Digital Output - April 2008 - (Page 31)

Solutions Inc., Mimaki USA, and Zünd. Sizes range from 26 to 126 inches with prices that can span from $50,000 to $200,000, depending on configuration, including cutting tools and software packages. Many of those systems use cameras and software to enhance productivity and accuracy. Models from Kongsberg and Gerber incorporate MGE’s i-cut and i-script digital finishing workflow solution. That solution is being positioned by the firm as a universal—router neutral—platform to better automate the finishing workflow. “What we want to do is eliminate all the steps between designing and finishing, the fewer steps along the way, the fewer mistakes and the better the efficiency,” Aranoff says. The firm also services the screen printing market with its ai-cut offering, an add-on for Adobe Illustrator that automatically inserts register marks in print/cut files that will later be cut with MGE digital cutting/routing systems. The efficiency and multifunction capabilities in new finishing systems mean less waste, less time spent on production, and fewer employees dedicated to cutting, Aranoff says. Digital High Point reported efficiency gains with the use of its Kongsberg DCM cutting table. “Our digital press is so fast, but I load those sheets into the DCM, turn it on, and let it go,” Marsh says. “I only need a half person to run it.” Digital High Point uses its DCM to produce retail POP and packaging. One of the keys to maximizing the efficiency of a router or cutter, says Marsh, is in the design stage. “You have to know how to design for your cutter, you have to know what works to really make it efficient.” The Zünd L-2500 at BigLook replaced an employee who was cutting graphics by hand, Stefen says. Since that replacement, work that would have taken “all afternoon by hand is completed in four minutes.” This efficiency is increasingly important as more businesses bring on digital printing. “We’re really seeing a convergence of several industries, all getting digital printers,” Marco says. “It is similar to when laser printers were first introduced to the market. You purchased one and sold prints for one price, you purchased a second one and stared selling prints for half of the original price. The more people bring on the technology and start competing on price, the more important maximizing your efficiency becomes,” Aranoff notes. “We see the market [for finishing systems] expanding, it’s not just large businesses making this investment, we’re selling into shops with $1 million in annual revenue,” says Peter Alsten, North American product manager, Zünd. “They want to expand their business without adding labor costs.” There are other virtues as well, Skenderian says. “The buzz word now is sustainability, so if you’re more efficient, you’re generating less waste” and can cash in on the green cachet. Hop on Board than what you’re cutting, Alsten says. Customers start with a simple system dedicated to a few core materials and then add cutting tools to the system if it needs change, he notes. “Customers are concerned about routers, but almost every customer has more roll than rigid capability in their printing department,” Alsten observes. “When they look at the cutter, they don’t think about those roll materials, they think about the rigid substrates. We try to tell them: we can do it all.” Profiting from finishing often requires a mindset shift, argues Al Boese, manager of the SGIA-PPMA Alliance. Forget everything you know about print finishing. In fact, forget you even read the word “finishing.” If you want to boost the profitability of your print business, forget you’re even in the printing business, Boese advises. “People who do digital printing think they’re in the digital printing business but they’re not. They’re in the manufacturing business, whether it’s signs, POP, or trade show,” Boese says. Customers aren’t searching for prints, but solutions, says Boese. “They come with an objective—a trade show graphic—delivered to them in a form they can set up. Finishing therefore must be a vital part of the workflow and your cost analysis.” It’s not, he stresses, an afterthought. How have multifunction systems impacted business? We spoke with two display makers who recently purchased routers for their take. Going Big When considering a router or multifunction finishing system, how much you cut is less important BIGraphics, Inc. of Nashua, NH is no stranger to L to R: Montana’s BigLook Displays and Graphics uses a Zünd L-2500 router; BIGraphics of Nashua, NH operates a 72-inch ColorSpan UV printer, a Fujifilm Acuity, and three HP Designjet 9000s alongside a Gerber M-3000 router. www.digitaloutput.net April 2008 Digital Output 31 http://www.digitaloutput.net http://www.digitaloutput.net

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Digital Output - April 2008

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