The machine, which premiered at the Book Binding Academy in Felben, Switzerland, can attain production rates of 18,000 copies per hour. The system can be manually fed, but requires automatic feeding from stream feeders in order to attain higher speeds.

The gatherer’s patented product signature separation system grabs signatures off the finger of the transport chain at the transport table and conveys them to the concave raceway. The raceway bends the signatures slightly, which makes them more stable during transport and enables even oblong sizes and single signatures to be processed with an above average output.

The signatures are then fed into the binding line for glue and cover applications, dried and trimmed.
The sample gluer allows for a wide range of inserts of different sizes, such as CDs, DVDs, stitched-in inserts and product samples on a large area of the base signature.

The 3697 can cope with a full range of stock used in magazine, book and rotogravure printing. It is supplied in either a 457mm or 609mm chain pitch version for maximum signature widths of up to 510mm, depending on the application.

The machine’s central control system, which features a clear, self-explanatory display, controls all the assemblies located in front of the perfect binders.

The 3697 costs around £300,000 for a standard machine with 12 feeders, although different configurations will affect the price.

The 3697 has already been installed at Trade Binders in Daventry as well as at companies in Italy and Germany.

Specifications

Description: 3697 gathering machine

Models: 457mm or 609mm chain pitch versions

Speed: 18,000 copies per hour

Cost: around £300,000 for a standard configuration with 12 feeders

Contact: www.mullermartini.co.uk