KENNESAW, Ga. -- Phillips Graphic Finishing, a full-service trade binder and print finisher in Manheim, Pa., recently replaced two aging saddlestitchers with a pair of Stitchmaster ST 450 saddlestitchers from Heidelberg.

Phillips understands the value of equipment that helps the company keep the promises it makes to customers. “A business like ours rises or falls, based on its ability to accommodate customer schedules and push the work out as fast as possible,” said Doug Shelly, owner. Although the company evaluated a number of alternatives, it was during a demo of the Stitchmaster ST 450 at Heidelberg’s Print Media Demonstration Center in Kennesaw, Ga. that Shelly and his team determined that the company stood to benefit greatly from the automation, speed, flexibility and other options available with the ST 450, the most productive and versatile saddlestitcher in its performance class. “We were looking for faster makereadies and a faster process,” Shelly said. “At the end of the day, it wasn’t a hard decision. The Stitchmaster 450 is the only saddlestitcher on the market that affords us the speed and flexibility we need to accomplish our frequent job changes.” Shelly was particularly impressed with the ST 450’s versatile cover folder feeder and interchangeable pocket feeders, which he termed “big selling features.”

Installed in December 2008, the company’s two new saddlestitchers to date boast more than two million impressions apiece. Adds Shelly, “The value of these machines is huge in terms of speed and turnaround. Our makereadies have been cut in half, and our run speeds are already nearly double what they were before.”