The Five Castles Press has invested in a Horizon StitchLiner MKIII to elevate its production capacity following the acquisition of nearby printer.

Robert Burnett, managing director of the Ipswich general commercial printer, explains: “We recently bought a local printing company and needed to increase our production to handle the additional workload which included A4 landscape work.”

The long-standing IFS customer traded in a Horizon Stitchliner 5500 with 4 VAC-600 collating towers. Says Burnett: “When we first saw the Horizon StitchLiner 5500 a stand out feature was its ability to collate our flat sheet and 8-page signatures for PUR binding. It combined a number of processes quickly and effectively.”

He continues: “In 2018 we visited Horizon Germany on one of the VIP visits and had a demonstration of the new Horizon StitchLiner MKIII. We were so amazed by the increased production and its A4 landscape capability that we put it on our shopping list.

“We investigated the benefits further and, in particular, were delighted by the trade in valuation of the Horizon StitchLiner 5500. It made the decision to upgrade very easy.”

The new book production line joins a Horizon BQ-470PUR with Meler premelter, a Perfecta 92 guillotine for book trimming and a Horizon CRF-362 creaser folder.

The next-generation StitchLiner Mark III builds on the hugely successful innovative StitchLiner series. Complete with servo drive technology, the system runs at a maximum speed of 6,000bph and up to 12,000bph with two-up production. It is also capable of producing A4 landscape booklets at speeds of up to 5,300bph. Equipped with a large 12.1″ HD colour touch screen there is also quicker and more precise knife movement and variable thickness production as standard with new Hohner 52/8S stitching heads.

It is already making a positive impact adds Burnett: “The MKIII has been in for a couple of months and it has excelled our expectations with increased production. Our staff just love using the machine.”