This Victorian print company noticed the difference when it replaced its old perfect binder with a new Horizon BQ-160 PUR binder and a Horizon CRB-160 cover creaser
Star Printing employs 18 people, operating out of its main plant in Terang, country Victoria. Owner Matt Henderson bought the 32 year old business six years ago.
The company’s offering covers a large gamut of print options. Henderson says, “We really are a full range provider, everything from stationery to marketing paraphernalia. We have a full chemistry-free CTP system and we employ our own design team, which is creating real opportunities for us in the market place.”
Star Printing recently purchased a new Horizon BQ-160 PUR binder from Currie Group, along with a Horizon CRB-160 cover creaser. Henderson says, “We are in the process of moving the business toward an SGP (sustainable) accreditation through our PIA membership. We are doing that through an attitude that we need environmental responsibility. The Horizon binder enables us to reduce waste and spoilage on the run because of its accuracy, so it fits with that aim. It is much cleaner and the glue really doesn’t smoke at all.
Overall, it is a much more efficient process in terms of the use of the glue, and the glue can be an expensive consumable.”
The BQ-160 PUR binder performs perfect binding, tape binding, and lining binding for case binding. Horizon suggests applications for the BQ-160 PUR binder could include personalised photo books such as wedding albums and travel albums, adding that it can produce books up to 40mm thick.
Capability
Henderson says the new binder has impressed with its capability. He says, “We previously had a perfect binder, but it was hardly ideal in terms of binding. The Horizon has just been fantastic. Really, it will bind anything and the feedback from our clients has been extraordinary.”
The quality of the books that the binder produces has also impressed Star Printing’s clients. Henderson says, “The structural integrity of the finished products once the glue has dried is absolutely first rate.
Honestly, I’ve had a sample book here that I take to my clients, I have opened it face down on the floor and jumped on it, and that book hasn’t lost a page.”
Digital printing presents a different set of challenges for print finishing. Star Printing may have the solution with its new binder. Henderson says, “Conventional perfect binding glues won’t stick to anything with a coating on it. With digital printing it often means the digital print is moving into the binding margin, but this PUR glue will set to anything.”
Star Printing also invested in an online Horizon CRB-160 cover creaser. Henderson says, “Even though we have letterpress on site, the creaser brings a high degree of accuracy to the process. It can actually put the appropriate creases in place in terms of position and depth. By using that, we get a clean spine.”
The CRB creasers can be set-up through the BQ-160 PUR binder colour touch screen. Cover creasing and a variety of other creasing patterns can be selected from the touch screen. Horizon says that impact creasing position is automatically set according to the book thickness inserted into the BQ-160 PUR binder.
Depth of the creasing can also be set depending on cover thickness. It adds that creased sheets are delivered at a comfortable height for easy handling.
The team members at Star Printing have found the machines easy to operate. Henderson says, “In terms of its features, the touch screen is operator friendly. The beauty of it is its simplicity. There’s not a lot to setting it up, so there is not a lot that can wrong with it, and it has nowhere near the number of moving parts as we had on the old binder.”
Despite its satisfaction with the investment in the Horizon equipment, Star Printing relies heavily on the quality of its staff members. Henderson says, “Our staff are our greatest asset. It doesn’t matter how good the technology is, you need the best staff, and we don’t pay lip service to that. We firmly believe it.”
The company’s philosophy centres on the belief that it can provide quality service at a reasonable price.
Henderson concludes, “We are about providing a timely, cost-effective solution, and people don’t have to pay the world for that.”
The BQ-160 PUR binder has a number of nifty features:
Touch screen – the graphical, icon-based, colour touch screen provides easy set up and navigation. Operators can perform perfect binding, tape binding and lining binding with simple select from touch screen.
Notching station – the double pass notching system produces strong book binds. Notching can be easily set on or off from the touch screen. The notching cutter is specially designed for PUR glue binding so that notching cutter performs very fine pitch roughening.
Glue tank – operators can control the glue amount and cut off from the touch screen. The teflon coated cassette style glue tank is easy to clean and the glue tank clearing station is prepared for easy cleaning.
Nipping station – the strong nipper mechanism ensures a strong and clean look book. Nipping pressure, nipping height, nipping time, nipping waiting time and nipping angle can be adjusted from the touch screen.
