New Survey Finds MBO Leads Postpress Finishing Pack in Value for Investment

MARLTON, N.J. — May 8, 2017 — MBO commands a leadership position among the top four postpress finishing brands, according to a recently completed survey of commercial and packaging providers conducted by NAPCO Research. The survey sample was comprised of commercial and packaging printers, up to 20% of whom expressed plans to purchase a digital finishing solution within the next 12 months.

The survey, which ranked finishing companies by brand awareness, build quality, and price perception, showed that MBO consistently ranks among the top postpress finishing suppliers across all of the categories, including a first-place overall ranking by both commercial and packaging printers. Because the NAPCO Research analysis ranked MBO in the first tier for brand awareness and build quality but significantly below its top-tier competitors in the industry on price, the relative rankings point to better value for the money offered by MBO solutions.

“Results of the NAPCO survey confirm MBO’s leadership in digital finishing for the transactional, direct mail, and commercial markets,” said James Martin, CEO of MBO America. “MBO consistently strives to generate added value for printers and finishers looking to increase their throughput and expand their market reach, while realizing significant savings in labor and associated costs.”

Answering A Wide Variety of Customer Needs

According to the survey, seven in 10 commercial and packaging printers believe the current trend in finishing relies on digital solutions from start to finish, either by integrating variable data via inkjet on offset-printed shells, or by eliminating offset altogether. “As the demands of the market change, The MBO Group continues to design and build cutting-edge digital finishing technologies.

For example, both commercial and packaging respondents cited obstacles to full digital utilization that included ink cracking during finishing processes and cumbersome makereadies that impede efficient short-run production.  This is especially apparent in folding or die cutting applications.

MBO addresses the former concern with specialized tooling, while while integration of the 12,000 sph Bograma BSR 550 Servo Rotary Diecutting System with  inline waste removal and makereadies under 20 minutes helps boost efficiency and speed short-medium run production.

Coincidentally, the NAPCO survey also revealed that nearly half of commercial printers and one-third of packaging printers have integrated or are currently researching the addition of diecutting to their digital workflows. For those still on the fence, MBO answers this need with a line of standalone and integratable rotary diecutters, including the BSR 550 Servo described above, that are perfectly suited for short-run boutique, luxury and cosmetic packaging, among other markets.

Modularity Is Key to New Markets

The MBO Group’s leadership as a manufacturer of endlessly configurable, modular digital web finishing solutions dovetails perfectly with commercial printers’ interest in packaging and labels, variable data for personalization and direct mail, folding carton production, marketing collateral, and banners and posters. MBO expertise also answers packaging printers’ eagerness to evaluate the market for POS and flexible and label packaging.

Technologies of special note include:

• Variable Finishing Technology from MBO, which lends users the ability to print and finish books of different formats and signatures off the same roll, or to produce variable page-count, saddlestitched booklets by reading a barcode off the printed roll.
• Direct Mail Finishing Systems from The MBO Group, featuring modules from MBO, Bograma, and specialty finishing experts, Herzog+Heymann. By combining the versatility of the Herzog+Heymann mailing table with the speed and precision of MBO web-finishing equipment, this solution gives customers the ability to produce a huge range of direct mail products. Card affixing, tipping, plowfolding, gluing, and die cutting all can be incorporated to produce a simple direct mail piece or an elaborate variable content, pop-up self-mailer with variable content.
• MBO Folding Carton Solutions, including the Stamina Folding Carton-Gluer, which produces blanks or completed cartons inline with any digital press or as a near-line solution. What makes the Stamina solution unique is its ability to match product inserts to the folding cartons — greatly reducing the chances of job mix-ups. Furthermore, MBO’s nickless rotary diecutting process represents an improvement over flatbed diecutting by eliminating extra production steps traditionally needed to remove scrap and refine the product edges.
• MBO’s modular approach to pharmaceutical finishing. Specialty finishing equipment from Herzog+Heymann is 100 percent compatible with MBO web finishing modules and enables the processing of ultra-lightweight paper used in pharmaceutical inserts, outserts and PI work. With the vast array of modules in its product portfolio, MBO can offer pharmaceutical finishing solutions from complex custom packaging to simple miniature folded inserts.

Source: MBO.

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.