According to David McGinlay, Sales Manager of Muller Martini Great Britain, the secret of success of the Presto II and the Presto II Digital lies in the saddle stitcher's multi-functionality and its high level of flexibility. "One of our Presto II customers recently produced 247,000 brochures with 817 job changes and an average run of 302 copies per title in nine days. The data for all of these jobs was imported from the customers' management information system (MIS)". There are two main reasons for this growth in demand of short run lengths. On the one hand, the web-to-print market in Great Britain and Ireland is growing significantly. "The volumes in this segment have increased dramatically recently", says David McGinlay. On the other hand, as a result, Variable Data Printing (VDP) with its multi-job function has become increasingly important.
Traditional print finishing companies, wishing to enter new markets, have comfort and confidence in the Presto II, because of its future proofed design and capabilities. In order to also use the saddle stitcher for digitally printed signatures, all that is needed is the addition of a plow folder and a processing folder. This means that printing plants and finishing businesses are equally prepared for both traditional offset sheetfed printing and for digital printing. "The high level of investment protection is the hallmark of the Presto II and a key reason why it is so popular with our customers", emphasizes David McGinlay.
One of the 13 graphic arts companies to have invested in a Presto II last year is the Premier Print and Direct Mail Group, which is based in the English capital of London and employs a workforce of 21. "In addition to a Valore, we opted for this saddle stitcher type for two reasons", say the two directors Darren and Gary Goodson. "On the one hand, the quick setup times and, on the other hand, because it also gathers digitally printed signatures as book blocks and thereby also supports the efficient production of our perfect-bound short-run jobs". The fact that the Presto II is digital ready is also a major benefit for the two company heads: "We always have more orders in digital printing. The Presto II is the perfect digital inline finishing system". Premier Print and Direct Mail Group used to gather the signatures for short-run jobs by hand. "Now we are six times faster", say Darren and Gary Goodson.
"Thanks to the new Presto II we are equipped for future challenges, can expand further in digital production and thereby have a crucial competitive edge in the market", was also the comment of Karen Taylor, Director of MacKay and Inglis. The printing plant based in Glasgow, Scotland, which employs 32 people, has integrated an inline hole punching device in the three-knife trimmer 1565, which was added by Muller Martini. "This additional feature relieves the other punching machines and has boosted our efficiency and productivity considerably", underlines Karen Taylor.
The new Muller Martini saddle stitcher is also perfectly tailored to the business model of the company headed up by Liam Cody, Managing Director of Kilkenny Modern Printers based in Kilkenny, Ireland, which employs 17 people, and specializes in magazines and programs. "We commissioned the Presto II instead of a second-hand Prima and thereby not only reduced our make-ready times significantly, but also hugely increased our production reliability. I do not see any alternative to Muller Martini in this segment".