December 17, 2003 -- In mid-December 2003, at its Leipzig site, Heidelberg signed over the hundredth Stitchmaster ST 400 gang-stitcher to Buchdruckerei Lustenau in Austria. This full-service printshop moved into a new building in the Lustenau Millennium Park just under three years ago. It has a total workforce of 70 and uses the latest state-of-the-art equipment, including 5 presses from Heidelberg with a total of 21 printing units and numerous finishing units. Conveniently situated for the Austrian-Liechtenstein-Swiss-German market, Buchdruckerei Lustenau produces items such as brochures, booklets, folded items, books, posters, packaging and small printed items such as envelopes, letterheads and business cards. "The company's decision to purchase the Stitchmaster ST 400 was based on the flexibility of the unit and the short makeready times," explains Christine Schwarz-Fuchs, Managing Director of Buchdruckerei Lustenau. "This simple move from normal stitching to eyelet stitching should prove to be a time-saving solution. It also means the drum feeders can be deployed from both sides," she adds. The dynamic offset feeder and the feed to the trimmer are adjusted automatically to the saddle chain, no matter what the speed. She sums up: "With this gang-stitcher, the cutting sequence is technically enhanced and we are also expecting an increase in output, as this machine is much faster than our old gang-stitcher." Gang-stitcher with integrated automatic format presetting ensures maximum flexibility The Stitchmaster ST 400 is specially designed for industrial brochure production and is the world's leading gang-stitcher in this segment. It recently received the prestigious GATF InterTech Award for technical innovation. Mobile feeders which can be placed on both sides of the saddle chain, each with their own servo drive, ensure maximum flexibility in production when used in conjunction with a "Ready set" integrated automatic format presetting. The Stitchmaster ST 400 is network-compatible and can be integrated into the digital workflow. A display with a touchscreen and membrane keypad enables format presettings to be made with ease. It ensures reliable monitoring of all machine functions, from feeding and gathering to stitching and cutting. This computer-based setup procedure with independent servo motors cuts makeready times by up to 50 percent. With a capacity of 14,000 cycles per hour, the Stitchmaster ST 400 enables even large job runs to be produced in outstanding quality.