Mailmate Print fuels expansion with Horizon finishing investment

Jersey-based commercial printer, Mailmate Print, has invested in new Horizon finishing equipment to support the expansion of its magazine and book production.

Supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS), the new setup includes a Horizon AFC564A cross folder and a VAC-1000 collating tower.

The Horizon AFC564A is a compact automated cross-knife folder designed for quick setup via LCD touchscreen prompts. The folder can store up to 200 jobs to be accessed for quick recall, running at a maximum speed of 40,000 sheets per hour.

The Horizon VAC-1000 10-bin collating tower can run at 9,900 sets per hour, taking advantage of a unique feeding technology that can handle a wide range of applications without major productivity loss.

Explaining the company’s Horizon kit purchase, Neil Faudemer, managing director at Mailmate Print, says: " We think there is a market opportunity especially for larger, thicker magazines. We also believe there is potential for growth in both printed magazines and books, and the folder and additional tower for our collator will enable us to respond better to that opportunity."

Established in 1983, the Jersey full-service printer produces a diverse range of print-related products, from general commercial print to mailing and clothing, with core print technology including a Sakurai LED UV litho press and Xerox digital print technology.

Mailmate, which already utilises existing Horizon equipment at its production house, tries to keep as much of its operation in-house to combat the relative isolation of operating from the island of Jersey.

Faudemar continues: “We know we can trust Horizon systems to be reliable. We like the build quality and the technology is impressive.

"When we do time and motion studies, we see the time savings that new equipment enables. These systems with the latest technology will cut our production time by between 20% and 30% as a result of the easy set-up and fast changeovers."

The purchase of the new equipment was supported by a grant from the government of Jersey, as part of a scheme which aims to keep work on the island, help local companies to be competitive, as well as benefit the local economy.

Mailmate cited its positive, established relationship with IFS and its service team as another key reason for the purchase. Faudemar adds: "The support from IFS has been very good. So too was the quality of the training, which is important as most of our staff have been here for more than 15 years.

“The familiarity of the technology helps, especially as we multi-skill our employees. Gone are the days when only one person would be responsible for running a particular system."