Lancaster general commercial printer Pagefast Print & Publishing has chosen to future-proof its business with an innovative IFS-supplied Horizon SPF/FC-200L bookletmaker capable of landscape feeding.
The firm has also developed a strong portfolio of niche sporting publications and Keith Simpson, Managing Director of Pagefast Print & Publishing states: “Adding landscape capabilities is something we had been looking into for a while. We needed a new stitching line and thought landscape was the way to go. It will future-proof us by enabling us to offer something a little different.”
The Horizon SPF/FC-200L will handle litho print from a Heidelberg SpeedMaster 72 and a single-colour Heidelberg SORM and digital print from a Ricoh press. Simpson adds: “We invested in the Ricoh press last year and since then we needed to improve finishing for digital short runs.”
As for ROI Simpson comments: “I look on investment in terms of the best advantages it can give the business. We don’t have any significant debt and we consider what the best options are for the long term future. The new system means we don’t have to outsource any work now. That makes production more competitive and gives us greater control over turnaround times. We have already run three significant jobs on it and we have been very happy with to date. It is all going to plan.”
The 4,500bph Horizon SPF/FC-200L, the first of its kind installed in the region, couples all the highly automated features of the successful SPF/FC200A bookletmaker with the ability to feed A4 landscape sheets up to 640mm in length. JDF-ready, the system offers instant set-ups via a large icon-based colour touchscreen for user-friendly operation. The screen can be used for on-the-run fine tune adjustments as well as the store and recall of up to 200 jobs.
Concludes Simpson: “We had been looking at the Horizon system for a long time. We did a lot of research and wanted something automated that could handle A4 and B4 plus landscape. The Horizon fitted that bill. We had the top digital press, top folder and top guillotine and now we have the top bookletmaker.”
Pic: Keith Simpson, Managing Director of Pagefast Print & Publishing, with Peter Hennedy, supervisor, and the Horizon SPF-FC 200L
