L-R Hideharu Hori (son of Horizon president Ejiro Hori); Adam Carnell, Route1Print managing director and Jim Swain, production director
Rotherham, South Yorkshire-based Route1Print has ordered three Horizon StitchLiner MarkIIIs and a Horizon HT-1000V three knife trimmer from IFS to help launch a 24-hour dispatch service.
To enable a 24-hour service, the company needed to enhance its short run book production. ‘We need it to be faster and to meet the demand for shorter run work,’ explained Jack Wilmott, Route 1 Print brand manager.
The newly-launched next-generation StitchLiner runs at a maximum speed of 6,000bph and up to 12,000bph with two-up production. It offers enhanced operation with fully automated job set up in less than a minute making it 30% faster than the StitchLiner 5500. The new machines at Route1 will run alongside an existing 5500 model.
‘We estimate that the new systems will increase our booklet making capacity by about 63%,’ said Mr Wilmott. ‘They will give us more flexibility and streamline production now that everything is sheet work. We can get work on and off them much faster and that ensures quick and flexible production.’
The Horizon HT-1000V will nearline finish books that are produced on the Horizon BQ470 installed last year. ‘When we put in the perfect binder it was much more productive than our old one,’ continued Mr Wilmott. ‘We were getting a bottleneck in that area. The HT-1000V will eliminate that and help to ensure we are much more efficient.’
Route1Print will install the StitchLiners in July. They will be among the UK’s first delivery from Horizon in Japan.
