Wolverhampton-based John Price Printers has invested in a Horizon StitchLiner Mark III from IFS to aid flexibility in the bindery and eliminate production bottlenecks.
‘We had a Muller Martini but when it came to scheduling work we needed to plan it in order, A4, A5 and A5 landscape,’ explained director David Harris. ‘If we wanted to make any changes set up would take 45 minutes. This was viable for longer runs but not shorter jobs. We were getting bottlenecks and so we decided it was time to invest in an alternative device.
‘We chose the StitchLiner because of its flexibility and speed of make-ready. Changing from A4 landscape to A6 would have taken an hour on the Muller Martini. Now it takes three to four minutes.’
The system was also chosen to support the increase in digital print expected with the operation’s latest investment in digital production, a new Heidelberg Versafire digital press, which replaces an existing digital press and joins three Komori litho units.
‘We complete print runs from 10,000 down to 50,’ continued Mr Harris. ‘Before we might have had to interrupt the longer runs on the Muller Martini to complete a short-run job. Now we can set up the Muller Martini and let it run and run.’
The StitchLiner Mark III uses servo drive technology for quicker and more precise knife movement and runs at a maximum speed of 6000bph and up to 12,000bph with two-up production. It is also capable of producing A4 landscape booklets at speeds of up to 5300bph.
