Cambrian Printers, the Aberystwyth specialist in short run colour printing, has improved production efficiency with a Horizon HT-30 three-side trimmer from Intelligent Finishing Systems.

The operation, recently acquired by Pensord, produces periodicals, catalogues, threadsewn hard and soft cover books on Heidelberg and KBA B1 presses and an HP Indigo Press.

Karl Gater, Cambrian Printers Director, explains the investment: “We wanted to improve efficiency in our short run book production. The Horizon HT-30 joins our Muller Martini binding line that was managing a mix of short and medium volume book binding. 80% of our work goes through the binder and time was lost when setting up our existing three knife trimmer on very short run work. There was a bottleneck.”

He continues “Now with the Horizon HT-30 we can trim books almost instantly with minimal set up and operator involvement. Short run production is much more efficient. We have a more efficient process that benefits the business and our customer alike.

“The Horizon HT-30 also provides short term back up in the event of breakdowns on our existing trimmer. It will help us ensure we are always able deliver on time.”

As for return on investment he states: “It was not an investment based on financial gains or payback. It was made to deliver efficiency gains and peace of mind in ensuring business continuity in the event of other equipment failure.”

Before investing Cambrian visited IFS open houses and carried out tests on various perfect bound books in the showroom. Gater adds: “This was our first investment with IFS and Horizon. The machine was delivered, installed and in production, in a short time, from point of order to production.”

The Horizon HT30 three-side trimmer features automated job set-ups and quick changeovers with the ability to store up to 40 different book jobs in memory. It operates off-line to trim perfect bound books at speeds up to 500 cycles per hour. A colour touch screen allows all set-ups to be performed with full automation.