Stefano Formentini · Global Sales & Marketing Director · Meccanotecnica

The book industry is changing. Print runs are getting shorter, publishers want less inventory sitting on shelves, skilled bindery operators are becoming increasingly difficult to find, and digital printing has made book-of-one production commercially realistic.

But finishing still has to keep up.

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Morten B. Reitoft meets Stefano Formentini from Meccanotecnica for another look at LYRA — the company’s new automated casing-in solution first presented at Book Your Future in Bergamo earlier this year.

Since the launch, interest has been significant, but Meccanotecnica isn’t rushing the first installations. Stefano explains that the company is working closely with prospective customers, studying their production data, running tests and identifying where LYRA can genuinely improve the economics of their book production.

And economics is really what LYRA is about.

For decades, hardcover finishing has depended heavily on skilled operators and equipment designed either for relatively manual production or very high industrial volumes. Meccanotecnica believes there is an important space between those two worlds — particularly as digital printing drives shorter runs, more frequent job changes and increasingly book-of-one production.

LYRA is designed specifically for that environment.

Automated changeovers take seconds rather than minutes, and much of the traditional knowledge of the experienced bookbinder has been effectively embedded in the machine. The objective is to enable an operator with considerably less specialist knowledge to produce consistent hardcover books while capturing experienced bindery expertise in the technology itself.

That becomes increasingly important in North America.

Stefano describes the U.S. and Canadian markets as among the world’s most developed for digital book production. At the same time, printers are facing the same pressures seen throughout the industry: difficulty finding skilled employees, increasing labor costs and the need to reduce manual touchpoints.

Publishers are changing as well.

Rather than financing large inventories of books that may remain in warehouses for months or years, publishers increasingly want production to follow actual demand. Digital printing makes that possible on the press side, but finishing must be equally capable of economically producing one copy, ten copies, several hundred — or even runs of one or two thousand books.

That is the space Meccanotecnica wants LYRA to address.

The conversation also turns to something affecting almost every investment discussion in the United States right now: uncertainty.

Geopolitical developments and tariffs are influencing purchasing decisions, and some companies are choosing to delay investments while waiting for greater clarity. Stefano understands the hesitation but also sees a risk in waiting too long.

Technology continues to improve regardless of the political environment.

A modern automated production line can deliver significant productivity improvements compared with equipment installed 15 or 20 years ago. Reduced labor requirements, faster changeovers, lower waste and increased throughput can potentially outweigh other cost increases associated with an investment.

Companies therefore face an interesting decision.

Wait for certainty that may never arrive — or invest in productivity and competitiveness that they can actually control.

For Meccanotecnica, that investment philosophy fits directly into its broader evolution. Historically famous for book sewing, the company has steadily expanded into perfect binding, digital finishing and now automated casing-in, creating an increasingly complete production environment for digitally manufactured books.

The press has already become digital.

Now Meccanotecnica wants to industrialize what happens after it.

Watch Morten B. Reitoft’s conversation with Stefano Formentini from Meccanotecnica at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.