July 8, 2002 -- "We’re a $4.5-5 million shop and printers our size don’t usually have perfect binding capabilities." So says Tom Trevillian. the President and CEO of McClung Printing in Waynesboro, Virginia. (www.mcclungco.com) But over a year go, Trevillian took the plunge and invested in an Amigo perfect binding system from Muller Martini. His objective: to differentiate his shop from other area printers by offering one-stop-shopping to customers and prospects who require perfect bound books. Trevillian’s story has a very happy ending: "I was a little concerned when we were considering getting into perfect binding. But it’s been a big boon for us, so it’s turned out to be a good move." McClung defines itself as a half-size shop, with two Speedmaster perfectors ruling the pressroom. The company’s sweet spot is books up to 200 pages with runs ranging from 5,000 to10, 000 units. "Before we installed the Amigo, we had been sending a lot of bindery work to Richmond, which is 80 miles away," Trevillian notes. "That was the closest shop with a perfect binder." As a result of the travel time, the typical turnaround on a perfect bound book job was 10 days. To make matters worse, high freight charges were narrowing McClung Printing’s profit margins. "Now that we’ve got the Amigo, we can go from files to finished books in three days, and we have more flexibility in pricing jobs," Trevillian declares. "Plus there’s a lot of value added dollars that don’t walk out the door." McClung Printing utilizes the same collator that feeds its stitcher to assemble the signatures to be perfect bound. A pair of Polar cutters trim the books after they’re processed by the Amigo. Trevillian is thinking of adding a Muller Martini three-knife cutter to his workflow to further automate the book binding process. So far, the Amigo, which was installed last April, has been a new business magnet. "For instance, we just completed a $34,000 job we never would have gotten without having perfect binding capabilities on site," Trevillian says. "That helps keep our presses going, and that’s labor and money we can keep inside." The printer researched a full field of entry-level perfect binding systems before settling on Amigo: "Muller Martini’s reputation made us take a look, and after we looked at the product, it went to the top of our list. Amigo is an excellent perfect binder." Trevillian also consulted with other printers in his area who have had experience running similar Muller Martini equipment. "After doing the research, I felt comfortable entering the perfect binding business with Muller Martini," he says. "And I know they have what it takes when I want to move up. It’s a great machine; we get nothing but compliments on the work we do. And when we need to run a job on it, our Amigo is always ready to go."