The Lavenham Press Books Top Horizon
General printer launches trade service with BQ470 from IFS

For The Lavenham Press, books had been just another part of its general service offering since its establishment nearly 60 years ago – until now, that is! Following the introduction of the UK’s top-selling automated multi-clamp perfect binding system, the Horizon BQ470 from IFS, the Suffolk-based commercial print house has begun to offer its first trade binding service.

As a long-established general printer, The Lavenham Press’s book production capabilities had been developed to cope with the broadest range of work in-house, with a Muller Martini for the long runs and a Horizon BQ270 single-clamp system for the quick turnround short runs. But recent changes in the marketplace meant a rethink, as managing director Terence Dalton explains:

“Our binding lines were a good fit for the profile of work we were handling at the time; they served us well. But we were beginning to see an increase in demand for short run books and we needed more capacity in that area. And now we have launched our book on demand service, the new multi-clamp Horizon with its automated set-ups will be the key binding option in our line-up.”

Lavenham’s 1,350 bph BQ470V has interchangeable EVA and PUR glue tanks:

“This gives us a wide range of flexibility in the bindery and that makes us more productive,” comments Mr Dalton. “PUR is something we can offer as an upgrade; customers like the fact that it offers a stronger bind and, in certain applications, its layflat qualities add considerable value.”

Another important aspect was the waste savings: “It is a very efficient process,” says Mr Dalton. “There is no wastage and that is vital as far as costs are concerned and, of course, it’s a positive contribution to sustainability.”