PrintEx: Automation key for Currie Group finishing

By Wayne Robinson | 31 July 2019

Minimum operator input will be the go on the Currie Group stand when it comes to its finishing equipment, which includes a host of new launches from Horizon.

Bernie Robinson, managing director at Currie Group, said, “Finishing has moved from labour intensive to highly automated, the latest generation of Horizon solutions offer minimum downtime and high productivity with minimal input. I look forward to welcoming printers onto the Currie Group stand to show them the production efficiencies Horizon equipment will offer them.”

Also, on the stand is the global CEO of Horizon Eijiro Hori, who is available for show visitors to talk to, as is global Asia Pacific and ANZ manager Yamada-san.

Robinson said, “We have some outstanding new equipment, including the new Horizon StitchLiner Mark III, which will run a Horizon HOF-400 feeder unit with a CF-400 cover feeder, and which will allow the printers to do an A4 landscape booklet which is stitched, folded, and three-way trimmed in one pass. It will take both digital and traditional offset work,” he says.

Finishing from the B2 HP Indigo 12000 HD Digital Press will be inline, says Robinson. “The Smart Stacker will take a B2-sized sheet, cut it four times in one direction and seven cuts in the other direction, remove blank sheets, and stack everything into a book block ready to go straight onto the perfect binder,” he says.

*HP Indigo 12000 inline with Horizon SmartStacker*

From the SmartStacker, a Sawyer robot will carry the book blocks to a Horizon BQ-480 full-clamp perfect binder. “The BQ-480 will allow the customer to use either EVA or PUR glue. It is fully automatic and touchscreen controlled, with built-in spine scoring and hinge scoring as well,” said Robinson.

Other finishing equipment on stand will include the Horizon RD-3346 die-cut system; Horizon SmartSlitter sheet cutter and creaser; Horizon CRF-362 creaser and folder; Horizon AFC-566 computerised cross folder; Horizon APC-610 hydraulic paper cutter; and Foliant Mercury 530NG laminator. CRON’s thermal CTP will also feature.