Kern will begin shipments of its new high speed inserter in the new year. The 3200, a high speed development of the 1600, will be available to order from September.
There will be three models and multiple possible configurations. The first is expected to be a 24,000-items-per-hour machine with both faster and slower versions to follow. With options on different inputs, feeders and inserters, and a configuration with up to 16 inserting stations, each machine leaving the Swiss factory will be highly bespoke.
The key advance over the 1600, which remains in the portfolio, is the ability to switch automatically between envelope sizes to reduce changeover times between applications. This will be appreciated as run lengths shrink.
At its heart is a new inserting module capable of being fitted with more than one envelope magazine, so that one job can follow another without operator intervention to change envelopes, from C4 to C5 or DL, for example. C4 formats run at 16,000 packs an hour. Maximum thickness is 12.7mm.
The entry level 1600 receives an upgrade with a speed increase to 16,000 envelopes an hour to complete an offering that starts with an 8,000-items-an-hour machine and rises to a 12,000-an-hour version.
Kern has great expectations for the expanded portfolio. David Cox, head of UK sales for Kern, says: “With direct mail reasserting its importance during the pandemic, the newly expanded family of machines now reaches all customer budgets and inserting demands. Kern is known for its large volume, high speed inserting with total reliability and the 3200 cements this position.
“We expect high interest in the 3200 due to the flexible manner in which it can deliver multiple mail campaigns with one of the fastest job change overs in the industry, while the cost effective 1600 range ensures smaller jobs and budgets are now better catered for too.”
This will include replacement for machines that are outdated, says Cox, “or tower based solutions, for example, that could benefit from full multi-format capability and quick and easy job changes.
“Many users have systems that are just not built to handle larger volumes or 24/7 operation and can be restricted to volume limits on service contracts.”
The machine would also enable a company with multiple machines, and the associated labour, to consolidate on a single line.
The 1600 will run to a 1 million items a week in 24/7 operation. In the field upgrades are possible to higher throughput, providing reassurance to customers, says Cox. It is cost effective on a single-shift offering a five-year payback, less as usage increases. “The 1600 users can be any type of organisation from a small growing business who want to make the step into a production mail solution, through to a large organisation who just want an additional line to offer resilience and flexibility,” he says.
