Muller Martini has introduced the Separo Pro, a new destacker designed to automate the separation of pre-glued or thread-sewn book blocks for softcover and hardcover production.
Designed for book-of-one and short-run production environments, the Separo Pro can handle changing book block thicknesses and formats while maintaining the order of products throughout the process.
The system uses a first-in, first-out (FIFO) principle, meaning book blocks leave the destacker in the same sequence in which they were originally stacked. According to Muller Martini, this simplifies downstream production and helps maintain product sequence in highly automated workflows.
A bypass function allows individual book blocks that have already been separated, or stacks of single sheets, to be transported directly through the system. The Separo Pro can also be loaded manually.
The destacker can be integrated into a range of Muller Martini production environments, including inline ahead of the Vareo Pro and Antaro Digital perfect binders, as well as the company’s Diamant MC hardcover book lines.
Muller Martini said the system is intended to increase process reliability and net output while supporting cost-effective production from medium and small runs down to individual books.
The Separo Pro operates at up to 2000 cycles per hour, while up to 4000 book blocks per hour can be processed in run production under defined conditions. Muller Martini said initial field experience has shown productivity gains of up to 30% compared with manual feeding.
The system also features a high level of automation intended to reduce changeover times when moving between products with different formats and block thicknesses.
By automating book block separation while preserving production sequence, Muller Martini said the Separo Pro can help full-service print businesses increase the output and efficiency of finishing lines handling increasingly varied and shorter-run book work.
