Saddle Stitchers — It's a Buyer's Market

Among the features that can make a stitcher shine, Moore notes, are missing stitch sensor, variable side caliper inspection point, long signature detection and trimmer quality control (square book detection) to ensure the quality from book to book.

Being able to gauge what type of work you need to do—not just presently, but projecting in the long term—can go a long way toward helping find the appropriate saddle stitcher, stresses Felix Stirnimann, division manager, print finishing operations, for Muller Martini. Product size, number of sections to be stitched and run lengths are important elements to consider, and it's wise to look ahead toward capabilities such as ink-jet addressing, he advises.