The Japanese publishing house Kodansha presented the fully integrated SigmaLine digital book production solution from Muller Martini at an open house event in Saitama on 7 December 2012, impressing more than 180 visitors from across Japan.

For Kodansha Fujimono Digital Press and Finishing Factory, one of Japan's leading publishing houses, it was clear that an investment in the latest book printing technology for the production of small print runs in the field of softcover books would really pay off. The SigmaLine digital book production solution from Muller Martini provides top quality while keeping production costs low. Connected inline with the T300 inkjet printing press from HP, the SigmaLine processes print products in a single operation from printing data to the completed book. Thanks to Connex, the data and process management system from Muller Martini, all production lines communicate seamlessly with one another.

Muller Martini won over authors with its presentation of the fully integrated SigmaLine digital book production solution in Japan

“The SigmaLine allows us to publish books in small print runs with high efficiency in a very short time,” Kenjiro Umezaki, General Manager of the Kodansha Manufacturing Division told the over 180 guests. “This investment will bring us considerable advantages: it enables us to produce smaller print runs cost-effectively and to produce individual books extremely quickly. This new possibility has already gained us the confidence of authors.”

“We started development of the SigmaLine very early on,” said Bruno Müller, CEO of Muller Martini, in his opening speech. “The SigmaLine, which was first presented at the drupa 2004, is now a complete solution that manages ultra-short runs and enables flexible and cost-effective production. Combining the SigmaLine with a Pantera for digital perfect binding, our customers can equip themselves for the challenges of today and tomorrow. With the SigmaLine customers can constantly reap the benefits of digital printing in combination with print finishing as a unique complete system.”