Hardware - Print Finishing

Zünd will present its high-end automated digital cutting solutions for a diverse audience of industrial manufacturers at the upcoming InPrint show (Hannover, Germany; 8th to 10th April). The company will demonstrate how its superior cutters can increase flexibility and take the performance of different production environments to the next level.

Zünd will highlight the unique features of its cutting technologies, which are ideal to satisfy the specific needs of industrial sectors, and will show its profound knowledge of material finishing. The company will provide evidence of the digital cutters’ versatility, showing precisely cut samples produced by customers from a wide spectrum of industries, including automotive, aeronautics, electronics, interior décor, photovoltaic, medical and functional textiles.

The advanced functionalities of Zünd digital cutting solutions enable customers to cut anything from flex prints and membrane keyboards, to lamp shades and suspended ceilings for interior decoration applications, as well as synthetic fibres like Aramid for protective clothing. The automotive and aeronautics sectors can also benefit from Zünd systems’ capabilities to cut tachometers, leather for seats and steering wheels, carbon fibre, honeycomb materials and airbags. The range of jobs that can be fulfilled using Zünd equipment is vast.

On its stand (F26) at InPrint, Zünd will display an advanced modular G3 cutting system configured with an automated sheet-feeder for continuous and virtually unattended cutting of various sheet, board and roll materials. Zünd’s cutting systems are designed for 24/7 operation and the automated loading system further enhances their performance, providing manufacturers with a fully automated workflow and increased flexibility, whether creating prototypes or small and medium production runs.

Oliver Zünd, CEO, explains, “Zünd cutters are the ideal engine to satisfy the demands of industrial production. The camera-aided digital finishing systems enable customers to accurately cut printed and unprinted material up to 50 mm thick. The modularity and its 16 different sizes also allow manufacturers to handle a broad array of materials up to 3.2 m wide.”

Oliver continues, “Zünd cutters are well-known and respected in many demanding manufacturing industries. Our long-standing expertise has allowed us to build a solid reputation in different sectors, and with over 20.000 systems sold worldwide we can confidently claim to be a leader in digital cutting. Existing and new customers can see the huge potential of Zünd technologies and their ability to cut both conventional and innovative materials to meet the demands of different production environments. InPrint is the right platform to showcase these capabilities.”

Nimlok Portable has acquired one of the latest heavy duty flatbed cutting machines from Blackman & White, enabling the company to create a new level of designs and shapes for their exhibition stands.  The model – the Mastercut Multi-tech – has a 3.6 x 9 m vacuum flatbed, allowing the high speed trimming and sealing of wide format fabrics, polyesters and vinyl.

The cutter has a range of other features which all contribute to driving the innovative production capacity of Nimlok Portable.  This is demonstrated in its finishing function which allows for the cutting and sealing with a polished edge of vinyl as part of one process, for example.  This removes the finishing bottleneck of the production process, as sewing and hemming are now no longer necessary.

The British-made machine is capable of high speed routing, scoring, creasing and engraving, as well as the trimming and sealing processes, whilst also allowing simultaneous laser and knife cutting, a process originally pioneered by Blackman & White themselves.

“This is an important addition to Nimlok Portable’s stable of machinery as we can now achieve highly accurate contour cutting and have the capacity to create more challenging graphics for our clients than ever before. The high speed trimming and sealing functionality also means we can achieve faster and more efficient turnaround times, without any loss to either quality or accuracy, which our clients are really impressed by,” comments Nimlok's Chief Operations Officer Keith Richardson

For more information, please visit http://www.nimlok.co.uk/portable-displays/

Zünd will showcase enhancements to one of its most successful products - the S3 digital cutter - at Ipex 2014 (ExCeL, London, 24th - 29th March).

The S3 is a modular cutting system designed for 24/7 operation, offering high productivity and enabling processing of an extensive range of materials up to 25 mm/1“ thick. Print service providers can choose different levels of material-handling automation to meet their specific needs, and a variety of tools to deliver precise cutting and accurate jobs.

At Ipex 2014, Zünd will show an automatic sheet feeder to further enhance the S3’s performance. Increased productivity and a fully automated workflow are the main benefits that this new device will bring to the production environment. The automated loading system for sheeted materials is ideal for high-volume production. Loading, advancing and off-loading are perfectly synchronized to deliver high precision and efficiency, allowing printers to quickly manage larger orders and stay competitive.

At Ipex 2014 there will be also the opportunity to see the tandem vacuum system, which enables efficient loading/unloading of materials on one side of the cutter while production continues on the other one. This type of ‘pendulum’ production workflow allows for concurrent un-/reloading and cutting/processing. While the material is loaded/unloaded on one side, the machine continues cutting/processing the material on the other. This saves time and maximises productivity by keeping machine idle time to a minimum.

The Electric Oscillating Tool- EOT 250 is another valuable device for print service providers who handle sandwich board/honeycomb materials and cardboard. With an extended 2.5 mm stroke and high oscillating frequency, the robust and air-cooled EOT-250 is capable of managing these demanding materials at very high speeds. On its stand at Ipex, Zünd will process sandwich board materials such as X-Board and Reboard up to 22mm thick, to demonstrate the powerful features of this tool.

