October 19th- October 21st, Las Vegas, NV

ANDOVER, MA – Standard Finishing Systems, a leading supplier of post-press and paper handling solutions, has announced that they will bring their diverse line of feeding and finishing solutions to PRINTING United, the annual industry-wide event hosted by the PRINTING United Alliance.

Standard’s 4,000 square feet of exhibit space, one of the largest displays of feeding and finishing at the show, will play host to live demonstrations in die-cutting, perfect binding and trimming, slitting and creasing, folding, saddlestitching, and roll-fed print solutions. The technology on display will highlight the role that advanced automation has in driving production efficiency, such as the automatic preparation of book blocks for case binding on the Horizon BQ-500 Perfect Binder with the GF-500 Gauze Feeder and ESF-1000 End Sheet Feeder and the continuous, high-speed booklet production on the Hunkeler Generation 8 combination Roll-to-Stack/Roll-to-Booklet solution, featuring the Gen8 Roll to Cut/Stack solution inline with the new Horizon iCE StitchLiner Mark V Saddlestitcher. Hunkeler’s new, multifunctional DocuTrim sheet processing unit will also be on display, marking its North American debut. A wide range of finished samples will highlight the application flexibility, short- and long-run capability, and smooth set up and changeover of Hunkeler and Horizon products.

“We look forward to meeting with a broad cross-section of the print community and showcasing the latest innovations from our partners live and in person,” says David Reny, Executive Vice President at Standard. “The push for more intelligent automation is accelerating, and Hunkeler and Horizon are rising to the challenge with a suite of new and proven solutions. At PRINTING United, we’ll be helping attendees find the equipment they need to make their businesses efficient, productive, and competitive ? from standalone systems to end-to-end setups.”

Horizon Solutions Push Automation Forward and Streamline Production

At PRINTING United, Standard will feature Horizon’s latest releases: the GF-500 Gauze Feeder, the ESF-1000 End Sheet Feeder, the RD-N4055 Die Cutting System, and the StitchLiner Mark V Saddlestitcher.
When combined with the GF-500 and ESF-1000, the BQ-500 Perfect Binder can efficiently produce book blocks for short-run case bound books. Gauze width and length are setup according to book block information from the binder for consistent quality and minimal waste. Switching between gauze application and soft-cover book production is easily performed from the binder’s touchscreen with no need to detach the GF-500 from the BQ-500. The ESF-1000 adds folded end sheets to the book block, and it can accept loose sheet, folded signature, glued book blocks, or sewn book blocks. The ESF-1000 can be configured inline or offline.

The RD-N4055 Die Cutting System from Horizon combines a feeder, a single- or dual-magnetic cylinder die cutter, and an optional separator and card stacker into an efficient, versatile system. It can die cut, kiss-cut, emboss/deboss, crease/score, perforate, slit, hole punch, and round corner in a single pass or in multiple combinations. When combined with the SPC-N4055 Separator and CSD-40RD Card Stacker, the RD-N4055 also eliminates the need for manual separating and counting. At speeds of up to 6,000 sheets/hour, the RD-N4055 can easily handle short, on-demand runs as well as high-volume applications.

The StitchLiner Mark V Saddlestitcher produces booklets at speeds of up to 6,000 booklets/per hour. Sheets are individually scored and tightly folded for consistent quality, even with high page counts or variable page-count applications. Variable production on the Mark V is fully automated, requiring no operator intervention. The system can automatically change stitch length, belt and roller pressure, and registration control in the trimmer is automatically set based on page count. The Mark V also supports an optional dual-bin cover feeder. This cover feeder can merge covers into the print stream without affecting production speed. The Mark V can handle sheet sizes up 20” x 14” and produce a wide range of booklet sizes including A4 Landscape.

