By Melissa Donovan
Print providers rely on versatile finishing equipment to complete jobs. Automation streamlines the process. Multifunction finishing devices that perforate, slit, and score are the focus of this article.
When choosing between the number of options available in the mid- to high-volume segment of the market, products range from inline and near line to offline. When and what to use depends on productivity, price, and applications. Applications range significantly, from traditional mailers to promotional materials. Each dictate which features are needed on a finishing device.
Ultimately, flexibility is essential. Instead of using five individual devices to complete five finishing tasks, print providers want a solution that can do it all, or at least have the option to down the road to enable more offerings and enhanced products.
Open to Many Options
When considering mid- to high-volume perforating, slitting, and scoring equipment there are many options to choose from. Output volume and price aids in the decision-making process in addition to whether the unit is offline, inline, or near line.
“There are both offline and inline systems available for medium- to high-volume needs. Traditional offline units that normally perform all three functions are most commonly used despite the fact that speed and productivity are often lacking. These systems range in price from $10 to $100K,” outlines Neal Swanson, director, marketing communications, Standard Finishing Systems.
According to Barry Kallman, VP sales, Rollem International, when looking specifically at folders, inline and rotary systems are common options for the mid- to high-volume market. “Folders offer scoring and include some automation, but the downside to folders are that slitting and perforating lacks in the accuracy category,” he explains.
Rotary-based tabletop models are available with perforating, slitting, and scoring functions, but are typically not high on accuracy or speed, continues Kallman. He says production-level rotary models offer complete automation and accuracy and are available in near line and inline configurations.
“Newer rotary die cutters are also becoming an option for printers looking to perforate, crease, and slit with quicker set up and higher production,” agrees Swanson.
Chris Van Pelt, president, Therm-O-Type Corporation, divides the options into cutter, slitter, and creaser equipment and right angle slitters. “Cutter, slitter, and creaser equipment are lower in throughput speed compared to right angle slitters, however, they offer more in product size and format flexibility. In addition, there are more secondary inline finishing operations on certain cutter, slitter, and creaser models than what is found on right angle slitters.”
Applications are Among Us
Primary applications that perforating, slitting, and scoring equipment are used for range from traditional mailers to promotional materials. Promotional materials include brochures, product literature, flyers, presentation folders, greeting cards, photo products, postcards, and business cards.
“Perforating, slitting, and scoring are used for just about every kind of finishing there is—signature work, heavy stock, lightweight stock, web finishing, and cut sheet finishing,” states Lance Martin, sales director, MBO America.
Payment forms, tear-off coupons, mailings, and security applications that include TransPromo and variable data are also finished on this equipment. “High-speed continuous feed applications such as these require perfing, punching, slitting, and/or scoring. With the increase in variable data and personalization, these systems are often required to vary the finishing pattern per 8.5×11-inch form,” shares Swanson.
Perforating, slitting, and scoring each enhance the variety of applications finished on these types of devices.
Coupon booklets, tear-off workbook pages, and signature perforations are now possible with advancements in perforating capabilities. Fold lines, folding carton work, and folder gluers are additional options thanks to timing mechanisms for special patterns involved with perforating, slitting, and scoring. These will only apply a cut to a specific section as the paper passes through the machine, adds Martin.
Dean Askin, regional manager, EMT International, Inc., suggests that his company’s customers regularly use slitting specifically for “for trim and gutter slitting to remove print marks or bleeds. Our slitting units are also commonly utilized for converting larger width rolls to narrow width rolls for finishing near line.”
Scoring plays an important role in digital imaging. “It helps reduce or eliminate cracking on a folded spine. In addition, perforating, scoring, and slitting of heavy weight stocks eliminates a curl in the sheet, which generally happens when traditionally perforated on a folding machine because it tries to conform to the radius of the folding roller,” explains Mark Pellman, new business development manager, Baumfolder Corporation.
Focus on Flexible Features
In the mid- to high-volume range, specific feature sets are important in the digital market. Flexibility between jobs is one of the biggest concerns.
