At the Hunkeler Innovationdays taking place in Lucerne from February 24 to 27, Müller Martini and Hunkeler will showcase a complex all-in-one system for softcover products from the printing press to the trimming robot with a downstream sorting line following the motto, “From the white roll to the finished book!” With the production of eight different books in the 3-up-rolls and 2-up-rolls process, we will demonstrate live automated switching of book formats and cut-off lengths.
Book manufacturers are currently facing multiple challenges.
u Declining print volumes down to “book of one” runs require a high degree of automation, ultra-fast setup times and highly flexible production systems.
u The skilled worker shortage requires complete self-adjusting inline systems controlled by a workflow system, like the proven Connex (https://mullermartini.com/en/products-en/workflow-systems/connex/connex-workflow-system/) from Müller Martini, that minimize manual intervention and intermediate handling.
u Growing costs for energy and space call for lower costs by using state-of-the-art energy-efficient drives and control components, for reduced production waste rates (by avoiding producing faulty products to begin with) and for a compact machine layout.
An all-in-one system for high format variability
Müller Martini and Hunkeler provide the answer to all these questions at this year’s Hunkeler Innovationdays – in the form of an end-to-end solution like the world has never seen before in this configuration. It is made of
What truly sets our all-in-one system apart from the competition: Each of the three sub-solutions (printing press/Starbook Plowfolder/Vareo PRO with InfiniTrim) can change over to a new job extremely fast, and is highly flexible in terms of format and material.
Eight different demo products
Predestined for book-of-one to medium-sized print volumes, the Starbook Plowfolder, characterized by outstanding book block quality, interruption-free high-speed production and maximum format flexibility, was presented as a world premiere by Hunkeler at the HID 2023. Now, we are presenting it for the first time ever producing live in combination with a printing press and two finishing systems.
At our booth, we will alternate in producing eight different softcover books: four A5 books with between 368 and 396 pages and a book thickness between 23 and 24.75 millimeters in the 3-up-rolls process, along with four A4 books with between 232 and 267 pages and a book thickness between 14.5 and 16.7 millimeters in the 2-up-rolls process. The live demos won’t focus on book-of-one production, instead highlighting small runs of around 25. Developed by Hunkeler, the DynaCut feature dynamically changes the cut-off length and the formats. The Müller Martini Connex workflow system is responsible for imposition and monitoring.
Stop by our HID booth in Lucerne – you won’t be disappointed!
Yours,
Ronald Reddmann, Product Manager Softcover Systems, Müller Martini
Marco Kunz, Product Manager, Hunkeler