“Graphic communications customers have different finishing requirements today due to the rapid rise of digital printing. Customers require simple, automated solutions to produce short run, ultra-short run and personalized books or booklets”, said Eijiro Hori, Managing Director of Horizon International Inc. “The new SmartStacker in combination with HP Indigo will help customers minimize costs and maximize finishing productivity and profit.”

With our own innovation, development and production of products, Horizon in Kyoto Japan, is one of the world leading manufacturer of finishing products. Product program covering all finishing segments:  cutting systems, folding machines, stitching systems, bookbinding lines, in or offline with printing presses.

Horizon Booth is located in Hall 13
Totally 28 different systems and solutions will be displayed in 1200 square meters.  
Horizon is one of the largest finishing exhibitors at Drupa 2012.

Digital Finishing Solutions will be presented in a new way by 2 different live demonstrations. The market is demanding lean production systems for the book production of the future. Horizon is showing several efficient systems, how to produce books from either sheet or roll, and either offset or digital print. Book of 1 to book of 1000:s ! These Flexible and dynamic systems can justify the investment and make production more profitable.

Focus on Finishing
We want our customer to “focus on finishing” more. Printing and binding flow has been decided at the front end of the process that is pre-press or press. Horizon believes that considering post-press process at beginning in creating workflow can reduce the touch points in labor intensive finishing process. And we want to create the value of finished product, not only value of print.

Partnerships Take Center Stage
A broad range of Horizon equipment will be shown in 6 different partner booths throughout the halls at Drupa.  The Horizon StitchLiner 6000 Digital Roll-to-Saddlestitch solution will be demonstrated in the Komori, Océ, and Xerox booths, and the ColorWorks 8000 in-line Bookletmaker will be shown by Xerox.  The new BQ-270V Variable Perfect Binder will be featured in the Océ and Tokyo Kikai booths, and the BQ-470 4-clamp Perfect Binder will be shown in the HP booth with the HT-30C Three-side Trimmer.

In the Screen booth a Hunkeler UW6 will unwind a pre-printed paper roll which will then be sheeted in the CS6 rotary cutter and signature folded in the Horizon AF-566F Digital folder.  Individual signatures are then accumulated and pressed into book blocks in the intelligent PSX-56 stacker, before being delivered to a Horizon perfect binder for book production.
The new Horizon SmartStacker will premier in the HP booth as a technology demonstration, paired with the new HP Indigo 10000 B2 size press.  The in-line or off-line SmartStacker converts a B2 size / 20” x 29” sheet into up to 28 individual cut sheets, with intelligent accumulation and stacking, and end-to-end JDF control. The sheets can also be conveyed for in-line finishing, for example saddlestitching or perfect binding.  The system performs up to 7 double-slits in one direct and four in the other.  The new SmartStacker process is designed to minimize material handling, with fewer touchpoints, lower labor costs, fewer mistakes because of the JDF workflow, faster turnaround time, and improved document integrity. Most important, it lets you efficiently produce more jobs per shift, which equates to higher printing and finishing profit.

New Products
More than 8 different new solutions will be introduced at first time at drupa2012!
Some World premiers, and some newly released.

Flexible Binding System
CABS4000S + AF-566F Digital with PSX-56
A Flexible perfect binding solution that can handle both offset and digital print output. The system is configured with an AF-566F digital + PSX-56 folding and stack output system with an interface conveyor to the CABS4000S perfect binding system. For offset print, folded signatures are gathered into book blocks, bound and trimmed. For digital print , printed rolls are cut and folded into sequential signatures to produce complete book blocks that are delivered directly into the CABS4000S binding and trimming system for a complete roll to finish solution.

Digital sheet feeder
HOF-400
Superior feeding performance and modular concept design enables flexible booklet production for digital printed output. Uniquely designed feeding system is very fast at up to 42000 sheets per hour with A4 short edge feeding. Main feeder, cover feeder, accumulator, CCD camera device, and barcode reading device can be arranged in various configurations. The system can be connected with the SPF-200A and StitchLiner5500 systems.

Creaser folder
CRF-362
A Creaser and folder system which can produce high quality folded products without image cracking even with digital print on a wide range of lighter and heavier cover weight stocks, coated or uncoated. Up to 10 creases are possible on one sheet with up or down creasing possible in one pass. Two folding knifes insure accurate and consistent folding quality a wide range of substrates.

Smart Book Solution
AF-566F Digital + PSX-56/ BQ-470
Perfect binding solutions combining a folder, perfect binder and three knife trimmer using existing and proven Horizon products. Roll-to-perfect binding system can also be configured in minimum foot print to achieve On Demand book production. This configuration reduces the risk of loose sheets or book blocks being compromised during transportation. A higher level of quality control such as sheet verification, set verification, and cover and book block matching can also be equipped.

Automatic Folder
New AFC-566FG
The best selling AFC-566FG is upgraded with various useful functions. Gathering input from the field, the system is re-born as a new system. In addition to current intuitive set up and operation new features such as print mark registration, conveyor control, maintenance scheduling, and sheet control are added to achieve more easy and productive operation.

Offline all in one bookletmaker
SF-100 + CW-8000NL
The CW-8000NL is an all in one near line bookletmaker that combines, bleed trimming, creasing, stitching, folding, face trimming and stacking. This digital finishing solution produces high quality booklets with edge to edge printing. SF-100 is equipped with a mark reader and is capable of producing booklets with varying page counts.

Cross Folder
AF-746KLS
The AF-746KLS equipped with 2 parallel buckle fold plates and 2 cross-fold knives. This folder is ideal for the production of 8 page and 16 page signatures with high accuracy and high speed. Vertical stacker with an integrated bundling system is built in for efficient signature production with no need to stop the folder for off loading.

Horizon- the Trend leading Company in Finishing.
With more than 60 years in the Graphic Industry, Horizon is still in lead of profitable finishing solutions. The evolution in digital print is forcing the industry to find even more efficient production systems to justify the cost per finished product. With high level of automation and integration with printing presses, Horizon deliver highest quality output with consistent productivity.
Horizon distribute their products in more than 100 countries all over the world.  

Contact details:

Exhibition : Drupa2012
Place : Düsseldorf, Germany
Period : May 3, 2012 to May 16, 2012
Horizon Booth : Hall 13 D36-1 , D-36-2
Horizon web: www.horizon.co.jp
Contact:  General Manager Export: Mr. Yoshiro Oe. [email protected]