By Cassandra Balentine
Part two of two
Evolving customer demands favor digital production. To remain productive, profitable, and keep customers coming back, finishing must keep up.
In part one of this two part series we looked at factors driving demand for automated die cutting in digital print environments. Here we highlight a few options on the market.
Duplo
Duplo offers the UD-310. The newly release product is a predecessor to the company’s popular UD-300. It operates at an average production volume of 250,000 sheets per month and can process between 200 and 400 gsm paper stocks. The UD-310 features a standard in-line waste stripping unit for waste removal. The UD-310 device targets mid-to-low volume production environments.
“One of our newest features of the Duplo UD-310 is our new XY Registration System, with digital printing, image shift is a common occurrence. To accommodate for printing shift, the XY Registration System will be able to compensate for image shift in both the X and Y direction This is a feature that none of our competitions have in market,” shares Kevin Chen, product manager, Duplo USA, Corp.
Heidelberg
Heidelberg presents two possible solutions for die cutting for digital print environments. First is the Multimatrix 60 C / FC, a small format die cutter with an optional foil stamping unit.
This is a platen style machine that uses a conventional wooden die. In addition to cutting, creasing, and perfing you can also emboss at the same time for simple, value added product enhancement.
Furthermore, Chris Raney, VP of Postpress, Heidelberg USA Inc., says the machine can be upgraded to include a foil stamping unit which offers the customer further possibilities in terms of embellishing the product for the highest quality finish. Sheet registration can be upgraded to use a camera system where the sheet is registered to the print. “This ensures that the print to cut registration is perfect every time.”
“The Multimatrix can run a maximum sheet size of 450×600 mm and a minimum of 175×250 mm. The ability to run paper from 90 gsm ( 65lb text ) up to board 0.80mm ( 32pt ) at up to 5,500 sheets per hour means it offers huge flexibility for the customer,” he explains.
Also available is the Easymatrix 106-CS. This machine can process a maximum sheet size of 29.50×41.7-inch sheets at up to 7,700 sheets per hour. It features a platen cutting station with the additional benefit of a stripping station for removing waste from the sheet, all in the same process. Using a wooden die you have total flexibility in the style of work to be processed, cutting, creasing, perfing and embossing. The Easymatrix uses conventional registration, i.e. the sheet is registered to the sheet edge.
“The biggest enhancement that Heidelberg has added to our diecutting solutions is optical registration. Our trade name for this is Masterset and it is available on the Multimatrix as well as higher performance diecutters that are more suited to the higher volume packaging market,” shares Raney.
Martin Yale
Martin Yale offers The Count Dyna-Cut, which produces a variety of print and packaging products such as custom-shaped business cards, invitations, labels, greeting cards, and folded boxes.
Rollem International
Rollem offers its Insignia Series, a class of sheet-fed rotary die cutters capable of die-cutting, kiss-cutting, embossing, perforating, scoring, and cut-scoring a range of papers, plastics, magnetic material, PVC, styrene and polypropylenes. It is capable of die cutting up to 30 pt. in thickness.
Standard Finishing Systems
Standard Finishing Systems offers a variety of automated die cutters that are ideal for digital print environments. The Standard Horizon RD series of rotary die cutters feature easy change-over and simple operation. Both setup and control can be done through an intuitive touchscreen that displays easy to understand graphical illustrations.
The RD-3346 is positioned at a lower price range and is ideal for production of labels and business cards. Our RD-4055 is available in a single or dual magnetic cylinder configuration, can handle a larger sheet, and is also capable of high-quality creasing and embossing and de-bossing in a single pass.
These die cutters can also be configured with print mark registration. This option allows registration to a print mark as opposed to the leading edge of the sheet. The die cutter will automatically adjust for digital print image shift from sheet-to-sheet to ensure an accurate cut on every piece.
According to Don Dubuque, director of marketing, Standard Finishing Systems, Standard Horizon die cutters can handle a wide range of applications for today’s short-run market like greeting/note cards, playing cards, coasters, door hangers, coupons and tickets, boxes and packaging, stickers—pressure sensitive, gum back, static, bottle and merchandise labels, pocket folders, and unique mailers.
The company’s rotary die cutters also include a patented “repeat register” function which significantly reduces the die cost for many applications and provides additional flexibility. For example, if a job has been printed three times down the sheet in the direction of the feed, a die can be produced with a single pattern that will strike the sheet three times in just one pass—reducing die cost by as much as one third. This same one-up die can then be used to die-cut different print formats—one-up on a 9×12 inch substrate, or two-up or three-up on a 12×18 inch sheet. If the gap or gutter between images on a multiple-up job varies, the repeat pattern can be adjusted for each image to ensure accurate die-cutting on all pieces.
“Our most advanced die cutting solution, the Standard Horizon RD-4055DMC Rotary Die Cutter, features dual magnetic cylinders that are designed to simultaneously die-cut and crease/score short-run product from both sides of the sheet,” offers Dubuque.
By running male and female dies simultaneously, the RD-4055DMC delivers clean, sharp creases without cracking or slitting. In addition to die cutting and creasing/scoring, it can also perforate, slit, hole punch and round corner in one process for digital and offset printed sheets. The automated RD-4055DMC handles complex creasing patterns and light packaging applications with ease.
Standard Horizon die cutting solutions have also recently been adapted to process PET sheets (a lightweight thermoplastic) in order to produce protective face and eye shields.
THERM-O-TYPE
Therm-O-Type offers the RDC-Flex rotary die cutter and the NSF Elite, Excel, and Ultra platen die cutting presses. Each model is designed to fit specific customer applications and requirements. The ability to offer both rotary and platen die cutting models gives THERM-O-TYPE a unique position where we can truly tailor our equipment recommendation based on what the customer needs.
The company added inline waste stripping attachments to the NSF Elite, Excel, and Ultra presses. “manual stripping die cut products from waste can be a slow and labor-intensive process,” explains Chris Van Pelt, president, Therm-O-Type.
NSF presses can also step and repeat up to eight positions down the length of the sheet. This feature is especially important for customers die cutting smaller quantity orders printed multiple up on sheets. Step and repeat die cutting requires a smaller, less expensive die, less makeready, and impression tonnage. These factors minimize set up time, tooling costs and equipment/tooling wear.
The company’s inline waste stripping attachments use programmable stripper fingers which allow complex die cut shapes to be stripped.
Valloy
Valloy recently introduced the digital label finisher, DUOBLADE PETTI. Thanks to its compact design (91cm x 63cm x 74cm), all label finishing functions such as lamination, matrix removal and slitting can be done on the table.
Christin Park, marketing manager, Valloy Incorporation, says this machine works with double cutting heads and distance between double heads can be adjusted automatically.
DUOBLADE PETTI is a table-top digital die cutter with maximum cutting speed of 8m/min.0.2mm of high level cutting accuracy can be achieved by with full-servo motors.
Round slitting cutter is adopted to guarantee smooth cutting process and longer durability.It supports rolls in 80-240mm width and cuts max. 230mm(W) x 300mm(H) size labels.
When using split-cut function for long labels, cutting length can be much longer beyond the limitation of rotary or letterpress cutters. DUOBLADE PETTIE works with various table-top roll label printers.
Die Cutting Solutions
Die cutters offer many environments and the latest options are built with digital environments in mind. Learn more about die cutting trends in part one of this two-part series, as well as in the September issue of DPS Magazine.
Oct2020, DPS Magazine
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