Winston-Salem, North Carolina – With its 9,000 cycle per hour running speed and ability to stitch a wide array of book sizes, the Muller Martini Presto saddle stitcher can be the right solution for print production operations who want to expand their growth potential. And that’s exactly what Salem Printing had in mind when the company installed a Presto stitcher this past October. “The Presto has enabled us to enter the high-volume book market,” says Philip Kelley, Sr., Vice President for Salem Printing. “Presto’s performance capabilities enabled us to win a big corporate account that, without the Presto, we would not have gotten because we couldn’t have handled the volume.” Salem Printing is a commercial printer with customers throughout a broad range of industries including textiles, banking, tobacco, and packaging. Salem employs 71 people and produces brochures, booklets, inserts, flyers, packages, folded cartons, flexo labels and tags, and direct mailers. The company also provides distribution services for many of its customers, utilizing variable data printing. The Presto saddle stitcher at Salem Printing has been configured with 4 pockets and a cover feeder. In addition to generating business growth in new markets, Salem is also benefiting from bottom line operational enhancements that the Presto has created for the company. “Our productivity in making books has increased by 200%,” continues Mr. Kelley. “Our speed and throughput are increased in getting work off the cutters and onto the rollers...plus, the cover feeder scores covers in-line for more efficiency.” Another aspect of the Presto that impressed Salem Printing is the machine’s robust engineering. “It’s a heavy-duty machine; we looked at stitchers from other companies, but we respected the quality and reliability of Muller Martini,” says Mr. Kelley. The Presto saddle stitcher handles an extensive variety of different size books, encompassing standard products ranging in size from 12” x 14 3/8” to 3 15/16” x 5 11/16”. Presto operates in 1:1 or 1:2 modes, providing the capability to run difficult signatures or to maintain high speed productivity when loading bulky projects. Furthermore, Presto features automated menu-guided PLC controls and easy touchscreen operation. With Presto, make-readies and changeovers can be completed quickly, enabling faster job turnarounds while allowing more diverse projects to be scheduled in a shorter amount of time. To meet the requirements of growing operations, Presto offers expansion up to a maximum of 6 twin feeders. Other benefits of the Presto saddle stitcher include Muller Martini flying stitching heads to assure precise stitching and to reduce wear, as well as a Semko side caliper and missing stitch detector technology to further ensure optimum quality. The Presto saddle stitcher also features an in-line three-knife trimmer along with an efficient Apollo compensating stacker...and it offers the advantages of a high/low folio, gripper and suction opening, and flat loading feeders.