Digital Mono Systems Speed Books On-Demand Print

Nipson Digital Printing Systems has installed a new second line for RR Donnelley's digital book production operation at its Harrisonburg, Virginia (USA) operation.

Nipson Digital Printing Systems, the developer and manufacturer of high speed digital mono production printing equipment, has installed a new second line for RR Donnelley's digital book production operation at its Harrisonburg, Virginia (USA) operation.

The Sigma Line from Muller Martini uses Nipson equipment as its core digital printing technology.

The company also upgraded existing equipment RR Donnelly has been using since 2003 at the factory to achieve additional productivity and higher print resolution.

Nipson said that it was able to offer the largest commercial printer in North America enhanced quality, higher speeds and lower cost-per-page by upgrading its existing Varypress print engines that are an integral part of RR Donnelley's Inventory Management Solutions programme.

Inventory Management Solutions demonstrates how digital book manufacturing is bringing substantial changes to the publishing world in terms of greater flexibility and better inventory management options, said Nipson.

Using digital print technology integrated directly with book finishing equipment, RR Donnelley's system is said to make it possible to effectively and economically manufacture books in quantities between 500 and 2,000 copies per print run.

that is suitable for back list titles, as well as advance reader copies.

Through shorter, more frequent runs, RR Donnelly can reduce book inventories by about 50 per cent.

It also allows for the cost-effective production of advanced copies of titles not yet mass produced.

Publishers can then test the market with the advanced copies, and when a book's sales increase, RR Donnelley can move the titles to an offset printing platform to economically produce much longer runs.

That flexibility allows the publisher to produce the right number of books at the right time, depending on how the market is reacting, keeping inventory levels appropriate to the needs of each particular title, added Nipson.

Alain Flament, Nipson's chief marketing officer, said: "The book-on-demand market is growing worldwide as publishers target markets with smaller volume print runs that still demand high quality and competitive pricing.

Nipson has answered the demands of this market by developing technology with high productivity, excellent print quality, and the lowest total cost of operation." John Pecaric, RR Donnelly's senior vice president of manufacturing, commented: "As a result of the positive experience we have had with our digital book production initiative, we feel that Nipson and Muller Martini are the ideal partners to assist us in successfully enhancing our capabilities.

Together, Muller Martini and Nipson technologies and expertise provide us with a single-source on-demand system that helps us to better serve our customers.".

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