Tamworth general commercial printer KEP Print Group PLC has invested in a Horizon StitchLiner from IFS.
The fully-automated 11,000bph Horizon StitchLiner replaced a nine year old StitchLiner that had completed more than 20million booklets in its production lifetime at the operation.
“The StitchLiner we had was reliable, hardworking and we never had a problem with it,” states Joel Mudie, Business Development. “We did look at other solutions to see what had been brought to market in the past nine years but nothing came close.
“We liked its make-ready speed that enables job versatility and allows us to produce short runs quickly smoothly and cost effectively. The StitchLiner’s compact footprint and reliability were also deciding factors.”
KEP Print Group produces litho print on a Roland R900XXL, R710P, R706, R205, and digital print on a Scitex FB7600, AGFA Jeti, 3020 Titan, HP Indigo and DGI-VE3204D. It specialises in POS and brochures with clients including Greggs, Citroen, Amtico, AGA and L’Oreal.
The system includes a high profile icon-based colour touchscreen for set-ups in less than two minutes. The key to the StitchLiner’s enduring popularity is its ability to work from flat four-page section, eliminating the need for separate bindery stages to be undertaken. Its integral three-knife trimming station means there is no need to pre-fold into signatures or pre-trim top and tail – resulting in significant time, waste and energy savings.
KEP’s system includes three VAC600 collators that feature large colour touchscreen is icon-based for user-friendly operation, high-intensity infrared LED’s at each bin for double feed detection, powerful blowers for reliable feeding and optional image checking camera. Sheets can be piled up to 130 mm in each bin to reduce bin loading time facilitating continuous operation.
Adds Joel Mudie: “Despite the fact we have replaced one StitchLiner with another we have seen operational improvements as the enhanced automation makes production faster and more flexible. It enables us to more easily handle the increased short tunaround work that makes up much of our day to day work.”
