Factory automation will be taken to the next level with lights-out finishing made a reality at Horizon’s Smart Factory, October 2 to 4, 2024, Horizon Innovation Park, Japan.

First staged five years ago, Smart Factory is a live open house showcasing pioneering production innovation that enables printers to explore next generation developments in real-time scenarios.

The theme for this year’s event is lights out production, presenting hands-free production for books, booklets and similar stitched products, supported by developments in robot arms, AGVs and AMRs.

IFS Technical Sales Director Jason Seaber says: “Horizon Smart Factory 2024 will push the boundaries of automation achieving completely autonomous printing, finishing, packaging, and other logistics with cutting edge technology like AGV, robotics, and AI.

“Seamless integration of printers, finishing equipment, and workflow systems will allow for the monitoring of each job’s production status and progress. This new level of automation gives operators the opportunity to shift from repetitive, labour-intensive tasks to more fulfilling work while achieving a good work-life balance.”

Also, an area that development has focused on, is automation after the trimmer to load boxes or move jobs to the dispatch or storage areas. This is currently dependent on manual labour to sort and allocate products that for example could be books printed in short runs, on demand, or as books of one. At the Smart Factory these will be sorted, in the sequence they are produced, using barcodes. Each one will be identified and directed to the correct area with a dispatch label added for delivery.

Several UK printing companies will attending the Smart Factory event. If you are interested in joining them please contact IFS Managing Director Eric Keane at Eric.keane@ifsl.uk.com.