Standard Finishing Systems, a leading supplier of post-press and paper handling solutions, announced that Premier Printing, a printing, display, apparel, promotional goods, and fulfillment services company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, has successfully installed a CABS4000 Perfect Binding line from Standard and their manufacturing partner, Horizon International Inc. The system is the first of its kind to be installed in Canada.
Premier turned to Standard Finishing to explore new finishing solutions after their production team identified that their existing bindery equipment was getting to end-of-life. Their makeready times were too long to stay competitive amid increasing demand for high-quality bound products, and they needed greater flexibility for short runs, more integrity, and more automation to support on-demand workflows.
As part of their purchasing journey, Premier visited Standard’s National Training and Demonstration Center in Andover, MA, for a hands-on demonstration of the latest Horizon finishing technologies. After evaluating several options, they selected the Standard Horizon CABS4000 Perfect Binding line which combines a Horizon MG-600 twelve-pocket Signature Gatherer, Horizon CBF Digital Book Block Feeder, Horizon SB-09 nine-clamp Perfect Binder with PUR & EVA capabilities, and a Horizon HT-1000V Three Knife Trimmer. The company also integrated iCE LiNK, Horizon’s cloud-based bindery control system, into their operations to integrate more automation with JDF/JMF and to get insight into how well jobs are running on the system, machine uptime and maintenance needs, available capacity, and more. Since installation, Premier reports smoother workflows, reduced setup times, and improved book quality across multiple formats.
“The focus of our work has shifted to shorter runs requiring quick and efficient makereadies, and we wanted to provide PUR binding to new and existing clients looking for this option,” said Ted Gortemaker, VP of Operations at Premier Printing. “Incorporating automation into our finishing processes to reduce manual touchpoints and other bottlenecks was very important to us, and the CABS4000 with iCE LiNK met that need while also allowing us to expand our capabilities and quality.”
“We were pleased to welcome Premier Printing to our Andover facility for a demonstration of our automated finishing solutions,” said Karl Belafi, Regional Sales Manager at Standard Finishing Systems. “Demand for high automation in finishing is growing as companies adapt for on-demand production. We’re excited to see the impact the Horizon CABS4000 will have on Premier’s finishing operations, and we look forward to building on this partnership with them moving forward.”
About Premier Printing
Formed in 1962, Premier Printing has since grown to become one of the leading providers of print and mailing services to clients nationwide.