AS South Africa isn’t a nation of readers, there are only a few businesses left in the country that can produce traditional hardcover books. Globally, book production is steady, and the prominence of electronic devices hasn’t had the massive negative impact that was initially anticipated, reports Stephen Wood, director at Ipex Machinery, the southern African representative of Meccanotecnica.

Gianluca Negro, area sales manager of Meccanotecnica, book sewing machinery specialist, adds that this is because several studies have shown that scholars and students retain more information and study better using text and reference books rather than electronic devices.

He visited South African and Botswanan customers in October for the first time since 2018. The market believes the cut sheet environment will become more prevalent and is investing in digital equipment because Meccanotecnica can merge it with sheetfed technologies.

Digital production currently accounts for 10 to 15% of printed books in Europe. Meccanotecnica entered the digital sewing machine market in the late 1990s and sold around 30 first-generation machines within the first decade. In 2011, it introduced the second generation of machines and has increased the global install base to 215 machines. Digital equipment represents 25% of Meccanotecnica’s sales. There are currently two models available to cater for single sheets and roll formats. The former provides printer service providers (PSPs) or publishers with the most flexibility for fast and versatile digital book production, says Gianluca.

Automated workflow and variable data printing

Gianluca explains that the engineers’ R&D efforts have been directed to guaranteeing the widest flexibility in the choice of type and weight of paper while maintaining a high level of performance, ease-of-use and set-up as well as premium quality. ‘With Universe, each sheet is creased, folded and precisely pressed for sharp edges along the fold. The area between creasing and collating has been redesigned to improve transport and pressing of the folded sheets,’ he states. ‘As a result, the pressure is equally exerted on both sides of the fold and the transport is more reliable with difficult papers such as landscape format sheets.’

Universe can be programmed through JDF files to automate the production process, reducing changeover time and increasing productivity. Moreover, with web connectivity, it’s possible to oversee live production via tablet or smartphone access.

The Universe system is also available in a ‘double feeding’ version that features an automatic signature feeder to combine sheets from digital with offset signatures, opening new opportunities for publishers and PSPs. Alternatively, the unit runs as a traditional book sewing machine.

Stephen notes that the Universe Web model significantly increases productivity by reducing loading time, compared to a sheet-fed version that is designed for short and extra short runs, by improving the overall efficiency via a new collating station and by reducing to a minimum manual intervention through various automation capabilities.

After scoring, sheets are folded into four pages and collated to compose a signature. The new collating station features two pairs of cylinders that work independently to increase the feeding frequency of the sewing unit, improving process efficiency and productivity, he maintains.

‘Thanks to the auto-programming feature, the unit runs different jobs on the fly, enabling hands-free workflows. Books, with the same format but different page counts, are automatically managed thanks to smart barcode technology,’ Stephen explains. ‘The GigaLynx Dual Control camera, located after the feeder, verifies the sequence by reading barcodes or images.’

‘Although our segment is very unpredictable, Meccanotecnica’s vision is to expand its range of solutions to cover the entire group of production processes and create added value for customers,’ Gianluca reveals. ‘We strive to achieve this through continuous technological developments and dialogue with the market around its demands and needs as well as by providing excellent after-sales service and spare parts holding.’

Value-added exhibitions

MECCANOTECNICA’S Open House in September attracted 187 existing and prospective customers, including those from South Africa, Botswana, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal and Kenya.

Area sales manager Gianluca Negro explains that as a specialist book sewing machine manufacturer, the 30 design engineers based at Meccanotecnica’s head office in Bergamo, Italy can customise its five models according to customers’ needs.

Ipex Machinery and Meccanotecnica will be present at Hunkeler Innovation Days 2023 – which take place from February 27 to March 2 at the Lucerne Exhibition Centre in Switzerland – and will demonstrate a Universe Web automatic sewing and gathering system.

Gianluca describes Hunkeler Innovation Days as the most focused digital printing platform globally. ‘As it features all the value chain players, from the inkjet vendors and print engine providers to the press manufacturers and book finishing equipment specialists, PSPs can have all their investment questions answered comprehensively.’

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