McCormick Place, Chicago — Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan helped Muller Martini show how easy it is to manufacture books using the company’s new AmigoDigital perfect binding system at Graph Expo. The leading bindery equipment manufacturer donated the books it produced at the show to CPS for free distribution to 3,000 students. “We gave Arne Duncan the honor of starting up our digitally driven perfect binder on the final day of Graph Expo,” said Werner Naegeli, CEO of Muller Martini Corp. “He has been a valuable partner in helping to ensure the books we produce will be used to educate Chicago’s youth.” Muller Martini, along with its ‘Books for Schools’ partners Delphax, Stralfors, HP Indigo and Boise, produced the novels to demonstrate the capabilities of their short-run digital book production system. The Chicago Public Schools are receiving 1,000 copies each of three classic works of literature. The AmigoDigital bound the titles: The Last of the Mohicans, Peter Pan and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. “We are helping to stretch our budget by working with private industry for extra resources,” said Duncan. “We applaud Muller Martini and its partners for helping us help our students.” Duncan’s participation in the “Books for Schools” program was part of the Career Awareness Day activities at Graph Expo. Seven hundred students and teachers from 14 high schools in four states took part in an informational assembly and toured the show floor. Joining Duncan in his book-manufacturing role was a class from Prosser Career Academy — one of the city’s vocational high schools that participated in Career Awareness Day. “Graphic arts stopped being an ink-under-the-fingernails industry years ago,” Duncan added. “This industry is highly computer driven. Thus, it provides rewarding careers for students who have developed their reading and technology skills.” Last April, Delphax, Muller Martini and other suppliers completed a similar partnership with the New York City Department of Education at the OnDemand Expo. Next March, Books for Schools will have a dedicated exhibit at that event.