Ensuring total control of a job from ordering to dispatch is the over-riding business ethos at Falkland Press – and the reason why the Hatfield firm chose to invest in a Horizon BQ470 four-clamp perfect binder from Intelligent Finishing Systems.

Jon Lancaster, Managing Director comments: “I don’t like to say ‘No’ to customers or ‘I’ll check and call you back’. I want to be able to say ‘Yes’ to whatever they ask for. Adding perfect binding will take us another step closer to being a complete one-stop-shop.”

In production from day one of installation, Mr Lancaster says of the easy-to-use 1,350cph BQ470: “We already won a job to produce 64,000 books of 13 different editions plus subsets – that’s 1,800 plate changes on the press! With the new Horizon we knew that we could confidently meet the client’s timescale.”

Flexibility of production is also a big benefit: “We can deliver some advance copies if need be. In the past we have been asked to send ahead ten or so quickly for events and when we were outsourcing logistics needed to be considered. Now we can easily meet that request, even if it means interrupting other work on the binder.”

Even though this was the operation’s first step into perfect binding Jon Lancaster had no hesitation in choosing the four-clamp option and signed the deal during a visit to drupa. “It is the best system on the market and we know it can handle a range of run lengths so no job will be too small or large.”

Falkland Press’s past experience with IFS was also a key deciding factor states Mr Lancaster: “We bought a Horizon StitchLiner and it just runs and runs. The quality of the build is robust and we are very happy with its performance so when we saw what the BQ470 could do we had no hesitation in investing in it. I also like the IFS team and trust their recommendations.”