“The days of having five different machines with five operators to complete each step is over. Now those steps must be integrated into one touch. The digital market is changing so quickly that it does not make sense to purchase finishing solutions that are only capable of one fixed function,” shares Martin.
To keep pace, finishers must offer all of the bells and whistles. “Additional features incorporated into one process or machine rather than having to run a job multiple times or send out for further finishing is an important component,” say Chris Harrington, director of sales, North America, and Shack Fisher, sales manager, Western region, Graphic Whizard.
Van Pelt agrees, citing how some cutter, slitter, and creaser models on the market today can perform additional inline secondary finishing operations such as die cutting, hole punching, strike perforating, bindery hole punching, blind embossing, and up and/or down creasing.
“Applications across a range of paper weights and textures also need to be considered and finished quickly and professionally. In addition, dynamic perforation and punching patterns can vary from sheet to sheet to provide additional flexibility for direct mail, TransPromo, and transactional applications,” concurs Swanson.
Tools that enable a wider range of heavier weight stocks include buckle folders, like that found on the Baum CF20 Creaser Folder. “It enables heavier weight stocks produced in the digital market to have multiple panels folded as compared to traditional knife folders that limit the production to just one fold,” adds Pellman.
Besides flexibility, some other hot button items that are a must for all digital printers include “a simple, user-friendly operating interface, a good feed system, and image shift compensation for digital color applications,” lists Kevin Chen, product manager, Duplo USA.
“EMT finds that our customers value accuracy and tight print-to-perf or print-to-slit tolerances. Since many of our finishing unit designs come from our background in the tight web, offset market, we utilize tight web principles, which create optimal conditions for web processing/finishing, providing the tightest tolerances for placing perforations or slitting,” shares Askin.
Perf/Slit/Score and More
Vendors who provided input for this article were also asked to share information on their newest product lines and/or standout portfolios, specifically targeting the mid- to high-volume digital print market.
B&R Moll Inc.’s Insignia 7 In-Line Rotary Die Cutter die cuts, strips, and then stacks a sheet. It runs with the company’s Versafold folder/gluer, allowing the entire process to be conducted in one step. The system is ideal for the creation of mailers with fugitive glue, post cards, cartons, coffee cup sleeves, pillow packs, presentation folders, and gift card holders. “The Insignia 7 is designed for your shortest to largest run,” quotes Kevin Moll, sales director, B&R Moll. He says that the changeover of die plates only takes five minutes, positioning the device for the “I need it yesterday” digital print customer.
Baumfolder’s most recent introduction includes the Baum 20 VFM Versatile Finishing Modules, which perforate, micro-perforate, timed or ‘skip’ perforate, score, edge slit, center slit, gutter slit, and time slit. This is slated for mid- to high-volume applications. The solutions are available as offline or inline depending on whether they are first, second, or third station units. The first station is provided with a pile feeder. Second and third station mobile units are available with lift kits to adapt to inline applications.
Count Machinery Company offers the Perfmaster series of perforating and scoring machines. Perfmaster Air V3 features a self-fanning automatic bottom air/suction feed, which allows for continuous feeding without stopping. Users can feed single sheets, coated stock, or multi-part forms, open or glued edges. The Perfmaster Sprint is a friction feed device that can perforate, score, and slit at an 18-inch wide feed capacity.
Duplo’s all-in-one DC-616 PRO Slitter/Cutter/Creaser is designed for short- to mid-range runs, and slits, cuts, creases, and perforates in a single pass. For mid- to high-volume runs, Duplo offers the DC-646 and DC-745 Slitter/Cutter/Creasers. These models also offer a rotary tool, cross perforating, strike perforating, and folding.
EMT offers a dynamic cross perforating unit, with the primary function of placing a perf at a designated spot via a 2D barcode recipe, consolidate register mark, or top of form mark. Cross perforations can also be placed on a fixed repeat distance for fan fold perforating. In total, EMT offers cross web dynamic perforating, static cross web perforating, linear dynamic perforating, and continuous linear perforating for 20-, 30-, and 42-inch web widths.
