Penstripe global first with Renz/Palamides combination

Print Solutions

‘Think smart, achieve more’ is the motto of Leeds based Penstripe, a philosophy the company has put into practice with its recent purchase of a Renz AP-360 punching system. The Renz machine has been linked to a Palamides Alpha-Plus stacking delivery system supplied by Friedheim International – the first time such a combination has been attempted.

‘We are all about innovation and providing the optimal solution for every customer,’ said Penstripe head of procurement Charles Hewines. ‘We apply the same thinking to our capital investments. We saw an opportunity to increase efficiency and product consistency by fully automating the delivery on our Renz punch. The manufacturers co-operated ensuring a good mechanical and electronic handshake for the machines.’

Renz UK managing director Iain Bullock said, ‘Our innovations are always customer driven and it is the case with Penstripe. Now we know the AP360 and Alpha Plus work well together it’s an option with great future potential.’

The modified AP360 is the second such machine at Penstripe, which has run the popular heavy duty high speed punch for seven years. ‘We find it very reliable and easy to operate,’ said Charles. ‘We like the continuous paternoster feeder and many other features – but for us the key advantage is speed and ease of make ready, as our core business is in bespoke, short run books.’

He continued, ‘The AP360 allows switching between dies, or from A4 to A5 format within seconds. It is flexible in many ways, there are many punching patterns and it has the ability to disengage sections of the punch to allow for custom hole configurations. Also, the machine is capable of punching thicker substrates of up to 800 micron, which would be unusual, but we pride ourselves on being a ‘can do’ company which relishes a challenge!’