KP Corp’s Horizon Partnership Featured in Standard Finish Line Magazine December 2023

KP Corp was proud to be featured in the December 2023 edition of Standard Finish Line magazine, showcasing our successful partnership with Horizon – Now acquired by PrintMailPro. The article highlights how we’ve integrated their advanced perfect binding solutions into our operations, enhancing the quality and efficiency of our print finishing services. This recognition underscores our commitment to investing in cutting-edge technology to deliver exceptional results for our clients, further solidifying KP Corp’s position as a leader in the printing and finishing industry. Read the full article below!

Evolving from a Commercial Printer to a Leader in Data-Driven Critical Communications

Founded over 95 years ago as a general commercial printer, KP Corp has shifted our focus over the past decade to data-driven critical communications in healthcare, banking, financial services, legal breaches, and government. The company generates annual revenues between $80 and $100 million and provides a wide range of services within its target industries. According to Brett Birky, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, “The bulk of the work we do has compliance and regulatory components, is highly personalized, printed on demand, delivered through the mail, and demands an extremely high level of accuracy since most of it contains highly sensitive personal information.”

Investing in Advanced Finishing Solutions to Support Growth and On-Demand Printing

We had to reconfigure our operations as we transitioned to more data-driven applications. At our Sacramento facility, we moved most of our printing to roll-fed production inkjet presses while keeping some cut-sheet toner-based presses for specialty projects like book covers.

Chris Howton, the Vice President of Operations for the Sacramento Division, notes, “In 2007, we onboarded a new client and helped them migrate from a pick-and-pack fulfillment operation to print on demand, with fewer touch points and less inventory obsolescence. To accomplish this, we worked with our Horizon dealer partner, Print & Finishing Solutions, and made several investments with Standard Finishing, bringing in two Horizon BQ-470 Perfect Binders with integrated camera matching systems that ensure covers are perfectly matched to book blocks. We also invested in two HT-70 Three-knife Trimmers. We wanted two of everything for redundancy, and that equipment is still in service today. As we and our client base grew, we’ve put in additional equipment over the years to accommodate a variety of peaks, including a third BQ-470 and a BQ-460 which has since been transferred over to the San Leandro facility. We also run a Horizon SPF-200A Bookletmaker in San Leandro.”

Chris Howton, Vice President of Operations for KP’s Sacramento Division, stands with their newest Horizon investment.

As our client base expanded, we continued to invest in equipment to handle varying demand peaks, with additional installations to support our growth and ensure seamless operations.

Scaling Up for Increased Demand with New Horizon Binding Solutions

Predicting peak activity can be challenging for us because it largely depends on changes to state and federal healthcare rules. However, as Chris Howton, our Vice President of Operations for the Sacramento Division, explains, “This year, we did get an advance notice regarding some changes to one of our programs that will drive the volume up by a factor of 10, with basically the same timelines. That caused us to take a good look at our throughput. In the past, we could throw bodies and hours at work, which is how we got through peaks. But clearly, with that kind of increase, that simply was not going to work anymore.”

To meet the projected demand, we invested in a new Horizon SB-09V Perfect Binder, in line with an HT-1000V Three-knife Trimmer. “With this new configuration,” Howton explains, “we are able to run at 3,000 books per hour. This is double the throughput of all our other perfect binders combined, and we are running it with two operators instead of seven, so we have a much higher throughput, and less labor cost, and we still have the older perfect binders if we need them for redundancy.”

We completed both the installation and operator training, which took place at the Standard Finishing demo center in Boston and on-site, before the anticipated volume increase. Our focus remains on cross-training as many employees as possible to keep us dynamic and flexible, enabling us to shift people around as needed. With the support of Standard and PFS, we were able to get our team ready to run the new equipment.

The Horizon SB-09V Perfect Binder runs in line with the HT-1000V Three-knife Trimmer at 3,000 books per hour to seamlessly handle the increased volume required by a KP Corp client.

As Howton concludes, “We’ll be utilizing our new Horizon solutions to their full potential for the next few years, but as we think about future investments, Standard will continue to be high on our list due to the proven reliability of their systems and their excellent partnership.”

Partner with KP Corp for Advanced Printing and Communication Solutions

As we continue to expand and adapt to meet evolving industry demands, KP Corp remains committed to investing in advanced technology and maintaining strong partnerships to deliver high-quality, efficient, and secure printing solutions. Learn more about our other technological advances, like continuous inkjet printing. Our upgrades and ongoing focus on innovation ensure we can handle even the most significant peaks in volume while maintaining exceptional service standards.

To learn more about how KP Corp can support your business with our comprehensive printing and data-driven communication services, contact us today and discover the benefits of partnering with a trusted leader in the industry.