Macedonia, Ohio — Steffen Book Binders, Inc. has installed a BravoPlus saddle stitcher from Muller Martini, and is already pumping a steady flow of work through the system, including high volume projects. Configured with six pockets and a cover folder/feeder, the new BravoPlus has been running at the Midwest trade bindery for less than two months, but it has already become a favorite of Steffen’s customers and staff. “I thought it would take some time for our crews to get used to it,” says Steffen President Bill Turoczy. But BravoPlus’ digitally driven controls and its ability to use key components from an older Muller Martini model that it replaced resulted in a smooth transition for Steffen operators. In fact, one of the first projects for the BravoPlus at Steffen was a million count run that was produced two-up at the rate of 18,000 copies per hour. “We just set it up, turned it on, and BravoPlus ran until the job was done,” Turoczy recalls. “It’s incredible. I was awed. I’d never seen anything work so well so fast.” Shorter runs are also on the menu for Steffen’s BravoPlus. The company’s operators can makeready a two-up job in a third of the time it used to take on their old system. “I don’t like to commit to a project I can’t deliver on time,” Turoczy says. “After only a month and a half, I’m confident to put anything that needs stitching on the BravoPlus. We’re even giving loop stitching a try with it.” Steffen Book Binders operates in a 45,000 sq ft facility with a staff of 50 and a host of equipment, including two perfect binding systems and a 335 Muller Martini stitcher. With the BravoPlus, it has added additional stitching capacity to the mix, and a new perspective for the company’s bindery professionals. “We can see the improvement in our operators’ outlook and their helpers’ outlook as soon as we installed this machine,” Turoczy comments. “BravoPlus is much quieter for one thing, and they seem to enjoy running it at the higher speeds it’s capable of. I’m amazed at the attitude they have now. It’s like giving them a new toy.” As to promoting the machine’s new capabilities, the BravoPlus is turning out to be its own best advertisement. “We haven’t had a chance to market it formally yet,” notes the company’s president. “We’ve told our accounts that we bought the new stitcher and that we have capacity to take on more saddle stitching. As we run it, the word is really getting out. Printers know a good thing when they see it.” Turoczy’s first encounter with the BravoPlus was at Graph Expo, where the stitcher was being demonstrated at the Muller Martini exhibit. He had already decided to buy a competing brand, but was so impressed by the trade show performance that he decided to redo the math. “My plant foreman, my maintenance engineer and I sat around the table and wrote down the negatives and positives of each system,” Turoczy notes. “They were both good machines, but the Muller Martini came out on top.” The evaluation team gave high marks to the BravoPlus for being a good fit for the trade bindery’s niches. They also liked the fact that they’d be able to swap-out stitcher heads, two-up components and other elements from the 335 stitcher and put them on the BravoPlus. “We just knew then that BravoPlus was the machine for us,” Turoczy says. “And it’s already proving itself to be a very good buy for Steffen Book Binders.”