It said it has received a noticeable increase in requests for PUR adhesive, which offers a superior bind to traditional hotmelt glue, while digital print has also increased.
Founder and director Phil Moretti-Greene said: "We wanted to be able to offer an on-demand binding service. We were doing the odd ‘walk-in’ job but the market for this is now opening up and we wanted to be able to capitalise on the opportunity.
"We are getting more students coming in asking for their work to be bound and we also do a number of ‘fashion-look’ books. These were being wire bound before but perfect binding gives a more professional result – and the PUR means they can still lie-flat without fear of the spine breaking."
The BQ160 has multiple operation modes, including cover, without cover, tape bind, padding, notching and without notching. It features increased nipper strength and variable settings as well as stand-by mode to prevent the glue breaking down.
Thirty-year-old KopyKat offers an array of services including corporate stationery and large-format posters.
The £1.2m-turnover company, which employs 12 staff, runs a selection of digital and litho machines including a Screen Truepress 344, five-colour Komori Lithrone 28 press, Xerox Docucolor 700 and 5000 and Epson Stylus Pro 9800 and 11880 large format inkjet presses.Commercial printer KopyKat has moved into on-demand niche book production after installing a Horizon BQ160 PUR perfect binder from Intelligent Finishing Systems.
The Shoreditch-based company also bought a Kirikko SK21m card cutter.
It has received a noticeable increase in requests for PUR adhesive, which offers a superior bind to traditional hotmelt glue, while digital print has also increased.
Founder and director Phil Moretti-Greene said: "We wanted to be able to offer an on-demand binding service. We were doing the odd ‘walk-in’ job but the market for this is now opening up and we wanted to be able to capitalise on the opportunity.
"We are getting more students coming in asking for their work to be bound and we also do a number of ‘fashion-look’ books. These were being wire bound before but perfect binding gives a more professional result – and the PUR means they can still lie-flat without fear of the spine breaking."
The BQ160 has multiple operation modes, including cover, without cover, tape bind, padding, notching and without notching. It features increased nipper strength and variable settings as well as stand-by mode to prevent the glue breaking down.
30-year old KopyKat offers an array of services including corporate stationery and large format posters.
Kern has enhanced its mailing offerings, taking on the exclusive UK print and mailing distributorship for The Automation Group’s iCart robotic guided vehicle.
The machine, which was launched this week (27-28 September) at the Logistics Link exhibition in Doncaster, provides a way to move materials directly around the mail room with no operator involvement.
It works by using radio frequency ID tags located around the mail room to enable it to determine the route it should follow to deliver or collect materials from a variety of locations.
Through the distributorship, Kern will have exclusive rights to sell the five figure machine to the print and mailing sector.
Kern general manager Peter Jolley told PrintWeek that it was crucial for companies that worked alongside the Royal Mail, using its mail sorting crates.
He said: "The Royal Mails plastic trays can be a logistical problem for mailing rooms. Mailers go so fast now that it can be difficult getting enough trays to machines. If you have to turn the machine off for 20 minutes to catch up, you are never going to get that time back.
"The idea is a mailing house has a number of iCarts pulling boxes and crates to high speed mailers, saving anybody having to pull heavy loads around. It is the next logical step in automating the mailroom."
The machines can run for 24-hours, with a short charging up period required on occasion.
Jolley added that the payback for the machine would be less than two years. He also said that the machine could be used in conjunction with the recently launched K60 envelope auto-traying machine, which stacks envelopes into the Royal Mail trays.
The Automation Group managing director Chris Smith said: "Working with Kern as our solutions partner for the mailing market we are able to offer customers something they have never had before. As well as removing labour costs, the iCart reduces energy costs and better utilises floor space."
