"With books customers want more of a feel of a hardback  [with the cover proud of the front edge of the book]," said Kolbus UK managing director Robert Flather. "The problem is that you can't put it through a three knife trimmer, the way around it was to put the book through the binder twice, which is a pain."

Vacuum belts open the cover using the cover crease as a hinge before the rest of the book is clamped and cut using a Kolbus knife and cutting stick arrangement. Books up to 240x460mm and 55mm thick can be handled by the Cermi, which can be used either offline of inline with a speed of 100 books per minute.

Kolbus has yet to sell a machine in the UK, although it is in advanced negotiations with a potential customer.

Kolbus secured the worldwide rights to sell the machine from a French manufacturer and worked with it to improve the design.

Price for the Cermi is 155,000.

At Drupa Muller Martini launched a face trimmer, the Frontero.

Story by Barney Cox