Andover, MA – Standard Finishing Systems will partner with Horizon International of Japan at the upcoming drupa event in Düsseldorf, Germany May 31 - June 10 to demonstrate the most comprehensive display of finishing equipment at the fairgrounds. Under the theme “Change the Focus,” Horizon will unleash the hidden value of post-press. The goal is to help our customers comprehend and plan finishing steps at the beginning of the print process, to enable end-to-end automation and production efficiency. Horizon’s 16,000 square foot booth will be the largest in Hall 6, and the single largest exhibit dedicated to post-press at drupa. Twenty-four working systems – including the world premieres of a new perfect binder and folder – will be organized into various zones featuring perfect bind, stitch, fold, and digital applications. Live presentations will also highlight four innovative Smart Finishing Solutions, each one capable of processing conventional and digitally printed output.

As Horizon’s exclusive North American distributor, Standard will demonstrate to its customers a different way to think about finishing. “Post-press should be front-of-mind when conceiving an efficient production workflow, but it’s often an afterthought,” says David Reny, Executive Vice President of Standard. “Customers who can zoom-up to see the complete life cycle of the printed product – from creation through finishing – will increase productivity and profitability in the long run. We’ll be showing intelligent in-line and near-line systems that offer flexibility and investment protection well into the future.”

Live Presentations Emphasize Smart Finishing

Six live presentations hosted daily in the Horizon Theatre will focus on finishing from the point of job creation, to ensure efficiency through each step of production, cut down on waste, and minimize touch points. In this presentation, Horizon will unveil a highly versatile, hybrid Smart Binding System which will deliver finished books in one process from continuous-feed, cut-sheet, or folded signatures with variable size, thickness, and page count. In the first workflow, digitally printed rolls from the Screen Truepress Jet520HD will be unwound by the Hunkeler UW6 into the Hunkeler CS6-HS Cutter, equipped with Dyna-cut, a feature that enables dynamic, barcode-driven changes in sheet length. Horizon’s newly designed AFV-566T6F dynamic folder will receive the variable-length sheets and change fold pattern from 12- to 8-page signatures on-the-fly to minimize blank pages. Next, the folded signatures are spot glued, accumulated and jogged in the Horizon BBS-40 to produce book blocks. Completed book blocks are automatically fed into the Horizon SB-09V for perfect binding and then transported for three-knife trimming on the HT-1000V with zero make-ready.

Two additional workflows will be demonstrated by this same system. B2-size sheets digitally printed by FujiFilm and HP will be cut, collated and intelligently stacked at the near-line Horizon SmartStacker. The loose sheet book blocks are then loaded at the transport conveyor of the Horizon Smart Binding System for automatic infeed to the SB-09V Perfect Binder. In the final workflow, 16-page signatures printed by Komori and folded on the Horizon AFC-746FKT Folder are loaded at the gathering section to create book blocks which are delivered to the SB-09V Perfect Binder. 

Horizon will also present a tightly integrated Roll-to-Booklet solution featuring Hunkeler unwinding and cutting technology and the Horizon StitchLiner 6000 Digital Saddlestitcher. Pre-printed rolls from the Canon ColorStream 3700Z will be processed into finished booklets with variable sheet count. All jobs featured in the presentation will be connected to the Horizon pXnet digital workflow system to create a total JDF production workflow, including scheduling, equipment setup, job status, and reporting.

World Premiere in Perfect Binding

Making its debut at drupa, the Standard Horizon BQ-480 Perfect Binder features the quickest set-up and changeover for variable book production in its class, especially for book-of-one. With interchangeable PUR and EVA glue tanks, the binder also offers advanced automation through a movable, color touchscreen including adjustments for roller height, nipping height, and amount of side glue. Specially designed to meet the requirements of PUR book binding, the BQ-480 includes a gentle elevator delivery system with a mere 5mm drop, and also accommodates the lowest temperature setting for PUR glue. Horizon will display a complete range of perfect binding and trimming systems which demonstrate barcode-driven set-up for variable book production, a destacking solution for auto-infeed to the trimmer, and short-run PUR binding.   

