Arriving at the Guernsey operation’s site in late June, the BQ-280 PUR binder and HT-30 three-knife trimmer represent an investment of just under £80,000. The binder replaces a Duplo UltraBind 2000 that has served IPS for four years.

The HT-30 was an impulse buy, spotted when the IPS team visited Horizon in Hamburg with IFS to survey the BQ-280.

Joint managing director Andy Fothergill, who runs the company alongside Rob Plampton, said: “We did not have a trimmer before and struggled through that work, so when we saw the three-knife machine in Hamburg it made sense to buy one.

“We looked at all our options for finishing kit but could not find as good support as what IFS offered and our friends in the industry always go for Horizon because their machines just keep going. We were at a point with the binder where it was easier to replace it than to keep repairing.

“Basically, our service can be more automated and accurate now, while the HT-30 means we now no longer need to wait for jobs to dry in order to trim so services will be much speedier, too. This was our first dealing with IFS and it has been very positive, and these machines will not be our last Horizons.”

Designed specifically for digital print, the BQ-280 single-clamp perfect binder can deliver variable book production at speeds up to 500 cycles/hr. The HT-30 can trim to a variety of book sizes at production speeds up to 500bph.

A general commercial outfit, IPS Printed caters to a client base that is a mix of one-third print-on-demand across the UK and two-thirds local clients on the island of Guernsey. Its portfolio includes two HP Indigo printers, a Plockmatic bookletmaker and two Roland DG large-format printers.

Employing 21 members of staff on £1.8m turnover, the firm operates out of 370sqm premises in the Vale parish of the island.