Wolverhampton commercial printer Printworks has replaced an increasingly troublesome Horizon booklet maker with the latest Horizon SPF200L booklet maker.
The machine being replaced had delivered 20 years of service, but had required more looking after of late. “We were spending more to keep it running than we would be on finance for a new machine,” says James Monks, son of managing director Jim Monks.
The company took the opportunity to specify a machine with twin collating towers and to include a landscape feed, expanding the range of products that the business can offer. ”We have more bins, so can run with more sheets than before. It’s a lot better all round,” he says.
The technology has advanced to offer faster set up using a touch screen which allows on the fine adjustment and to call up settings for 200 stored jobs.
On the press side the company has always been a Heidelberg house, now supported by Konica Minolta digital. The main firepower is a four-colour MO with GTOs providing additional capacity. The main stock in trade is commercial print, including print for the NHS in the Black Country. “We print for hospitals in Wolverhamptons, Dudley and Walsall,” says Monks. “This helped us get through the lockdown period and since it ended we have never been busier,”
Where others closed down during Covid and have decided not to re open, Printworks needed to keep running. “Hospital work kept us going at that time,” says Monks. “We have picked up work from others that closed down and we are also doing more trade work.”
The new finishing machine will provide additional capacity. “It produces jobs quicker which means we can take on more work,” says Jim Monks. “As a result we can look for new opportunities knowing we have the capacity.
“When considering the options we decided twin collating towers would be the best choice because of the number of repeat jobs we have and the fact that they would be made faster by the extra collating capability.”
