March 13, 2002 -- Facilities seeking to squeeze more productivity from their print production workflows should look to three "hot spots" in their binderies where targeted improvements can lead to major savings in cost and time. The recommendation was made by a Muller Martini finishing expert during the recently held Seybold Seminars New York 2002. Speaking at the conference’s Finishing and Distribution Seminar, Felix Stirnimann, Division Manager of Print Finishing at Muller Martini, defined the hot spots as: - the method of buffering used between press delivery and finishing, - the efficiency of the postpress makeready process, - and the ability to produce a finished piece in one pass. "All three of these hot spots have one thing in common," Stirnimann told the Seybold audience. " They are points in the workflow that can cause a bottleneck if they are not addressed. Fortunately there are solutions." Examining the issue of buffering, Stirnimann showed how new solutions to more efficiently store a press’s output so that it can later be combined with subsequently printed material to create a finished piece. "Here you have a choice among brick stacking, logs and rolls," he said. "But if you’re trying to reduce waste, reduce manning and increase output, then roll technology is your only real alternative." Addressing the need for faster makereadies in the bindery, Stirnimann explored a number of advancements. "Bindery systems equipped with Muller Martini’s AMRYS (automatic makeready system) cut set-up time to a matter of minutes," Stirnimann said. "The use of CIP3/4 prepress data to preset bindery parameters is another time saver, as is employing our Optimizer program to get the most out of your finishing line or saddle stitcher. It’s also important that you have the ability to fine tune on the fly, so you don’t have to stop for a corrective makeready." The one pass process was reviewed from two perspectives by Stirnimann. He illustrated how an integrated inserter/film wrapper can be linked to a saddle stitching system to produced polybagged booklets, ready for distribution. Then he examined an on-demand book production line that linked a digital printing system to an automated perfect binding solution. "This level of system integration means every book you produce can be targeted for the reader in terms of size, scope and content," Stirnimann said. "This is the ultimate in custom publishing." For a copy of Stirnimann’s PowerPoint presentation, Phone 631.582.4343. Or email: [email protected].