Super nice meeting Yoshinari Otani, General Manager, Screen at PRINTING United. As usual, a wonderful booth, but also interesting technology, for example, the recently announced Truepress Jet S320.

Fujifilm was the biggest exhibitor at PRINTING United and showed for the first time the entire range of graphics products from large format, toner to inkjet - and we, of course, took the opportunity when presented to talk to 'Toshi' - General Manager of Fujifilm North America - enjoy!

In this Get Work Done session, Bryan Takano, Yasuo Taketsugu, and Naresh Bedi give us a view into the engine room at Horizon, showing their new MiniCABS binding solution, AGVs, and robot arms. It is great to see, and if seeing is believing - you certainly get it here!

Editor Morten B. Reitoft and Yoshihiro Oe met for the first time at Hunkeler Innovationdays 2019 and have since got to know each other in meetings exchanging views on the cultural differences between Japan and Europe. In this interview, Yoshihiro Oe explains how understanding cultural differences (in general) helps Horizon develop binding equipment to understand the needs in the different markets. With high salaries in Europe and the lack of labor shortage, automation supports BOTH concerning labor shortages and reduces costs for the company's customers. A great interview - dig in! *We apologize for the technical errors in the sound :-(

Horizon and Hunkeler have been close partners for many years, and as they have technology that supports each other, it's only natural to showcase these solutions at Innovationdays. Yasuo Taketsugu explains in this film how technology originates and that Horizon is both markets- and engineer-driven. At Hunkeler Innovationdays, Horizon will show several solutions - and even a brand new one. So stay tuned! Films referred to the interview: https://inkish.tv/inkish-video/friedmann/ https://inkish.tv/inkish-video/esser/

At IGAS, Horizon showed twenty-one end-to-end solutions, and one of them was demonstrated to INKISH by Naresh Bedi. The setup is as follows: A content printer - in this example, cover and content printers are from Ricoh, but it could be almost any printer. The content printer prints the content on typically SRA3 size and deliver these to a gatherer that batch the sheets into a book block. The book block consists of as many 'ups as you have on the sheet, and the next stage is to cut the collated sheets into book blocks of the approx size of the book (bleed size as a minimum). The second similar line has printed the cover, and both are matched using QR codes before being fed into the BQ-500 binder. The cover is fed directly into the cover feeder section of the BQ-series, and the content is taken by a robot arm, first measuring the spine size, and hereafter the book block is inserted into the BQ500. Now the glued book is transported to the HT300, a one-knife-three-side trimmer enabling fast book-of-one production. As you can see in the film, everything is automated and requires minimum effort from the operator - a truly cool solution!

Everybody is shouting for labor, but what is the long-term solution to the labor shortage? In hall two at IGAS, one booth looked considerably different from all the other booths. There was an education stage sponsored by several OEMs and branded Think Smart Factory. On stage during the day's many presentations, but outside the stage area, there was a technology show-off with a Horizon BQ-binder and an HT-three-side knife wrapped in a cool anima-style design. The solution was entirely managed by two robot arms and one AGV. Bryan Takano from Horizon explains that it's a technology show-off to show young people about opportunities in the printing industry. By combining art and technology, more will likely be interested. Behind the technology show-off, a huge fantastic painting was shown. In front, some really cool, very large print samples using different technologies were among the draws for the passing audience. But see for yourself, Jan Majnik (INKISH Filmer) captured some really nice views of both!

As IGAS gets closer to the end of our coverage, we wanted to talk to Yasuo Taketsugu from Horizon about the show's first days. Very positive feedback from printer partners and attendees is among the words Taketsugu ties to the recap. Also, the overall sales are positive, and Horizon has a huge interest in continuing the growth they see with their products. Enjoy!

Besides robots, workflow/automation is one of the most important topics throughout the IGAS 2022 event. The name for Horizon's workflow/automation solution is called I.C.E. Link, which is short for Intelligence/Integration/Interaction, Connection, and Efficiency. Essentially the software connects machines (from Horizon and other brands as well) and enables the owners to plan maintenance, and push jobs to the machines, using JDF enables workflow software suites and integrates with other solutions. At IGAS Horizon shows integration to Heidelberg Prinect, Revoria One, and more... The essence of I.C.E. Link is greatly presented by Yuichiro Dei.

IGAS is the largest print exhibition in Japan, and Horizon, the largest exhibitor, demonstrates 21 end-to-end solutions. In this presentation, Keisuke Nakai talks about a solution that consists of a feeder, a rotary die-cutter, a spot gluer (addition), and a pocket folder - and voila, a document pocket solution is now available - and of course, still with the flexibility of using the solution for more applications. Great technology view, and with this option, customers can demand more sustainable solutions for document folders rather than using PVC or plastic.

Horizon presents nothing less than 21 end-to-end solutions; all targeted to different applications and all very real scenarios for the thousands of IGAS attendees. In this film, we talk to Muneki Ban from Horizon International. He shows us a setup that is actually two solutions. The first half is fed with up to B1 sheets, which are folded into typically 16-pages signatures, and where the signatures are moved to the pallet using a robot solution. The second half of the setup in this film is where the signatures are placed in a machine gathering the signatures into book blocks, moved on a conveyor to the BQ500 binding solution, and finally, using a three-knife trimmer delivering finished books - and all handled with only one operator. The solution can even be extended with AGVs that can drive the pallets from a printing press to the feeder and the folded signatures to the gatherer - simply amazing and extremely productive!

IGAS is the no. 1 print show in Japan and used to be a more international exhibition. Today the show is still huge, but its influence is more regional, with a strong focus on Japan. In this 'walkthrough,' Yasuo Taketsugu from Horizon International gives editor Morten B. Reitoft a guided tour through the biggest of all booths at IGAS. Enjoy!

