Supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS), the next generation saddle-stitching system was installed in March.

The device will enable the Blackpool commercial printer to expand its service offering and develop its online service delivery.

Established in 1927, Moulton Printing today produces a wide range of printed materials, particularly magazines and monthly publications, on Sakurai B2 five-colour and SRA2 two-colour litho presses as well as two Konica Minolta BizHub digital presses and an HP Indigo 5000.

Director Cassie Moulton, third generation at the business, said: “We have been wanting to expand our online services but were concerned about managing any bottlenecks.

“We didn’t want to open the floodgates, in terms of orders, and potentially struggle capacity wise. The new StitchLiner has made this a real possibility.

“It has made a significant difference to productivity already. The makeready is really quick and the interface is very user friendly. The whole process, from installation through to day-to-day operating, has been much more straightforward than I was anticipating.

“It also gives us much more flexibility in terms of our product offering as it enables us to do sizes we have not been able to do before mechanically such as A4 landscape, A6 and DL. Taking all this into consideration, as well as the increase in speed, we are really flying through the production of our books.”

Moulton added the business had also considered other systems before the final investment decision was made.

“We had a very old Bourg Modulen beforehand, and we wanted a like-for-like replacement. However, we’re starting to run out of floor space in our facility so the compact size of the StitchLiner was very appealing.

“Similar models to the StitchLiner only offered towers with narrow bed capacity and we need beds that can hold a substantial number of sheets. However, Horizon offers a deeper bed solution on its towers, as well as the ability to do A4 landscape.

“We chose three towers for 72-page jobs but we hope to add another in the future. We now know we can comfortably meet demand.”

Moulton Printing’s iCE StitchLiner Mark IV achieves high quality booklet production at speeds of up to 6,000bph. The incorporated cloud-based iCE LiNK workflow uses cloud technology to automate workflow from upstream to post-press.

“iCE LiNK is a nice bonus, and I am sure we will use it in the longer term. It will allow us to have more visibility of stages of production,” said Moulton.

Six staff work at Moulton Printing, which has a turnover of £400,000.

Current pricing for the Horizon StitchLiner Mark IV starts from £182,000.