Miami, Florida — Solo Printing has discovered an effective way to notch-up print production without overspending its capital equipment budget. Last spring the company installed a Bravo-T saddle stitching system from Muller Martini, and it now reports significant cost savings and quality gains with the new machine. “We have been able to reduce our saddle stitching makereadies by 50 percent, thanks to our new Bravo-T,” reports Manny Hernandez, President and Co-Founder of Solo Printing. “That helps make us much more cost-competitive in the marketplace.” In addition to winning more bids with its new level of efficiency in the bindery, Solo Printing is producing a level of quality that surpasses the stringent requirements of its travel-industry clients. The company’s location in the heart of a vacation mecca helps bring in business from a range of resorts, hotels and attractions that require flawless printing. “The quality we’re achieving on the Bravo-T is excellent,” Hernandez says. “We’ve very happy with it.” With a new eight-color 40” Speedmaster joining a five-unit web press and a six-color sheetfed in its pressroom, Solo required a saddle stitcher that could take on high volume jobs as well as offer short-run flexibility. The Bravo-T can produce at the rate of 11,000 cycles per hour, and Solo has found that the system runs at its top speed to produce routine high-volume work, while maintaining a 10,000/hour rate on difficult jobs. Solo has equipped its Bravo-T with eight pockets, an integrated cover folder/feeder and a stacker to make the most of its manpower in the bindery. Hernandez notes that his finishing crews were up to speed on the Bravo-T in a matter of just a few days. “It’s a very easy machine to learn and a very easy machine to run,” he says. “It gives the operator more control over the process than other systems, so there’s less guessing and more productivity.” A big part of the Bravo-T’s workload are the manuals and booklets Solo produces on a regular basis. Quick turnaround is a key consideration with these recurring projects. “By the time the printer gets the job, it’s already behind schedule, because the project has already gone through so many changes,” Hernandez says. “Having a system like Bravo-T lets us make up a lot of that time in the bindery. That’s added value that our customers really appreciate.” Solo also runs a Minuteman saddle stitcher from Muller Martini — an eight-pocket model with an integrated cover folder/feeder. Asked why Solo relies on the worldwide finishing equipment leader to equip its bindery, Hernandez replied: “Muller Martini builds very good, very steady and very strong machines. They’re ahead of all the others when it comes to delivering the level of reliability required to keep demanding customers satisfied.” Hernandez is also impressed by the level of expert support Muller Martini provides. “The service has been excellent, and our Muller Martini representative is very good,” he says. “During the first two months after we began operating our Bravo-T, he would drop in once or twice a week to make sure everything was okay. Plus, he keeps coming in with tips and advice on getting even more efficiency out of this system. That kind of follow-up is very valuable.”