Horizon is the biggest exhibitor at IGAS for a good reason. At the show, Horizon, together with partners like Canon, Konica-Minolta, RGMT, Screen, Ricoh, Miyakoshi, and Fujifilm, presents 21 end-to-end solutions. Technology that showcases not only binding but also workflow integration, integration of robots and AGVs - and, to be honest, a wealth of technology that underscores Horizon's commitment to its customers. We are, of course, as media, not endorsing any particular vendor or solution. However, Horizon sponsored our trip to Tokyo - and still gave us total freedom to film not only Horizon products but cover the entire IGAS show. We appreciate this, and as a courtesy, we would like you to enjoy this postcard from Tokyo showing you a few moments from Horizon. The editing is done by INKISH filmer/editor Ziga Kovac - great work!

At PRINTING United, we got a chance to meet with Colin Flinn from Horizon USA. We first met Colin Flinn back at the Think Smart Factory event in Kyoto, where he surprised us by being fluent in both Japanese and English. We have also met Flinn at several online events LIVE from Japan, where he and his team has built up a comprehensive online/offline demo facility - but now it's at PRINTING United where Colin Flinn demonstrates Horizon's new Gauze, End Paper, and bar code printing capabilities, enabling customers to use the BQ-series binders for softcover AND book blocks for hardcover books - quite amazing, but see for yourself :-)

Horizon International, represented by Bryan Takano and Yasuo Taketsugu, gave, as usual, a fantastic presentation of some of the binding solutions Horizon produces. It was a national holiday in Japan, and a Typhon was about to hit the entire country, but still the two gentlemen decided to give a live demo of an inline solution for printing business cards and trim them with Horizons rotary die-cutter solution. Great work, gents! See you soon!

Oyama Fumiya with K.K. Irisu, a Japanese graphics supplier is in the DURST Demonstration Center for the first time. He explains his excitement as he has just sold his first DURST press and is looking to sell more into a hungry market. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fumiya-oyama-7469aa20b/

This is our first cherry blossom season here at our new facility. We just moved north of Kyoto onto the shores of Lake Biwa. We opened up the new Horizon Innovation Park. And that's where myself and the Horizon International team are now located. Right now, we can do demonstrations on every Horizon system. Some people would say that the printing industry is declining. We would say that it's changing. It's undergoing an evolution. Or it's more short run, more variable, more digital. The Japanese spirit is all about going from the smallest bit to the largest finished product, all in-house. Everything from the rollers to the circuit boards are produced right here. It was in 2019 when we held the first "Think Smart Factory" in Kyoto, Japan. What we want to show, automated solutions integrated from prepress to your press to your finishing in order to optimize your workflow. And what our workers can do during assembly is they can call those little robots to go to the warehouse, bring the necessary parts that they need. Our customers want to really feel the paper for themselves. They want to see the finished product. Here, the machines operating. As manufacturers, we want to present solutions and hear from our customers. Right now that's not always an option. Since the beginning, we've been adopting the newest technologies to be able to replicate that experience. They never expected that they would get this high quality. It's also opening up new doors. Because we get to take them on tours of our facility. Which you would never get to do when you're just at a trade show. Right now, we have a new training zone. Where we can have people from all over the world come and get hands on training with the machines. But when that's not an option, we have a training team here to help them out when they're in a pinch.

How IoT will support the Smart Factory - Yasuo Taketsugu, Horizon International.

In this 'Over the Session' with Yoshihiro Oe, General Manager, Global Business, Horizon International, we get a chance to understand both how IoT and workflow/automation is a tremendously important part of Horizon, but also how the postponing of drupa influence the launch of new products. As usual, it's a pleasure talking to Yoshihiro, so please watch, like, and enjoy. As with all our ‘Over the Skype’ interviews, quality is limited to bandwidth, web-cams, and ability to literally LIVE mix the conversations. However, it works, and with Over the Skype, we will bring you more than 20 exciting people, and angles on the industry as it is right now. Enjoy!

At the Think Smart Factory Event in Kyoto, we found this presentation of a simple-to-use screen printing solution - also produced by Horizon. Everybody talks about highly technical solutions and the move to digital print. Still, for hobbyists and for small shops, the basic investment and the time to produce a garment with print isn't high or time-consuming. This film also shows the craftsmanship that is the foundation of many of the products we produce. We like this short video showing t-shirt print 100% analogue.

In this film, Yui Kawano from Canon Marketing shows an end-to-end solution together with Yasuo Taketsugu from Horizon International. This is a brilliant example of how workflow & automation enable printers to automate the entire print and binding process. This film also shows the amazing power behind JDF, where not only files but also production data is delivered directly from an MIS system. The entire production workflow is managed in the JDF and setup printer as well as the binder.

Yoji Otsuka is the General Manager, Sales for Screen Graphic Solutions. In this conversation, he speaks over his American name "Joe" that he also uses on his business card, but more importantly how Screen has become one of the leading and most prominent suppliers of Inkjet presses. Screen Graphic Solutions was founded in 1943, but has roots back to 1868 - so what did Screen do before producing Inkjet machines? Yoji "Joe" Otsuka explains that the legacy of Screen's products and services are important elements in why Screen has become so popular. As we mentioned on numerous occasions before - we LOVE the Conversations format where editor Morten Reitoft have a longer and always very friendly conversation with a guest. We met with Yoji Otsuka at the Think Smart Factory event in Kyoto last year - enjoy it. It's a good one!

At the recent Hunkeler Innovationdays 2019, we got the chance to talk to General Manager Global Business Yoshihiro Oe from Horizon about global trends, the state of the industry from a Horizon perspective and how it is to work 32 years in the same company. This conversation was, and we hope you will enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed doing it!