Folder helps firm win GBP100,000 timetable order

The assurance of a high-quality professional finish for a newly-won GBP100,000 a year contract prompted Wrightsons of Northampton (UK) to invest in a Horizon AFC546AKT automated combination folder.

Supplied by Graphic Arts Equipment (GAE) the six-buckle AFC546AKT folder with 17 standard fold patterns (including roll fold, zigzag fold and DL fold) is claimed to offer set-ups in less than a minute and it has a 200 job on-board memory store.

It also features a combination of steel and urethane foam rubber on the folding rollers for grip and a sharper fold.

The system has patented rotary drum suction feed system that is said to provide up to 35,000 sheets per hour.

But, according to GAE, it was the icon-based colour touch-screen that secured the deal.

Wrightsons director, Caroline Wrightson, explained: "The touch-screen control is the same as the one on the two Horizon Stitchliners we operate.

The icons are identical and our operators know what they all mean.

This makes it easy for them to move around from one finishing system to another.

They never get bored and are more productive and they can also cover if anyone is ill." And she added: "It was an investment we had been looking to make for a while but when we won the contract to produce 14-page timetables we knew the time was right to upgrade our older machine." Caroline Wrightson and her brother Eddie run the second generation family-owned B2 general printing operation, which moved into A4 and A5 magazine and book work increasing demand for more complex folding.

Wrightson added: "We wanted something that could produce the high-quality result we needed without having to outsource the work." She said alternative options were researched before making the spend, including those offered by Heidelberg, but the AFC546AKT also stood out for its speed, reliability and ease of use.

The high-level of automation ensured the new system fitted smoothly into the bindery as well, she commented.

It was running soon after installation and, because of the Horizon system's simplicity of set-up, operators are adept at more complex folds giving Wrightsons the confidence actively bid for work it before would have previously shied away from.

Wrightson added: "We have doubled our throughput and can now produce longer runs of 12 and 14 pages that we couldn't do before.

Previously these would have been outsourced - a costly expense.

We can also complete longer jobs in a few hours instead of a couple of days.".

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