London trade print finisher and book binder Cliftons has invested in a second Perfecta Premium line 115 guillotine from Intelligent Finishing Systems as part of its ongoing company-wide £1m investment programme.

It follows the installation of the Perfecta SE 115 in the autumn, along with a B2 Horizon AFC-566FG folder, and replaces an old Polar 92 guillotine.

The newest fully-automatic guillotine will aid workflow flexibility and eliminate production bottlenecks.

Explains Tim Clifton managing director of the operation that specialises in short to medium run PUR, casebound and layflat books: “We bought the first to replace a 137 Polar for speed reliability and footprint. We soon realised that changes in work load and variety required a second larger sized system than the Polar 92 to help with job planning for shorter runs of all different sizes.”

“We chose the Perfecta for a couple of reasons. We know and like the quality it produces and we have a good relationship with IFS.

He adds there was a real business to be addressed: “We have invested a lot in the company recently with new binding and folding systems and guillotining was the last bottleneck. We can’t afford to have work hanging around. We need it prepped and ready quickly for us to fold gather and bind.

As for the impact the guillotine has had Clifton adds: “The impact it has had since it went in has been massive. Guillotining is such an essential part of the production chain and it is really important to get that right. Now we have two larger format systems we can be much more flexible.”

Pictured: L-R Jason Seaber, Technical Sales Director, Intelligent Finishing Systems, Tim Clifton and Steve Meeks from Cliftons, Ronny Neugartner, Sales Manager for Perfecta Schneidemaschinenwerk GmbH in front of the new Perfecta PREMIUM Line 115.