OSO Hotwater is a Norwegian manufacturer of high-quality stainless steel water heaters, supplying both domestic and international markets. With over 90 years of innovation and a growing product portfolio, the company manages all technical documentation internally – including the printing of user manuals and installation guides.
As their product range expanded and evolved, so did the volume and complexity of their printed documentation. Manuals needed to be regularly updated, produced in small batches, and often translated into up to 23 languages. Previously, they were running a toner-based press from another manufacturer, paired with a standard booklet maker solution. The setup couldn’t keep up, lacked speed, struggled with thicker booklets and forced the team to split single manuals into multiple stapled sections. This often caused delays on the production floor, where operators couldn’t complete packaging because updated manuals weren’t ready.
Manual reprints due to changes also resulted in waste and rising costs. And when jobs required immediate turnaround, external print suppliers simply weren’t fast or flexible enough.
Stig Røed, Technical Documents Developer, OSO Hotwater
OSO Hotwater turned to Kyocera’s TASKalfa Pro 15000c production inkjet printer paired with the Plockmatic BF-450e booklet maker.
From day one, the BF-450e’s fast and reliable performance made a clear impact. Its ability to produce high-quality, stapled booklets—up to 50 sheets—meant that most manuals could now be delivered as single, complete documents. This eliminated the confusion and slowdowns caused by handling multiple booklet parts per product.
The ease of use and efficiency also allowed the operator to manage daily printing in under an hour, freeing up time for other responsibilities.
“I spend maybe an hour a day running the system—sometimes even less. It’s basically starting the job, loading paper and picking up the finished prints.”
✅ Increased Uptime
Manuals can now be printed on demand and in exact quantities. This has eliminated the need to pre-stock large volumes, cutting both waste and storage needs.
✅ Reduced Delays in Production
The print team can respond instantly when production lines run short of manuals, avoiding costly downtime or overtime labor.
✅ Improved Document Quality
The BF-450e’s higher booklet thickness capacity ensures complete documentation in one volume—boosting operator efficiency on the floor.
✅ Color Flexibility with Lower Costs
Switching to inkjet gave the team freedom to reintroduce color in technical manuals—especially for complex diagrams—without increasing cost per page.
Stig Røed, Technical Documents Developer, OSO Hotwater
The company expects steady growth over the next 3–5 years and is already exploring additional lines. Thanks to the BF-450e’s performance and reliability, they’re confident their in-house print operation can scale to meet future demand.
Stockholm, 27 June 2025
Plockmatic Group has signed an agreement to acquire Chr. Renz GmbH, the world leading producer of ring wire binding machines and supplies, headquartered in Heubach, Germany. Founded in 1908, Renz is a global leader within ring wire equipment with clients in more than 80 countries. The offering includes development and production of ring wire binding machines for the professional and office segments, as well as in-house production of premium quality wire binding consumables.
Following significant hardships during the covid-19 pandemic, Renz was forced into insolvency proceedings in 2024. The insolvency process is expected to be finalized during Q3 2025 and closing of the transaction is expected to take place in connection with this.
“The acquisition of Renz will be a great opportunity for Plockmatic Group, where we see several opportunities and synergies between our organizations, and to further expand our value proposition as solution provider to our customers. With Renz becoming a part of Plockmatic Group, we will also get a strong and local sales organization in Germany, which we have identified as an important growth market for Plockmatic Group going forward” says Jan Marstorp, CEO Plockmatic Group.
Michael Schubert, CEO of Renz, expresses happiness and relief about joining forces with Plockmatic: “Becoming part of Plockmatic Group and finding a long-term solution for Renz, following some very challenging years, make us look at the future with confidence again. With the insolvency proceedings behind us and access to Plockmatic Group´s resources we will now be able to invest in new products and continue long-term partnerships with our customers and suppliers”.
@Graphiken is a digital print shop based in Malmö, founded in 2014. They serve both large and small businesses as well as private customers, and have continually expanded their range of services over the years. Their offering spans everything from wedding invitations and event cards to posters and high-volume product catalogs. Their strength lies in providing customized solutions that combine high quality with creative print possibilities.
The production line includes a Canon imagePRESS C10000VP, a Canon imagePRESS C850, and large format printers Canon iPF9400S and PRO-4100.
In 2022, @Graphiken saw the need to upgrade their previous booklet maker to offer a wider range of brochures in various formats and finishes. They chose the BM5000, which allows them to produce brochures in several sizes, including A4 landscape, A6, and others. It also enables production of booklets with SquareFold spines, which create a printable, squared-off spine that gives the appearance of a perfect-bound book.
In addition to the booklet maker, @Graphiken invested in a DigiFold Pro XL, a creasing and folding machine specifically designed for digitally printed and long-sheet jobs. It handles sheets up to 1300 mm. This opens the door to new applications such as covers for landscape booklets, oversized perfect-bound book covers, and multi-panel brochures in varied formats.
