ProCo, the comprehensive print and integrated communications provider, has chosen a Horizon StitchLiner to help secure a project to deliver a complex variable data campaign. The Intelligent Finishing Systems-supplied solution will also enable the Sheffield operation to meet demand for flexible finishing of litho and digital print.
“With the increased volume and turnover within our digital production we recognised we needed a solution that would give a greater amount of capacity and flexibility in our stitching offering,” explains Graeme Parry, ProCo Production Manager. “We could see that there was a need for greater efficiencies in this area of our production process.
ProCo produces litho and digital print on two Roland 300’s, three HP Indigo’s, a 7500, 5500, and 5000, as well as an Océ 5160, Konica 1200, and Konica C5500.
From its inception in 1992 the company quickly gained a reputation for handling complex large scale, high quality print projects. It launched a direct mail arm, followed by digital print ten years later. Since then, the business has been merged and relocated to a state-of-the-art premises, offering a broad range of marketing support and campaign management solutions that help to co-ordinate its clients’ communications into single integrated programmes. More recently the company has developed its own range of bespoke, online workflow management tools.
On the decision to invest in the 11,000bph Horizon StitchLiner, Mr Parry explains: “The reasoning was simple; the removal of extra finishing processes increases finishing efficiency. The main plus point is the labour saving on folding sections that would have been a separate process.” That is because the system works from flat four-page sections and has an integral three-knife trimming station so there is no need to pre-fold into signatures or pre-trim top and tail – resulting in significant time, waste and energy savings. There is also a high profile icon-based colour touchscreen that gives automated set-ups in less than two minutes with instant job storage and recall, ideal for short runs.
“Also there is the quickness of make ready as set-up templates can be used, again this saves the time of the operator having to set up the machine from scratch,” he comments. “Capacity-wise it gives a huge plus on the kit we had previously, being able to run up to 5,500 gives us almost an extra 50% on certain styles of work. The bonus here though is for the digital variable work, backed up by camera verification, that provides the operator with full confidence in the kit.”
He continues: “The configuration we opted for has the added ability to deal with our increased variable data work which was a requirement for an upcoming project.”
The ProCo team researched the StitchLiner at trade shows and through numerous visits to other print facilities that were producing similar work. “Clearly to us there was a need to have a piece of kit that could be both flexible to deal with small booklet runs of collated digital work but also be able to cope with the medium run lengths,” states Mr Parry who also looked at a number of Duplo systems in varying sizes and price points.
He adds: “But in the end the chosen solution was due to a number of factors based on price, flexibility and the fact all testing we did on the equipment proved successful. The result of the investment is that it gives the company as a whole greater offering in its ability to meet the changing demands of our client base as well as increasing the efficiency of our finishing department.”
