New In-plant Helps Liberty University Thrive
buying large-format print with very high mark-ups,” says Boyer. “We decided to look at doing our own large-format printing while we were at it.”
The shop bought an HP Scitex FB500 hybrid printer, which can print rigid and flexible substrates.
“We print graphics, signage and pop-ups for our recruiters to take on the road with them,” says Horsley. “We do campus decorations, like pole banners, and also directional and informational signage.”
Jesse Griffiths and Robbie Young stand with the in-plant's Standard Horizon finishing equipment.
In addition, banners can be printed overnight to celebrate an important sports victory.
“This sort of thing, with colorful imaging and branding, adds a lot to life at Liberty University,” Boyer says. “On large-format print, we can regularly deliver cost savings of up to 30 percent over outsourcing.”
The in-plant uses its Graphtec vinyl cutting plotter to contour cut decals and signage, some of which is used to brand university vehicles.
Big Bindery Buy
No in-plant is complete without a bindery, and Liberty’s in-plant went all out to get the best finishing equipment. Boyer, Horsley and John Fleming, president of local Standard dealer Consolidated Marketing, traveled to Boston to visit the Standard Finishing showroom.
“We were very pleased with what we saw,” Boyer reports. “We saw a great deal of potential for meeting our current and future needs, and the training facility is very impressive. With the configuration we selected, we have plenty of capacity, even if we choose to add another digital press.”
The in-plant installed a Standard Horizon StitchLiner 5500 saddle stitcher with an HOF-400 sheet feeder to process digitally collated output from the HP presses into professionally finished booklets. It also implemented a BQ-270V perfect binder with HT-30 three-side trimmer to produce variable thickness books. Also added were an automated AFC-566FG folder and an RD-3346 rotary diecutter.
The Liberty team was impressed by the durability of the equipment as compared to some other brands they considered, as well as the ability to automate the finishing process.
“I come from a traditional print background,” Boyer explains, “where it could take the better part of a day to set up a stitcher. Our setup on the Standard Horizon StitchLiner is already so much more efficient, and we will reduce that to less than five minutes when we implement HP’s Direct2Finish solution. If you don’t need to add a stitch head or put a center cut knife in, you just scan a barcode and push start.”
“We also had the benefit of our marketing department providing us with samples of all of the established pieces we would be expected to produce,” Horsley adds. “Standard Finishing was the only one that could deliver the commercial quality we had been getting from outside vendors. And visiting the Standard Finishing showroom was like being a kid in a candy store.”
Looking forward, Boyer says the in-plant is close to signing a deal to add an HP Indigo 5600, which can print 90 color and 272 monochrome pages per minute. He’s optimistic the in-plant will be able to continue bringing more of Liberty University’s print work in-house, saving even more money for the university.