The print shop is located in a charming, older bank building in Malmö. To make the most of the available space, offline production has always been the natural choice, with machines placed in separate rooms. Since @Graphiken often prints in short runs, finishing can occur in parallel with other print jobs without occupying the printers, which increases flexibility.
ColorCUT FB9500 combines speed with cutting precision, cutting at up to 1,200 mm/sec and handling a wide range of materials. Its automated, QR-code-based workflow allows the machine to set itself up without manual input, reducing error and increasing throughput. This gives @Graphiken both production reliability and the flexibility to manage diverse customer needs on tight deadlines.
Together, the SC6000 and FB9500 have enabled @Graphiken to establish itself in the digital packaging and label segment – delivering high quality and flexibility, even for smaller volumes. The combination of two digital die cutters allows them to handle a wide variety of jobs with both speed and accuracy.
Lena Hermansson, CEO, @Graphiken
US-AB (Universitetsservice AB) is a print provider with over 20 years of experience, located on the campus of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. The company specialises in printed materials for the academic sector, such as dissertations, course packs and student union publications. It is a contracted supplier to several universities and colleges in the Stockholm area.
To expand its business and reach new markets, US-AB has also broadened its customer base beyond academia. Today, the company works with real estate agencies, the tourism sector and private schools, all of which need high-quality printed materials with fast turnaround. This diversification has contributed to an increase in turnover of more than 70 percent over the past three years.
The machine line-up includes four Ricoh production printers, including two newly added Ricoh Pro C9500 presses, selected for their ability to handle heavier substrates and increase automation in production.
US-AB already had a Plockmatic booklet maker integrated inline with one of its Ricoh printers – a solution chosen to fully automate the production process from print to finished booklet. Inline solutions are highly effective for fully automated production.
However, in its most recent investment, the company opted for a offline booklet making system. This was partly due to space limitations, but also to improve overall efficiency. By separating the finishing stage, there’s no need to wait for each print job to be completed before booklet production can begin. Instead, printed output from multiple devices can be collected and processed in one continuous flow.
The solution was the Plockmatic BM5000. The system handles everything from feeding and creasing to folding, stitching and three-side trimming in a fully automated workflow. With support for formats up to landscape A4 and SquareFold spine as standard, it’s a versatile solution built for both high volume and format flexibility.
The system handles everything from feeding, creasing and folding to stitching and trimming in an automated workflow. It eliminates the need for separate creasing machines, saving time and streamlining the production process.
US-AB has also recently invested in a Morgana DigiFold Pro XL, an automated creasing and folding machine from Plockmatic. After issues with a previous solution from another manufacturer, the company chose DigiFold Pro XL – a machine capable of handling long and heavy media types with high precision and consistent speed.
With support for a wide range of crease and fold combinations, US-AB can now offer its customers a broader selection of brochures, folded pieces and other print applications. This opens the door to new applications, such as covers for landscape booklets, book covers for oversized perfect bound books, multi-panel brochures, and many other folded products made from long sheets.
This automated creasing and folding machine can crease, fold and perforate up to 6,000 A4 sheets per hour. It handles paper weights from 80 to 400 gsm and media lengths up to 1,300 mm, making it ideal for both standard and specialty formats.
Johnnys Kopiering is a digital print provider based in the Rörstrand district of Lidköping, Sweden. With roots in the former municipal print shop, the company is now run by Johan Larsson and a dedicated team. Offering a wide range of printing services and strong local presence, they are a trusted partner for both businesses and organizations in the region.
Their print room includes Xerox Versant 280 Press and Versant 80 Press systems, enabling them to deliver a wide variety of high-quality printed materials.
When a local customer expanded and required a larger volume of brochures with a short turnaround time, it became clear that Johnnys Kopiering needed to increase their finishing capacity. To ensure consistent quality, precision, and fast delivery, they needed a solution that could handle the entire brochure production process in-house.
Johnnys Kopiering decided to invest in the Plockmatic BM4050, a fully automated booklet maker that delivers high precision and supports efficient, versatile production. The system was installed and up and running the very same day.
“The installation was fast and smooth. The machine was essentially in production from day one. It’s been working really well – it’s a fantastic machine to work with,” Johan explains.
The investment has clearly improved both production efficiency and output quality. According to Johan, it’s the system’s precision and ease of use that stand out the most in daily operation. The automatic feeding system uses air separation and monitors each sheet to prevent double feeds, allowing the machine to run smoothly without interruptions.
Adjusting the staple position and fold is done directly via the touchscreen, and takes just seconds. This makes it easy to fine-tune jobs without slowing down production.
“I made adjustments for a test print in ten seconds. The precision is down to 0.2 millimeters – and you can see it in the final result,” Johan says.
He also highlights the system’s flexibility as a key advantage. It handles everything from short runs to longer jobs and switches quickly between formats and paper types. That means they can easily produce a few hundred brochures for one project, and then immediately move on to something entirely different. The system stores hundreds of job presets and supports QR code recognition, simplifying repeat orders.
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