Finishing & Screen Printing

Ebner & Spiegel to get a second “new” Ribbon

Head of Bookbinding, Joachim Rauch (left) and machine operator Souleman Harmanci have been extremely pleased with their Ribbon inserting machine from Muller Martini which is installed in-line. As a result, Ebner & Spiegel will soon be using two Ribbons for their production.

Monday 10. March 2008 - Muller Martini: Improvements made to the Ribbon bookmark ribboning machine

Muller Martini Buchtechnologie has enhanced its Ribbon inserting machine and upgraded the control system and the operating function of the “new” Ribbon to the standard of its other machines. In a joint venture between machine manufacturer and book producer, the Ribbon inserting machine has been in operation for the first time at Ebner & Spiegel in Ulm since August 2007.
Many hardcover titles and diaries produced by Ebner & Spiegel are provided with a book ribbon to help readers find pages again quickly. Since August 2007, the CPI company Ebner & Spiegel based in Ulm has been using the new Ribbon inserting machine from Muller Martini Buchtechnologie for inline production. The Head of Bookbinding, Joachim Rauch, is particularly impressed by the Ribbon‘s fast changeovers which are carried out completely via the practical operating panel. No manual intervention is needed at all; all the settings, for example, the cut-off length of the book ribbon, are programmed at the touch of a button. He is also enthusiastic about the book quality produced by the Ribbon. “We and our customers set great store by quality. A neat cut is very important in maintaining this quality. That’s why we like the way the new Ribbon inserting machine from Muller Martini opens the books carefully, not marking them in any way.
Joachim Rauch is proud of having contributed to the development of this machine. “Our Ribbon is the prototype of this new machine and with our experience, we were able to work with Muller Martini to bring various points regarding the operation to bear in the final stage of its development. Muller Martini was always willing to listen to our suggestions.”
A glance at the figures reveals that the machine is extremely reliable. The Ribbon placed ribbons in over three million copies of the bestseller “Ich bin dann mal weg” by Hape Kerkeling. In addition to this and other bestsellers, there are many small print runs of novels, specialized books, children’s books etc. Now, at the beginning of the year, when the shops are selling the last calendars for 2008, Ebner & Spiegel are already producing agendas for 2009. “We work on calendars all year round,” says Joachim Rauch emphatically. At the moment, we are producing large runs of standard calendars. Later in the year, our diary production will be more individual and the runs shorter.
The excellent experience that Ebner & Spiegel has had with the Ribbon has resulted in the company ordering a second machine.
This enhanced version, which can be used as a standalone machine and also in-line, will be presented for the first time at the drupa in Düsseldorf in May.