Supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS), the circa £60,000 B2 Horizon AFC-566FG was delivered to the Cardiff-based commercial printer in mid-April. It replaced two aging GUK folders that were sold onto a dealer and is running alongside a retained GUK miniature pharmaceutical folder.
The new Horizon, selected by Allens partly on the recommendation of Leicester-based Clinical Print Finishers, was chosen for its highly automated features which managing director Jonathan Mills said had boosted productivity and reduced makereadies to minutes at the firm’s 1,719sqm premises.
“It’s all about speed. Everyone wants everything yesterday and this Horizon folder is very automated and very efficient," he said.
He added that thanks to the Horizon's 17 pre-programmed fold patterns the firm has already completed three jobs with three different folds in a single morning.
The AFC-566FG folder runs at belt speeds from 30-240m/min and as well as the 17 pre-set fold patterns it is able to save and recall up to 200 job settings for quick recall.
It supports three digital printers – two Konica Minolta Bizhubs from and one from Ricoh – and four Heidelberg B2 and B3 Speedmasters.
The business has a pre-existing relationship with IFS, having bought a Horizon SPF-200A bookletmaker in recent years.
“They provide very reliable kit that complements our digital and litho commercial printing outputs,” said Mills.
He added that the 19-staff business was looking to push its £1.75m turnover up to the £2m mark in the next year.
“We are just looking for steady growth at the moment,” he said. “Whenever we have a setback we are able to claw our way back and now continue to move in a positive direction.”
