Horizon`s new powder coating plant started operation at the beginning of September. A new 2500 sqm building was build to accommodate the new facility. The whole painting process was changed to powder coating, which is more resistant, eco-friendly, easier to process and has a nicer surface.
There are three kinds of paint: two kinds of white for thick or thin metal and black for the machine frame. The colours are changed about two times per day, depending on the production schedule. There are two lines where the machine parts are attached to hooks. These parts travel on a conveyor through pre-treatment, drying furnace, cooling zone, powder application and hardening furnace. The whole process takes three hours. Very heavy or bulky parts are painted in a stationary line located in the same building.
The 14 employees of the painting area managed successfully the changeover of the entire process from one day to the next without any major difficulties. A significant benefit of powder coating compared to solvent coating is the superior adherence of the paint. The paint is applied electro-statically so that it virtually sticks on the metal parts. This makes the coating very resistant against impact, corrosion, weather and chemicals. The thickness of the coating can also be increased, leading to a nicer surface quality.
Another advantage is that powder coating is very eco-friendly. No solvent is needed. The overspray is recycled so that nearly all paint can be used and no hazardous paint sludge is accumulating. The paint does not smell and poses no health concerns.

Together with distributor Standard Finishing Systems, Horizon presented a broad range of live finishing demonstrations that were organized around complete solutions to simulate realworld production environments.
Over 20,000 visitors attended, slightly more than 2010. Horizon was the largest postpress exhibitor, occupying 560 square meters on the main aisle near the front of the hall. Standard prearranged over 240 appointments with prospects, wrote significant orders, and is engaged on several new large projects.
Standard distributes Hunkeler paper handling equipment too. One digital book solution included the new Hunkeler PF7 Double Plow-folder converting wide rolls that were digitally pre-printed multiple-up on the HP T350 (30”-wide) and the Kodak Prosper (25.5”-wide) inkjet presses. Offset-stacked and signaturized book blocks were conveyed to the operator input station of the Horizon BQ-470 perfect binder, which was paired with the HT-80 three-knife trimmer for near-line efficiency. A second book solution started with rolls, pre-printed by the Screen True-Press Jet520 inkjet press, unwound into the Hunkeler CS6 cutter. Sheets were signature-folded in-line by the Horizon AF-566F Digital folder. Signatures were accumulated and pressed into book blocks in the intelligent PSX-56 stacker, then conveyed to the operator input station of the BQ-270C perfect binder. The new HT-30C with color touchscreen was nearby for three-side trimming.
The Horizon CABS 6000 perfect binding line with HT-110 Three-knife Trimmer attracted strong attention. Daily changeovers from EVA to PUR adhesive were scheduled, and customers were impressed by the make-ready speed, automation and system flexibility.
The StitchLiner5500 saddlestitching system produced booklets printed on the Komori Lithrone G40 H-UV, and a StitchLiner6000 Digital produced 16-page booklets from a roll pre-printed on the Ricoh InfoPrint 5000 inkjet press. Another StitchLiner 6000 was running in-line with the Screen True-Press Jet520 on the Konica Minolta stand, showing production from white paper to full-color, ready-to-ship variable booklets in a continuous process.
The new Horizon SF-100 sheet feeder for the Horizon ColorWorks bookletmaker also premiered, producing creased and bleed-trimmed booklets from digitally-collated sheets printed on the HP Indigo 5500 and the Xerox Color Press 1000. Xerox showed the Horizon ColorWorks bookletmaker inline with a DocuColor printer on their stand. The extensive collaboration with leading digital print manufacturers is evidence of the growing importance of digital printing and finishing in the North-American market.
Horizon AFC folders, BQ binders and other solutions rounded-out the equipment range. “Graph Expo is an important event to demonstrate Horizon’s commitment to helping offset and digital print producers realize postpress profits and efficiency,” said David Reny, Standard’s executive vice president.

The IGAS exhibition in Tokyo was held for six days from 16 to 21 September. Horizon had a satisfying business although the organizer announced a drop of visitors from 130,000 in 2007 to 74,000 in 2011.
Horizon`s strategy clearly paid off. The company had the fourth biggest booth on the show (after HP, Heidelberg and
Komori). There were many decision makers among the constant flow of visitors.
The Japanese sales division sold products worth 800 million Yen (10 million US-Dollars or 7.8 million Euros) and many follow-up orders are expected over the next several months.
There were also many overseas visitors, especially from China and South East Asia. A group of representatives from ten Chinese companies was invited to the show by our Chinese distributor and some contracts for B1 size folding machines and CABS perfect binding lines were signed.
Almost the whole product range was on display. Presentations were designed to address industry challenges, with a focus on applications. Horizon introduced a completely new roll-to-book soft cover production system.
Several different classic Japanese novels were digitally printed on the web-fed Dainippon Screen TruePress Jet 520 inkjet press. The rolls were unwound and cut and fed into Horizon`s buckle folder AF-566T4F. The book blocks were accumulated in the stacker PSX-56 with end mark detection. Barcodes insured that book blocks and covers were matched correctly on the BQ-470 four-clamp perfect binder. The books were then transferred into the three knife trimmer HT-30.
Horizon collaborated with a range of offset and digital print partners, including Komori, Screen, Canon, HP and Fujifilm. The StitchLiner6000 at the Komori booth produced four different A4 booklets (200 copies each), demonstrating the ability for frequent changeovers in the production chain together with Komori`s HUV technology.
A complete classical Japanese novel was produced on the HP booth by using the four-clamp binder BQ-470 and the three-knife-trimmer HT-80 inline.
Also the combination folder AFC-566FKT with the stacker PSX-56, the cutter APC-61II and the booklet maker SPF-8 were at the booth.
At the Canon booth a StitchLiner6000 digital with a Hunkeler unwinder produced A4 booklets from the roll. The sheets were printed on an Océ Color-Stream 3500.