Supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS) and installed in May, the machine has joined a six-colour B1 Heidelberg Speedmaster and two Xerox Versant digital presses at the Ashford, Surrey-based business.

Established in 1957, the company serves clients including Aon, Axa Insurance, Callaway, Cisco, Panasonic, and Yamaha. It was awarded a council grant during the pandemic and, after careful evaluation, it decided that adding perfect binding would be beneficial in a number of ways.

Managing director Layne Penrose said: “We found we were sending more and more perfect binding out, so being able to complete the work in-house means we can be faster and more competitive, winning more work in the process and so driving increased value to other areas of the business.

“For this reason, we anticipate achieving a full return on our investment fairly quickly.”

He added: “We offer more than just printing to our clients, with other services including creative design, marketing, data processing, mailing distribution and digital asset management services.

“We want to partner with our clients across a range of disciplines, and this was another reason for investing in the perfect binder.”

Penrose’s 500cph BQ-270V offers high quality perfect binding and on-demand production of variable thickness books. It includes an automated, sensor-activated digital caliper system which consistently measures book block thickness and automatically transfers this data to the binder for quick, automated setup for books of different thicknesses.

The device, pricing for which starts from £34,950, features a 10.4-inch intelligent colour touchscreen, job programming, and a compact configuration.

“We chose the Horizon based on the rationale that it would be simple to use and easy to set up,” said Penrose.

“We also liked the very good quality of the bind and the strength of the glue. It gives us the quality that we need.”

In 2019 Penrose Group’s previous factory in Staines was hit by an extensive fire.