Digital Output - April 2008 - (Page 30)

MAKING THE FINAL CUT Multifunction digital finishing systems deliver efficiency and new products. by Thomas Franklin T here are many cutting options available for a digital printer, depending on the media. Choices range from the old fashion, manual methods like scissors, knifes, and saws, to automated Stefen, production coordinator, BigLook Displays and Graphics of Bozeman, MT. Since the purchase of a Zünd L-2500, the firm’s designers “can now create design elements that we could never have produced by hand.” The adoption of flatbed UV printers in particular helped drive the need for multifunction routers, says Steve Aranoff, director of business development, MGE. The ability to print directly to rigid materials created demand for more robust cutting and finishing solutions, he adds. solutions such as drum cutters—for kiss cutting thin, flexible materials— to computer numeric control (CNC) routers—for boring through solid substrates like wood—to multifunction routers. Traditional methods of cutting graphics are proven slow-footed in the short run, digital era. Turning around a 3,000-piece order of point of purchase (POP) displays, standees, or other display graphics demands speed and flexibility. Such capabilities are available in a multifunction cutter/router. This multifunction solution is more prevalent in digital print environments not because it can make cuts that other systems or methods can’t, but because it handles multiple types of cutting jobs on a single platform, quicker and much more accurately than competitive methods, says Marco Azzaretti, director, graphic solutions, Gerber Scientific Technology, Inc. A simple change of a cutting tool can transform the system from a sensitive vinyl cutter into a platform for cutting and creasing corrugated media or routing rigid substrates such as foam core. When you’re done finishing a graphic, you can use the system to create the graphic’s own packaging, adds Don Skenderian, VP of direct sales, Kongsberg/ Esko Artwork. Three main trends drive the adoption of multifunction cutters/routers, Azzaretti observes. The first is a desire for improved efficiency. The second trend is a push toward short run production and the need for “application flexibility.” Third, “customers are looking to broaden their capabilities, which will help them to broaden their business.” Digital High Point of NC purchased a Kongsberg DCM cutting table with an eye toward cutting corrugated media for retail POP and packaging applications. The system’s flexibility, however, led the firm down new avenues, says Craig Marsh, director of operations. “With digital presses there are so many different materials you can run through. We started using the DCM with corrugated and we’ve since expanded into Sintra and styrene.” The ability to perform complicated cuts on rigid materials also liberates designers to be more creative, says Russell These routers—or digital finishing systems— are available stand alone or with an optical registration system for improved accuracy. Manufacturers include Gerber Scientific Products, Inc., Kongsberg/ Esko Artwork, KUTRITE POP work cut on Digital High Point’s Kongsberg cutter. www.digitaloutput.net 30 Digital Output April 2008 http://www.digitaloutput.net http://www.digitaloutput.net

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Digital Output - April 2008

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