Visitors to the Standard booth will also enjoy a deep dive into iCE LiNK, a cloud-based information and diagnostics management tool from Horizon that will be connected to the BQ-500 Perfect Binder, iCE StitchLiner Mark V Saddlestitcher, and AFV-566FKT Folder. iCE LiNK is a subscription-based service for production management that can be connected across multiple finishing devices to provide a higher level of operational efficiency. Accessible from anywhere using the cloud, iCE LiNK can send alerts about parts that need to be replaced, can schedule preventative maintenance based on historic production levels to significantly reduce costly, unexpected downtime, and allows for easy analysis of production processes in order to find inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and more. Available in three subscription tiers, iCE LiNK offers maintenance notifications, job and operator analysis, barcode tracking, and even the ability to create or schedule jobs. iCE LiNK is compatible with a wide range of Horizon solutions, even those that are not part of the latest iCE Series of Horizon products.

Alongside these products, Standard will show a range of individual solutions for creasing, slitting, saddlestitching, die cutting, perfect binding, and trimming – each loaded with advanced automation to provide increased flexibility and maximum productivity. For example, PRINTING United attendees will see a new Robot Arm, which will automatically feed book blocks from the HOF-400 Sheet Feeder into the popular BQ-270V Perfect Binder. Other solutions on display will include the versatile SmartSlitter, an all-in-one sheet processing system that can slit, gutter cut, edge trim, crosscut, perforate, and crease in a single pass, as well as the popular StitchLiner Mark III Saddlestitcher.

Hunkeler Continues to Take Productivity to New Heights

PRINTING United will be the North American debut of Hunkeler’s DocuTrim. The DocuTrim is a modular, multifunctional sheet processing system designed for maximizing the productivity of short- or single-run applications that can trim, cut, perforate, and stack sheets up to 20.47” x 20.47”. Vertical and horizontal perforations are possible on the DocuTrim, and up to 6 vertical and 6 horizontal perforating tools can be used to produce a wide variety of perf patterns that can be static or dynamically triggered by a data matrix. The modular design of the DocuTrim allows print service providers to tailor the solution to their specific production needs and goals. The DocuTrim can be run inline with cut-sheet printers or offline, and it can run at speeds of up to 11,500 sheets per hour.

Hunkeler’s award-winning Generation 8 solutions will also be on display this year at PRINTING United. The Standard booth will feature the Hunkeler Roll-to-Cut/Stack solution which produces straight and fully separated stacks from 1-up to 4-up, up to 30” long. The system handles coated and uncoated stock, from 27 lb. text to 12-point card stock, and it features the hallmarks of Hunkeler’s Gen8: greater automation, increased speeds (590 fpm) and web width support (22.5”), service-friendly design, and remote troubleshooting access for operators and service technicians. The Hunkeler Roll-to-Cut/Stack solution will be equipped with the TB8 ILF delivery belt, which will bypass the stacker to deliver sheets directly to the Horizon iCE StitchLiner Mark V Saddlestitcher to create a combination Roll-to-Stack/Roll-to-Booklet solution. In this Roll-to-Booklet solution, variable sheet-count booklets will be produced using barcode scanning or mark reading. This solution will also feature the UW8 Unwinder which can run at up to 830 fpm and handle rolls up to 1,980 lbs.

In addition, the Hunkeler Roll-to-Cut/Stack solution will be producing book blocks that will be perfect bound on the Horizon BQ-500 Perfect Binder and trimmed on the Horizon HT-300 Three-side Trimmer.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Standard Horizon and Hunkeler finishing solutions will also be showcased as integral parts of conventional offset and digital print production workflows. At PRINTING United, HP will be showing the Hunkeler UW8 Unwinder and RW8 Rewinder on a HP PageWide Inkjet Web Press (booth C4246), and Screen will also be showing Hunkeler’s Generation 8 winders attached to the Truepress Jet520HD+ (booth N1625). Standard has also collaborated with Canon, HP, Ricoh, and Screen on a series of pre-printed, roll-fed, and cut-sheet applications that will be running live at the Standard booth to demonstrate interoperability and to highlight best practices in production efficiency.

For more information on these Horizon and Hunkeler solutions, visit Standard Finishing Systems at PRINTING United, October 19th-21st, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, at Booth #N1943. Attendees are invited to arrange a private equipment demonstration tailored to their application requirements by pre-registering for the Standard VIP Program at https://www.sdmc.com/printingunited/.