Holywell Press expands horizons with BQ-270

Perfect binder installation helps Oxford operation target growth opportunities

Oxford commercial printer Holywell Press has added on demand book production to its service portfolio and is considering establishing online ordering following investment in a Horizon BQ270V single clamp perfect binder from Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS).

Founded in 1890 by Harry Burrows and Jack Doe, Holywell Press Ltd initially produced work for Oxford University and Morris cars but later expanded its reach, by becoming a publishing outlet for local authors and printing the University magazine Isis.  Today, its workload is a wide mix of general commercial and educational print.

Managing Director Ben Burrows, a fourth-generation family member, is continuing the modernisation programme begun by his father and Chairman Peter. He led the company’s move into digital production that was further enhanced with investment in a Xerox 770. That growth, coupled with the closure of local trade finisher Overload, prompted the investment in the Horizon BQ270V.

Explains Mr Burrows: “The market place is changing and we are seeing more interest in short run reports and perfect bound books.  To be in that arena you need to provide a very good service. We were able to offer that with our trade finisher but when that shut down we had to bring the capability in house.”

The investment has also prompted Mr Burrows to consider the provision of online ordering: “We had the software and now with the binder this is something we can look more closely at. A lot of our customers still like us to go and see them but with an online service we can also cater for those that prefer to upload work themselves. It is important to give the customer a choice.”

Paramount to success was getting the end product right says Burrows: “I wanted to be sure the quality of the Horizon BQ270V matched the quality our customers were used to. We didn’t want a compromise in the quality of the book or for our customers to notice any difference between jobs.”

Mr Burrows also liked the intuitive touch screen set up of the 500bph system and the variable software that enables the single clamp to be pre-set for the next book block in the job queue. He adds: “We have a Japanese press and we are aware of the quality of the engineering. The build of the machine is exceptional.”

Installation was made even smoother thanks to a new appointment, states Mr Burrows: “We took on the operator from the closed trade finisher who knew the capability of the Horizon perfect binder and he is very comfortable running it.”

In fact one of the first jobs on the binder was a 7,600 run for Oxford’s Brasenose College, he says: “The job didn’t need to be completed immediately as the mailing house couldn’t keep up so we kept it all in house and ran the binder constantly for a week.”

There are other benefits of the new addition, too: “It gives us flexibility on price and turnaround times,” comments Mr Burrow. “Minimum order costs were creeping up and we had to consider transportation times to and from the finisher. Now we have control of that making it possible to more easily offer a same-day service. The improvements may also help customers opt for perfect binding rather than wire or comb binding.”

See: Holywell Press

Case Study download: IFS_Holywell_HzBQ270_CS