CEO Ulrich Turk (left): "The Vivo’s bundle quality is consistently high." At right is Reinhold Achtner, authorized officer and agency director of Muller Martini Germany.

Circulations in the six-digit range are the great exception at Westdeutschen Verlags- und Druckerei GmbH, which specializes in the printing of periodicals. “For the majority of the magazines we print and finish,” says CEO Ulrich Turk, “the number of copies lies between 10,000 and 40,000.” Specializing in periodicals for the medium and small run segment means, in daily practice, that all machines have to be changed over frequently. This applies for the 32-page press (which will be replaced this year by a 48-page printing press) just as it does for the press delivery system and for wire stitching.

Fast Changeover Times
Due to the many job changes, flexibility is of the highest importance of all production steps – and a clear case for the Vivo in the press delivery system. Thanks to a high degree of automation, this log stacker from Muller Martini excels here with fast changeover times. With the innovative job management system, all important production parameters such as signature and board sizes, strapping position or palletizing can be entered and saved. The parameters are then immediately available and can be called up with the push of a button at any time. For Westdeutsche Verlags- und Druckerei GmbH, this is a key advantage, as most of their magazines - which include 17 weekly and monthly titles for Deutscher Fachverlag, their largest customer - are repeat jobs.

Optimal Process Overview
Consequently, Ulrich Turk is full of praise for the new Vivo, which replaced a vertical log stacker from another supplier in mid-2006. “In the old model, the quality of the logs depended on the machine operator. The Vivo is so easy to operate, thanks to the comprehensive arrangement of the control elements, that our log quality is consistently high. And the company technicians are also happy about this machine because it is clearly laid out and easily accessible. Our people are excited about the new log stacker, as it makes their work much easier.”

In addition to operator friendliness, the CEO recognizes two other decisive advantages of the Vivo. “First of all, the in-feed of signatures from below allows for an optimal process overview – you can see exactly what’s happening. In addition, the Vivo doesn’t require very much space. We are very satisfied with our new machine. The Vivo was the right decision for us at the right time.”

Two Saddle Stitcher Lines
The magazines are wire stitched by a full-service operation employing about 100 employees, with its own mailing and logistics department, on two PrimaPlus Amrys saddle stitcher lines (installed 2005) and a Prima Amrys (commissioned in 1998). Both are equipped with nine (9) new feeders, a folder feeder, Asir signature recognition, inkjet labeling, a film-wrapping machine and a shrink tunnel. The PrimaPlus is additionally equipped with an Onyx inserting machine, a compensating stacker and Streamfeeders for the automatic loading of the feeders, while the Bravo is equipped with a 227 inserting machine. “Because we often produce in parallel,” says Ulrich Turk, “it is a great advantage for us that the two lines can be similarly configured.”

Ulrich Turk values not only the high reliability of the two saddle stitchers from Muller Martini, but also the great flexibility. “We recently produced a 250-page special trade show edition of the magazine “TextilWirtschaft” in a circulation of 30,000 copies with three inserts, two posters, a lateral stitched-in insert and a glued-in booklet in 24 hours. The machines are necessary for such complex products in which we specialize and which only few can make!”

“Nearly in the Direction of Perfect Binding”
In addition to technically ingenious, finished magazines “that go nearly in the direction of perfect binding,” (Ulrich Turk), Westdeutsche Verlags- und Druckerei GmbH also produces newspapers printed in the Swiss format on the saddle stitchers – including the “Börsen-Zeitung,” which is printed five times per week. Because the newspapers are not film-wrapped and addressed, they are usually wire stitched on the two older models 235 and JGV (in operation since 1968!).