The perfect binding system, Libra 800 B2, which is custom-built by Tecnau to Pixartprinting’s specifications, has been installed to enhance the company’s print setup for short-run digitally printed books, catalogs and magazines. “After assessing our production needs, we realized there were no machines currently on the market that could guarantee the performance we were aiming for,” said Alessio Piazzetta, plant manager at Pixartprinting. “Tecnau proved to be a reliable and well-organized company with the right approach to business, and which has produced a system that did not exist before.”
The new Libra 800 B2 combines digital presses upstream and finishing systems downstream to cut the blocks of sheets and glue the covers, finishing off with a three-side trimmer. After cooling, the books and magazines are ready to be dispatched. As well as standard modules taken from the Libra 800—the softcover binding and variable three-side trimming units—the system also includes a series of innovations, most notably the dynamic book block cutting and gathering system, which can process paper up to 50 x 70 cm in B2 format. In addition, the Tecnau system can automatically handle the parameters for various formats, ranging from A5 to 17 x 21 cm and from 21 x 21 cm to A4, both in landscape and album format, making the manufacturing process even more efficient.
“This project was challenging. The Libra 800 B2 is a high-tech modular solution that offers multiple input and output channels for a constant production flow, mixing not only different formats but also papers and covers of different weights and qualities and with various finishes, owing to the flexibility offered by the sheetfed press and the line’s ability to adapt to the quality of the input material. The solution was designed in close collaboration with the Pixartprinting team, who outlined their needs and monitored the implementation stages step by step,” said Stefano de Marco, sales and marketing director at Tecnau.
