Over the past few months the London-based firm has taken delivery of a Horizon BQ280 PUR single-clamp perfect binder, a second Foliant Gemini 400A laminator and a Horizon HOF digital sheet feeder from Intelligent Finishing Systems as well as a Heidelberg Platen for die-cutting and foil blocking, a Summa cutter, an Easymount laminator and an HP Latex 360 wide-format printer.
“We already have a Horizon BQ470 four-clamp binder and a Horizon StitchLiner book production line,” said director Ben Manning.
“They are strong reliable workhorses and our staff are very comfortable operating them. Being part of the family the BQ280 PUR has a similar touchscreen interface and so we were confident it would easily fit into the workflow.”
The 500bph BQ280 features automatic nipper height control, smoother PUR book delivery, on-screen adjustment height control for glue rollers and spinner as well as adjustable pressure above both scores.
The single-clamp binder was chosen to add PUR binding to Rapidity’s in-house service offering without the need to change glue tanks on the BQ470.
“There is a lot of interest in PUR-bound work and we wanted to offer it as an in-house service rather than sending it out,” said Manning.
“We have a policy of not turning work away and so wanted to be able to deliver this in house so we no longer had the overheads in outsourcing or the time constraints.
“Bringing perfect binding in-house has increased our turnaround times by not having to send work out and allowed us to be more competitive. We like to get the job out of the door as quickly as possible and the BQ280 will enable us to do that.”
The business purchased a second Gemini 400A laminator because of the increased demand it has seen for lamination work recently.
Having a second laminator also allows two types of lamination finishes to be completed at the same time. The 15m/min device has a fast warm-up time and interactive touchscreen.
“We are always looking for ways to produce work quicker. With the second laminator we can have one running matt stock and the other gloss. That way there is no need to keep changing over,” said Manning.
The company also operates two Xerox Nuvera 288 mono printers and two HP Indigo 7600s. Between them the two 7600s have done 52m impressions over the past 12 months.
Rapidity Communications was founded 26 years ago as PrintFlow and rebranded in 2012. The firm, which has 33 staff and a turnover of £6m, produces items including reports, booklets and mailings for a wide range of clients. It operates 24/5, predominantly producing financial print during the night and commercial print during the day.
