Muller Martini’s saddle stitching system delivers the competitive advantage needed to meet growing customer demand

Headquartered in Macon, Georgia, Panaprint is a family-owned web and sheetfed printer that produces saddle stitched and perfect bound products for the short-run publication market. They win and keep customers because of their product quality, rapid turnaround and competitive pricing.

Panaprint has been a Muller Martini customer since the 1980s. Due to increased demand for saddle stitched product, and the age and wear of their current stitchers, they decided to enhance their finishing technology and capabilities by installing a new Primera saddle stitcher in July 2015. The machine is equipped with six pockets and cover feeder, streamfeeders to process logs from their web presses, and ASIR3, Muller’s barcode-driven signature recognition system which ensures completed, correctly assembled products.

With its high net output and ability to accommodate an enormous range of product sizes, the Primera is an extremely flexible saddle stitcher whose modular expansion options provide a sound strategy for the market needs of today and tomorrow. Operators particularly appreciate the Primera’s intuitive set-up wizard which significantly reduces make-ready.

According to Rette Collins, Panaprint’s President, the Primera was chosen in order to strengthen the company’s competitive advantages. And, it has succeeded in doing so:

• Productivity. Produced 126,000 books in 9.25 hours—a plant record.
• Labor savings from streamfeeders. Prior to the install, one person was needed for two or three pockets. Today, that employee can feed logs for up to five pockets.
• Less rejects. The highly reliable streamfeeder/383 pocket system runs at higher speeds—with fewer misfeeds and less waste.

The net result of this investment? Quicker turnarounds, better schedules, higher product quality for customers and a reduced unit cost to the company’s bottom line.

Remarked Wanzie Collins, founder and CEO, “Today, the differentiating factor is in the finishing. Everyone has a press. But it is our finishing capabilities that distinguish us from the competition.” Added Rette Collins, “We’ve worked with Muller Martini for many years, and welcomed continuing our partnership with them. We know we could count on Muller for the technology, engineering and service know-how we need to provide a superior product to our customers.”