Company will run live demonstrations of over 25 Horizon, Hunkeler solutions

ANDOVER, MA, August 13, 2024 – Standard Finishing Systems, a leading supplier of post-press and paper handling solutions, has announced that they will be hosting their largest ever display of Horizon and Hunkeler feeding and finishing solutions in their 5,000 square foot booth at PRINTING United, the annual event hosted by the PRINTING United Alliance.

Standard’s exhibit space at PRINTING United will host live demonstrations of die cutting, perfect binding and trimming, slitting and creasing, folding, saddlestitching, and roll-fed print solutions with over 25 individual solutions in all from partners Horizon International and Hunkeler. Three new Horizon solutions will be making their North American debut at the show where they will join established Hunkeler and Horizon technologies to showcase the future of advanced pre- and post-press automation.

“We look forward to returning to Las Vegas this year for PRINTING United,” says David Reny, Executive Vice President at Standard. “It’s been an exciting year so far for innovations in the printing industry, and PRINTING United will no doubt carry that trend forward. Standard will showcase the very latest in feeding and finishing solutions from our partners at Horizon and Hunkeler to help attendees find the equipment they need to make their businesses more efficient, productive, and competitive.”

New Horizon Solutions Make North American Debut

At PRINTING United, Standard will feature three of Horizon’s latest releases: The BQ-300 Perfect Binder, the SPF-2000 Bookletmaker, and the HSF-50 High-Speed Sheet Feeder.

The BQ-300 Perfect Binder is a single-clamp binder with enhanced automation from the feeding section to the nipping section for the efficient production of variable books, including book-of-one.  Features such as a 15” touchscreen control panel, customizable templates for automated setup, and a pull-out delivery stacker allow even non-skilled operators to produce high-quality books with minimal manual touchpoints. The BQ-300 can be configured inline with a trimmer or robotic arm, and the workflow can be enhanced with iCE LiNK, Horizon’s cloud-based information and diagnostics management tool designed to increase efficiency and productivity.

The SPF-2000 Bookletmaker is the most automated bookletmaker to date in Horizon’s SPF bookletmaker series. Changeovers are 50% faster compared to previous models, and new features like a press roller at the folding section, jogging function at the fore-edge trimming section, and a 15” touchscreen control panel make it easier for any operator to produce high-quality booklets across a wide range of formats including A4 landscape. The SPF-2000 can be configured for both digital and offset workflows and managed through Horizon’s iCE LiNK. 

The HSF-50 High-Speed Sheet Feeder can run at speeds of up to 45,000 sheets per hour. It can directly feed cut sheets into inline finishing, or it can be set to bypass mode where it will transport sheets from an upstream unwinder and cutter for roll-fed production. The switch between sheet feeding mode and bypass mode is quick and seamless. At PRINTING United, the HSF-50 will be feeding directly into the Horizon StitchLiner Mark V Saddlestitcher or running in bypass mode with Hunkeler’s Generation 8 unwinder and cutter.

Visitors to the Standard booth will also be able to see other marquee Horizon solutions including the BQ-500 Perfect Binder which will be switching between softcover book production and hardcover book block preparation at the show, the RD-N4055 Die Cutting System with dual magnetic cylinders and the CSD-40RD Card Stacker, the AFV-566FKT 6-Buckle Folder, and the StitchLiner Mark IV Saddlestitcher with VAC-L600H Collating Towers which made its PRINTING United debut last year. All four systems, along with many others, will be connected to Horizon’s iCE LiNK Bindery Control system which can be connected across multiple finishing devices to provide real-time production data, generate critical alerts about aging parts, schedule preventative maintenance based on historic production levels, and more.

Alongside these products, Standard will also showcase other popular Horizon solutions for creasing, slitting, folding, perfect binding, and trimming including the SmartSlitter, an all-in-one sheet processing system, the PF-40L Folder, the CRF-362 Creaser/Folder, the APC-610 Cutter, and select tabletop production equipment.

Versatile Paper Handling and Processing with Generation 8 from Hunkeler

Standard will showcase two award-winning Hunkeler Generation 8 solutions at PRINTING United. The first will be a Roll-to-Saddlestitch line featuring the UW8 Unwinder and CS8 Cutter in-line with the Horizon StitchLiner Mark V Saddlestitcher producing stitched booklets from pre-printed rolls. The second Hunkeler line, a Roll-to-Cut/Stack system, combines the UW8 Unwinder with the CS8-II Rotary Cutter with chip-out and LS8-30 4-Up Long Stacker to produce offset stacks.

Each of these Hunkeler solutions feature the hallmarks of Hunkeler’s Gen8: greater automation, increased speeds (590 fpm), greater web width support (23.5”), service-friendly design, and remote troubleshooting access for operators and service technicians. The UW8 Unwinder can handle rolls up to 1,980 pounds, and it has been streamlined to reduce the time it takes to change rolls by up to 30% compared to previous generations. The CS8 Rotary Cross Cutter delivers accurate cuts based on a top-of-form register mark on either side of the web, ensuring high levels of productivity and output quality. The CS8 also features optional, individually driven longitudinal cutting devices for processing multiple-up forms, slitters for simple separation, and edge trimmers, gutter cuts, and chip outs for the removal of full bleed, marks, and white areas. In the LS8-30 stacker module, all signatures or sheets are collected and continuously stacked to the desired height. The LS8-30 can be equipped with optional offset stacking as well as 2-up, 3-up or 4-up stack capability, and it supports the widest range of formats on the market, from 4 x 6″ postcards to B2-sized posters.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Standard has partnered with Canon Solutions America, HP, Ricoh, and Screen on a series of pre-printed roll-fed and cut-sheet applications to run live in Standard’s booth during the show. These applications showcase the benefits of pairing Standard Hunkeler and Horizon finishing with digital print solutions and highlight finishing’s role in the print production workflow.

For more information on these Horizon and Hunkeler solutions, visit Standard Finishing Systems at PRINTING United, September 10^th-12^th, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, at Booth #C1561. Attendees are encouraged to arrange a private equipment demonstration at the Standard booth tailored to their application requirements at https://www.sdmc.com/printing-united/