Describe your business
We specialise in printing and mailing, mainly magazines and publications.
What have you bought?
Osako Tener eight-station saddlestitcher.
What does it do?
I had a Muller Martini Presto that I bought new in 1998 and had to upgrade it. The Osako is much faster. It runs at 10,000 cycles per hour, so we get our books out quicker. The other one was getting a bit old, because we flogged it for all those years. The Osako is a general saddlestitcher. I’ve got eight hoppers on this one – I only had six on the other one. This has faster set-up and it just cruises at the high speed, which makes it so much easier for us.
Why did you choose this product?
It wasn’t dissimilar to the Muller and I liked how all the hoppers fed the sheets. I thought it was the best way to go. I looked at the other brands, but I thought this machine was best for my sort of work. Since I’ve had it, probably seven months, it’s as good a machine as I’ve bought. The price was good too – better than the other makes and models.
Did you consider any other products?
I looked at another Presto and I had a look at the Heidelberg saddlestitcher too. I didn’t like the way the Heidelberg fed from the spine. I’ve always had machines that fed the other way. I like the way the Osako mechanically feeds, which is the same as the Muller.
What features do you like most?
The cover feeder and scoring is very good. The quick hopper set up is good. The sequential start-up is also good. I bought the looped stitchers as well, so there’s more of that I can do. I also bought the centre knife to go two-up – I can do a book two-up and cut it in the middle. Everything else is pretty standard.
Is there anything you wish it had that it doesn’t?
I’m happy with everything I’ve got on it and I can’t complain. I didn’t buy the camera because I thought they were a bit dear. A lot of those expensive features are only as good as the operator.
How fast is it?
I don’t try to run the saddlestitcher any faster than 10,000 cycles per hour – I don’t want to flog it – but I think it goes quicker than that. I usually cruise on it at 8,000, but if we’re under pressure we can go to 10,000.
How reliable is it?
It’s been very reliable. There were a couple of little things while we were installing it, but since then I think Ferrostaal have only ever come in once to adjust something for me. I haven’t had a breakdown. It goes all day every day and isn’t giving any troubles, so it’s worked out well.
How easy is it to use?
We’ve found it pretty easy. My operators had run Osakos before, so that helped.
Has it saved time and money?
It certainly has. I’m getting my books finished quicker and I’m doing makereadies faster.
Has it won you any new business?
It’s probably helped me with turnaround times on jobs. Because I’ve been able to get more books out in a day it’s definitely helped.
Were there any difficulties surrounding the install?
Does anyone ever install a machine quick enough for you? I’ve probably had 30 installations over my printing career and I’ve never had one done quick enough for me yet. It’s something you’re never happy with, isn’t it? The installation was as good as you could hope for.
How has the service been?
They were really good. All my questions were answered. I’ve bought other machines off Ferrostaal before. I bought an eight-colour Komori off them in 2007 and I’ve bought some MBO folders off them, so I knew what I was in for.
Who do you think this product is right for?
It would suit people who have a high turnover of saddlestitching magazine work. If you’ve got some big runs, that’s the sort of machine you want.
Would you buy another one?
No, I don’t want to get much bigger, so I wouldn’t want to have a factory with two saddle stitchers. I can be more selective this way.
Supplier’s response
Galloping Press previously owned a smaller, slower saddlestitcher, a more manual set-up model. The new Osako Tener investment includes automated makeready features and the ability to do bigger format and higher speeds at 12,000cph. The installation went really well. We removed the older machine and installed the new machine within four days. The new Osako has eight rotary feeders and a cover feeder, so Galloping Press has the ability to produce a thicker book. The Osako Tener’s ability to run paper up to thicker board covers on the cover feeder is a big plus, eliminating the need to machine-fold paper covers to then run on a rotary feeder.
Rayne Simpson, Ferrostaal
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