Essex, Vermont - In the direct mail business, being able to turn printing and finishing jobs around quickly is obviously among the most important keys to success. The Offset House, a growing direct mail printer that specializes in catalogs, has made impressive improvements in speed and operational efficiency since the installation of two state-of-the-art saddle stitching machines from Muller Martini: a Prima SB and a BravoPlus. "We used to have a bottleneck, now it's a pleasure [for print finishing] to keep up with the press room...we have twice as much throughput now," says John McGrath, owner of The Offset House. Since installing the new equipment, Mr. McGrath explains that "We can allow less lead time, we're faster, allowing our customers to make last minute marketing decisions; We have enhanced productivity and profits, and improved our overall position in the market to better compete with larger companies." The Offset House has relied on Muller Martini for 30 years, and according to John McGrath, they decided to stay with the Muller brand due to the quality of the technology as well as the excellence of training and support. In addition to the confidence they have in Muller Martini stitchers, The Offset House also likes the flexibility of the machines. "Moveable heads let us move streamfeeders and other add on units to make the most efficient finishing line," continues Mr. McGrath. The Prima SB saddle stitcher can provide selective binding and inkjet addressing at up to 13,000 cycles per hour. With selective binding technology, printers and binderies can tailor their finished products uniquely to the end user by selectively feeding signatures geographically by location or demographically according to specific reader and subscription data. Inside/outside inkjet capability on the Prima SB allows added-value pieces such as order blanks, business reply cards and stitched inserts to be addressed or printed with special messages at full line speed. Furthermore, the covers as well as the inside covers of products can also be personalized with sales messages, greetings, logos, special offers and other information. Inkjetting on the Prima SB can be interfaced with a compensating counter stacker to deliver stacks according to a presort list - either by zip code or by postal carrier route. The user-friendly Muller Martini BravoPlus saddle stitcher provides a level of automation that is unmatched in the mid-range performance class. Capable of producing product at 13,000 c/hr., BravoPlus delivers maximum uptime and exceptional net output. When equipped with AMRYS (Automatic Make-Ready System) technology, BravoPlus offers convenient and highly efficient computer-aided make-ready and changeover, enabling fast set-ups and allowing the machine to be customized in moments to meet changing job requirements. Other key BravoPlus features include variable feeding with a choice of feeder options (flat pile feeder, vertical pile feeder, stream feeder, card and cover folder feeder, and merchandise and card gluers). Top-quality production on the BravoPlus is also closely controlled through selectable options that include: copy control, ASIR (optical automatic signature image recognition), lateral thickness measurement by side caliper, oblique sheet monitor, thickness measurement by ridge caliper, stitch monitor, trim monitor, and sequential on/off.