Happauge, New York — A saddle stitching system that automates and accelerates the makeready process has achieved the graphic arts industry’s highest technological honor. Prima AMRYS — developed, manufactured and distributed by Muller Martini — recently received a 2002 InterTech Award from the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. "We thank GATF and its panel of distinguished judges for this special recognition," said Werner Naegeli President & CEO of Muller Martini Corporation. "The shorter press runs required by targeted marketing tactics mean binderies have to be equipped to switch from job to job faster than ever before. If they fail to keep pace, the alternative media will start taking projects away from printers. That’s why Muller Martini developed Prima AMRYS, and a family of automated makeready equipment." AMRYS stands for Automatic MakeReadY System, and as its name indicates, Prima AMRYS automates one of the most time-consuming jobs in the bindery — setting up saddle stitching systems between jobs. That makeready time drives up the cost of the printed product because it is essentially downtime. AMRYS begins with PC-based technology that the operator can interface with via a touchscreen. Job parameters can be entered by the operator or directly downloaded from prepress or MIS via the CIP3-Print Production Format (PPF). Plus: at the end of each job all settings can be stored on the PC to quickly accommodate re-orders. The operator merely has to activate the job at hand, and the command center does the rest, sending the appropriate settings to over 50 servo drives located throughout the saddle stitching system. They in turn make the final adjustments to the dozens of components that turn signatures into high quality books. The list of automated axes includes: - Feeder settings for the length and width of each signature - Feeder timing - Gathering chain timing - Stitcher transfer belts - Three-knife trimmer infeed belts - Product length, width and thickness in the trimmer - Upper and lower bin in the compensating stacker Another advanced feature for achieving higher production speed: AMRYS equips bindery operators to change settings on-the-fly, while the job is up to speed. That allows them to see the results of their adjustments as they fine-tune the job. This is a crucial feature for achieving the highest net output. Printers and trade binderies can expect a higher return on investment (ROI) when they install a Prima AMRYS. The faster makereadies the system provides allows them to complete more jobs per shift. And they can further enhance their results because unlike their current system, Prima AMRYS need not be stopped and restarted as on-the-fly adjustments are made. That saves additional time and further reduces waste. Prima AMRYS produces saddle stitched books at the rate of 14,000 cycles per hour, but it is the system’s unprecedented makeready speeds that really turned heads at GATF. One judged commented: "Meeting the demand for shorter runs in the future, Muller Martini realizes that efficient makereadies are just as important as machine run speeds." Muller Martini is exhibiting an AMRYS saddle stitching system at Graph Expo 02. You can see a live demonstration at booth 1065.