Graphic Whizard offers the CreaseMaster series, whose main function is creasing but also offers partial, cross, and T perforation while creasing in a single pass. It also includes rotary perf and slit capabilities. The PT series of creasers, introduced two years ago, are an economical line of primarily creasers but they also can perf and partial perf. Specifically, Graphic Whizard shares the PT SCC, an automatic modular slitter/cutter/creaser capable of edge trimming, slitting, gutter trimming, cutting creasing, and perforating all in one unit. Optional accessories include rotary perf, cross, and partial perf.
MBO provides perforating, slitting, and scoring equipment as modules in large inline systems or as added options within MBO folding systems. The standalone models are Herzog+Heymann versatile cutting units that can be equipped with multiple perforating, slitting, and scoring functions. Mobile units, they can easily be integrated into digital or conventional finishing lines. As an option or add on to MBO folders, pre-slitter shafts allow the user to perf, slit, and score prior to the first fold in order to hit the entire sheet as a single sheet thickness, creating a much higher quality perf, slit, and score downstream. All MBO folders are equipped with a rear slitter shaft, which perf, slit, and score an already folded product.
One of the leading models in Morgana Systems Ltd.’s finishing portfolio is the AutoCreaser Pro 33. It employs a unique creasing rule and matrix as illustrated overleaf, which eliminates tearing and cracking on the substrate. Perforating is available as a standard feature.
Rollem provides three models in the mid- to high-volume space. Advantage is a shallow pile air feeding unit for low- to mid-volume environments. In the mid range, the ETR Deep Pile System can handle up to 30 inches of stock from its deep pile feeder. The company’s highest production level machine is the Jetstream bi-directional slit, score, and perf unit. It includes a mill skid feeder and runs as a standalone unit or inline. A unique feature on Rollem’s equipment are bi-directional and strike slitting, scoring, and perforating capabilities.
Standard Finishing Systems’ newest device is the Hunkeler DP8 Dynamic Punch and Perforation module. It runs inline with any continuous-feed digital press and at processing speeds of up to 720 feet per minute. A standout for the device is its ability to combine perforation in vertical and cross directions along with punching. Dynamic perforation and punching patterns can vary from sheet to sheet.
For offline operation, Standard offers the Horizon CRF-362 Creaser/Folder and CRA-36 Auto-Creaser. The CRF-362 allows for creasing, folding, and perforating to occur in one operation. Up and down creasing can be performed in a single pass. Dual delivery is provided for folded and flat processed pieces. The CRA-36 offers high-quality creasing with automated feeding. Perforating can be added with a unit replacement. Lastly, the Standard Horizon RD-4055 Rotary Die Cutter is the newest offering that provides die cutting, creasing, perforating, slitting, hole punching, and round corning.
Therm-O-Type’s Zip-TS2L Mark IV is an advanced programmable finishing machine that cross cuts, creases, perforates, slits, die cuts—including round corners, hole punches, blind embosses, kiss cuts, and strike perforates. It features a high-capacity offset press style feeder, full length alignment table with micro side-to-side and skew adjustment, full color touch screen control, waste eject gate, and delivery conveyor.
Have it All
Today’s print provider needs to be ready to handle any customer request. Automated finishing solutions that perform functions such as perforating, slitting, and scoring equipment can do just that, especially when they integrate with additional features including creasing, die cutting, folding, and hole punching. The various directions—vertical and cross—a piece of marketing collateral can be finished opens up opportunities even further. Variability between pieces in the same run are also addressed with dynamic tooling, resulting in finishing solutions that are up to the task of a multi-application world.
When choosing between the number of options available in the mid- to high-volume segment of the market, products range from inline and near line to offline. When and what to use depends on productivity, price, and applications. Applications range significantly, from traditional mailers to promotional materials. Each dictate which features are needed on a finishing device.
Ultimately, flexibility is essential. Instead of using five individual devices to complete five finishing tasks, print providers want a solution that can do it all, or at least have the option to down the road to enable more offerings and enhanced products. dps
Oct2015, DPS Magazine
