presents publishers with new opportunities. These market trends put the focus on digital printing in this field as well.

Three Print Products Produced Live in a Single Run
At Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne Muller Martini will present a compact solution for saddle stitched products in the form of the Presto II Digital. The tried-and-tested, highly automated saddle stitching system was already presented with a new control system as a digital-ready solution at the Drupa and will now be shown in Lucerne for the industrial finishing of digitally printed products. Muller Martini will display the Presto II Digital with a high-performance processing folder, two signature feeders, a cover folder feeder, the stitching machine and a three-knife trimmer in combination with an unwinding system, a fold/merge module and a cross cutter from Hunkeler. Three different products will be produced live in a continuous run at the trade fair stand. The cover can be fed copy-specific if required.

Demand for First-Class Stitching Quality
“Quality expectations regarding digitally printed, saddle stitched products are just as high as for conventional print products,” says Dragan Volic, Marketing Director for Print Finishing Systems at Muller Martini. “With the Presto II Digital we can offer the customary first-class stitching quality and all the finishing options enabled by our flexible modular design.” High trim quality, center cutting, film wrapping and palletizing are just some examples of the (almost) unlimited possibilities that Muller Martini offers for the product design of digitally printed products.
 
High Degree of Investment Protection
The Presto II Digital provides a high degree of investment protection, making it an ideal solution for small and medium-sized enterprises. A saddle stitcher equipped with signature feeders for conventional use can be expanded at any time for use in digital printing. “Switches between the two production types and combined products, i.e. a combination of digitally printed signatures, conventionally printed signatures and selective cover feeding, are possible at any time,” explains Volic. “The modular design provides elegant expansion options and prepares the Presto II Digital for future requirements in the field of inkjet digital printing.” As a first configuration, the Presto II Digital can be loaded from a pre-printed roll, fitted with folding modules for multipage signatures or equipped for single-sheet processing.

Naturally the saddle stitcher can also be used as a fully integrated inline solution (digital printing with print finishing). Here the Connex data and process management system from Muller Martini comes into its own by enabling the seamless interplay and optimal control of all aggregates.