Even More Possibilities Unfold

Standard Horizon will introduce the next generation in folding with the AFV-566 Series featuring faster production speeds, reduced set-up time, dynamic folding capabilities, and greater automation. Building upon Horizon’s already proven automated fold technology, the AFV-566 includes scoring navigation that can be done automatically through the touchscreen panel, automatic double-sheet detection to minimize waste, improved registration, and easier sheet loading. Optional dynamic folding is also possible to change fold pattern on-the-fly for variable signatures with no blank sheets in the set.

In a technology demonstration, Horizon will present a hybrid Folder/StitchLiner system which allows for the production of 16-page booklets from a single press sheet at speeds up to 6000 booklets/hour. The Horizon AFC-746F Folder creates the first and second fold of the 16-page signature, and the last cross-fold is created by the Horizon StitchLiner 6000 Saddlestitcher before stitching and three-side trimming into a completed self-cover booklet. Additionally, Horizon’s folding zone will include large-format, outsert, and pharmaceutical applications as well as enhanced presser/stacker systems with new anti-static roller design and increased pressing power.

Finishing Flexibility for Digital Print

Horizon will demonstrate a complete line-up of multi-function finishing systems that can be used independently or in combination for a vast and varied range of output possibilities. Taking center stage will be the recently introduced Horizon SmartSlitter, an all-in-one smart sheet processing system that can slit, gutter cut, edge trim, cross-cut, perforate, and crease in a single pass. Designed for both offset and digitally printed output, the system comes equipped with print mark registration to accommodate image shift in both directions. And, in legendary Horizon style, the color touchscreen monitor features a simple user interface for easy operation including job setup via barcode. Various applications will be processed including business and greeting cards, and the unique skip perforation feature for T- and L-perfs will be highlighted during the production of tear-off coupons and reply cards. Two SmartSlitters will be running as part of a JDF-driven automated workflow using software from Ultimate Technographics and Horizon’s SmartConnect System for simplified job set-up. 

Standard Horizon’s RD-4055 Rotary Die Cutter will also be churning out a variety of unique applications including door hangers, pop-up business cards, stickers, labels, pocket folders, and other specialty packaging. The system can die-cut, kiss-cut, crease, perforate, slit, hole punch, and round corner in one process for digital and offset printed sheets, and can achieve up to 6,000 cycles/hour on sheet sizes up to 15.74” x 21.65”. A repeat register function allows multiple-up applications from a single-up die to minimize costs. Two system configurations will be shown to demonstrate the SPC-4055 separator unit and the ST-4055 high capacity stacker for lightweight stock and complicated shapes.

Horizon Partnerships Extend the Reach 

In addition to many partner applications running in the Horizon booth – provided by Canon, FujiFilm, HP, Komori, Ricoh, and Screen – Horizon solutions will likewise have a strong presence in partner booths across the halls at drupa. In the Screen booth, the Horizon StitchLiner 6000 Saddlestitcher will be shown as part of a combination solution producing variable sheet count booklets in-line with the Screen Truepress Jet520HD. HP’s booth will feature the Horizon SmartStacker in-line with the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press for seamless processing of B2 size output into straight stacks, offset stacks or book blocks with intelligent accumulation and stacking. FujiFilm will show the Horizon Smart Binding System processing rolls from the JetPress 540W into finished books with Horizon folding, stacking, binding and trimming capabilities. The Horizon AF-566F Folder will be shown in the Hunkeler booth as part of a direct mail folding solution with dynamic perforating and web inspection, and the Horizon SmartSlitter will have a third spot on the show floor in the Xerox booth.

Attendees are invited to arrange a private equipment demonstration tailored to their application requirements by pre-registering for the Standard VIP Program at www.sdmc.com/drupa.