August 2008 News

Drupa 2008

At the end of May we attended this huge printing technology exhibition in Dusseldorf. As ever we made really good use of our time there – in fact we held 28 meetings in three days and reviewed 68 specific pieces of technology, software or equipment in that time.

Since returning from the exhibition we have invested in a number of areas:

PUR binding and automatic trimming

The installation of our new Horizon BQ 470 4-clamp adhesive binder brought a really effective PUR capability in house for the first time. This machine will be used exclusively with PUR adhesive to produce exceptionally strong and flexible perfect bound books. The fully automated make ready on this machine makes it ideal to cope with the short run books and journals that we print on our range of digital presses. PUR brings the greatest benefit to those books printed on coated stock – an area in which we are seeing really strong growth.

Alongside the BQ 470 we have also installed a new Horizon HT-30 fully automatic trimmer. This machine will allow cost effective trimming of books very shortly after binding. It is ideally suited to the short run digital market where quick make ready and finishing are critical.

Hohner wire stitching

In our bindery we have also installed a new Hohner exact twin-head wire stitching system. This machine is used to help in the production of short run flat stitch and saddle stitched products and will work alongside the existing Watkiss machines.

XMPie

July saw our first installation of the market leading personalisation software XMPie. This solution will allow rapid processing of relevant and highly personalised text and images providing powerful marketing and communication opportunities for our clients. This will work alongside the existing installations of Yours Truly and DirectSmile and demonstrates the serious commitment we have to this important and fast moving technology.

Envelope insertion

The new Pitney Bowes DI1521 folding and insertion system is being installed to meet the growing demand for transactional printing and mailing at Hobbs. This system allows high speed folding and insertion of single or multiple page documents into envelopes. These are typically personalised letters and mailings as well as invoices, renewal notices and reminders, etc. We now have three machines working in this area and can insert over 8000 documents per hour into envelopes. This application has grown alongside the film and carton wrapping used for the mailing of most other publications.

Our new Horizon BQ 470 Binder in opreation

The Horizon BQ 470 next to the Horizon HT-30

 

Steve Smith MBE

We are all really proud of Steve Smith who works in our pressroom. Steve has been awarded an MBE in recognition of his services to the Countess Mountbatten Hospice near Southampton. Steve has quietly given a lot of his own time over many years to this worthy cause and in so doing helped many individuals and families at a time of great trauma and need. This recognition is richly deserved.

Steve is seen here being congratulated by his brother Mike. Steve and Mike have both worked in the business for 24 and 33 years respectively and continue a family tradition that also saw their father Ernie work in the Bindery for 22 years. Ernie was Bindery Foreman for many years before he retired to live on the edge of the New Forest.

Mike Smith (left) and Steve Smith (right)

Further investment in IT staff

Ian Milne has recently joined the growing team of Analyst Programmers at Hobbs. This team has grown from none to four since the middle of 2007. This again reflects our view of the crucial role of information and communication technologies in our business. Ian brings with him a wealth of experience in database design and development that will be used to help deliver a rapidly growing range of services to our expanding range of clients and markets.

Ian Milne

News Archive

News Articles (Autumn 2002 to June 2008)