Pharmaceutical leaflet and small format folding production has been made simpler and easier with the new Horizon AF-408F fully automated small format 8-buckle folder. The latest addition to Horizon’s range of folders can be configured inline, parallel or at 90 degrees, with a Horizon T-406F/S 6-buckle 2nd station folder to provide a total of 14 buckle plates.
Building on the capabilities of the Horizon AF-406F folder, the 30,000sph Horizon AF-408F has been designed to respond to market pressures, such as, demand for shorter and more variable runs, increased labour cost, increased material cost, price competition and difficulty in finding skilled operators.
It also supports operation in a post Covid-19 environment where there is the additional need to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Fully automatic set up is made easy via a 12.1 inch intuitive colour touch screen panel that provides simple and fast access to a wide range of pre-programmed folding template patterns and 200 job memories. They enable the easy production of pharmaceutical leaflets as well as small format folding for applications such as pamphlets, instruction manuals and guide sheets.
Key features include the ability to:
- support highly variable jobs and a wide variety of work in one pass;
- fold from A3 to A4 for brochures;
- complete an increased number of jobs with eight buckles for parallel folding;
- complete 96 page outserts for the pharmaceutical market;
- automatically set fold roller gap settings and scoring navigator guide positions for fast and accurate perforating, scoring and slitting;
- fit different types of folding rollers on the first and second stations;
- deliver stable feeding operation with a superior section feed system.
There are also a number of user-friendly functions including when the:
- registration guide on the first unit is micro adjusted the buckle stopper on the second is micro-adjusted automatically for compensation;
- buckle stopper position on first station is changed, and total length of paper after folding is changed, the registration guide on the second unit is micro adjusted automatically;
- folding condition on the first station needs to be checked, the registration guide on the second station moves wider for 100mm so the operator can check the sheet easily;
- accordion fold adjustment is made easier with a new dedicated function;
- variance in sheet condition is managed by sheet thickness fine adjustment;
- changeover complete confirmation screen allows the operator to double check job completion to avoid any careless errors.
The Horizon AF-408F folder is fully compatible with Horizon’s cloud-based iCE LiNK IoT workflow. It provides access to an intuitive easy to use dashboard that reports real-time production analysis for improved efficiency and profitability, remote update capabilities and scheduled maintenance resulting in less downtime. The information is accessible via smartphone, tablet or desktop PC and the software is designed for integration with third party MIS systems.
“The highly automated Horizon AF-408F small format folder has been developed to manage the broadest range of applications from pharmaceutical leaflets to general commercial small format print,” says Eric Keane, IFS Managing Director. “The fully automatic solution ensures easy job completion no matter the skill level of the operator. It makes short run variable jobs easy and reduces the number of touchpoints required for fast, safe operation.”
The Horizon AF-408F folder is available now.
