Available in the UK from last month, the new £28,000 machine will be distributed by Hemel Hempstead-based finishing equipment distributor Friedheim International.

It replaces Zechini’s Mephisto range of casemakers, advancing on its predecessor by diverting all set-up processes to a joystick – tools are no longer required to adjust sizes, resulting in a significantly reduced job changeover time.

“Digital printing is on the rise and its increased significance means that our customers now want to be able to sort jobs in a heartbeat,” said Friedheim finishing sales specialist Howard Cherry. “With the Roby Zero, they can make ready in 12 heartbeats.

“This is a manual casemaker with semi-automatic capabilities for turning over edges. Its technology will satisfy Mephisto users while advancing it along. End-users are now telling us they want shorter runs of higher quality from their books – reducing the need for perfect binding or saddle-stitching on brochures and the like – and this machine accommodates that.”

Zechini’s Roby Zero has a maximum mechanical speed of 150 cases per hour and can utilise a host of covering materials – laminated or unlaminated paper, photo paper, fabric, padded cardboard and artificial leather.

Its integrated gluing unit is capable of using both hot glue and PVA. Board positioning on the device is manual, while the turning-in of edges and job set-up is automated. Optional additions include a corner trimmer, kit for up to five-piece cases and a photo book device.

The machine was manufactured in response to an increase in demand for books among end-users, with BPIF figures indicating that 7 million more books were sold in 2016/17 than 2015/16.