Demonstrating that finishing starts before a job is printed, the company will also showcase the functionalities of Zünd Design Center, an Adobe Illustrator plug-in to create three-dimensional designs for packaging and displays. Zünd Design Center provides a comprehensive library of ready-to-use designs in folding carton and corrugated cardboard for printers to choose from. 3D preview simplifies the selection of the right design for the job at hand and helps to verify how the layout changes once the operator has modified the relevant measurements, added logos, patterns and other graphic elements.

Oliver Zünd, CEO, comments, “Printers of a broad spectrum of applications are asking for increased productivity and a seamlessly integrated work environment, from print to finishing. The demand for efficiency and reduced make-ready times prompts Zünd to continuously invest in the research and development of easy to operate digital cutting systems, including advanced features to increase printers’ automation and productivity. We are confident that the solutions we are sharing with visitors at Ipex 2014 will help them towards a more profitable future.”

Summa has launched its DC5 thermal transfer resin printer/cutter which enables customers to to output prints with no need to dry or laminate. 
The new DC5 machine has a variety of performance-enhancing features including more media widths, an Ethernet port and a new user interface.  It is availble in 50cm, 61cm, 75cm, 100cm, 122cm and 137cm widths.

Resin ribbon printing can last outdoor for up to 5 years without lamination.  One single machine will deliver durable full colour and accurate contour cut graphics with the ability to cut completely through the material.  The automatic resin ribbon changer can combine process colours, a wide range of spot colours and mirroring metallic foil printing for high-profit effect graphics that only thermal transfer printing will provide.   Moreover, thermal transfer printing is currently the most environmental friendly method on the market.  There is no chemical waste, no VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) exhaust or noxious solvent fumes that could entail any health risk.

A modern styled user interface was also added to the DC series in order to apply to the highest standards of industrial design and meet operator needs for ergonomics and safety. The touchscreen facilitates quick and easy navigation through the menus and displays a broader range of information on the screen.

The Summa DC5 also has a more compact and affordable alternative, the DC5sx.  Yet, this smaller version remains top-of-the-line in terms of equipment, durability, print quality and production speed.   Tracking and cutting features are also identical to the Summa DC5, assuring the same spot-on accuracy Summa owners have come to expect. 

Summa’s product engineer Mr Randi Kerkaert comments, “With the introduction of the DC5 series to our printing technology portfolio, more than ever our partners will have the opportunity to provide reliable printing solutions to customers, meeting the ever-changing and demanding workplace requirements within the thermal transfer printing market.”

For more information, please visit www.summa.eu

An investment in large format print capability would be limited without a complementary investment in 'cutting-edge' finishing, and South West London-based Colouration has selected the ESKO Kongsberg XN24 flatbed cutter as an integral part of its recent expansion.

With a fleet of large format printers including two HP Designjet Z6100s, Oce Arizonas and a Chromira for continuous tone photo print, Colouration needed a cutter capable of working with a wide variety of media.  Operations Manager Dave Mays explains, “We can work with vinyl, printable wallpapers, backlit film, display board, paper, foam, folding carton, corrugated board, and plastics, and the Kongsberg delivers the best quality cutting for any job or application. It’s fast, and it’s accurate.  We pride ourselves in being experts in the retailing environment and going above and beyond to achieve the best results for each of our clients.  That’s why we’re not afraid of investment, and making sure we’re up to date with new technology to deliver visual solutions that are second to none.”

The Kongsberg XN24, which was purchased from CWE Solutions, is a very versatile cutting machine, using i-cut vision pro software and laser recognition hardware.  The Kongsberg XN24 table offers a maximum cutting size of 3.2M x 1.68M.

“As well as roll feed, we’ve been doing more manufacturing using  cardboard for 3D point of sale, and the Kongsberg just eats it up. When we were looking for a flatbed table we also considered all alternatives, but the deciding factor for us, was the build quality and superior software and software support we could get from ESKO and CWE Solutions.  The Kongsberg XN24 makes many jobs such as short run manufacturing much more cost efficient. The ESKO range of softwares, including preflight software, we’re planning to invest in also offers substantial workflow streamlining, plus we felt that considerations such as ease of operation and tool changeovers made the Kongsberg cutter by ESKO the best choice.”

Colouration purchased the Kongsberg through CWE Solutions. Dave said, “Commercial Director Graham De Kock understood the needs of our company and what we wanted to achieve – and his knowledge and support set us on the right track. We can’t always know everything, so it’s great to have people like Graham around for advice. I’ve known him for the past four years and have always appreciated his generosity in sharing his insights and experience.”

Dave said that the installation of the flatbed cutter went like a dream, despite it being sited on a mezzanine floor. “The support from ESKO and CWE Solutions has also been superb. Our studio manager is often in touch with them, getting great advice on how to get the best out of the cutter for different finished products.  It has really helped us widen the range of what we can do – much of our extra work over the last seven months would have been a struggle without it.”

The expansion in technology is being supported by extra sales team members, and new customers include end users, agencies and trade clients such as stage and set builders.

Colouration recently worked with a graphics company to produce three staging areas at FESPA, a job which included cutting, notching and shaping more than 300 boards. It was very well received and the company was proud of being involved in such a highly prestigious project.

“We’re starting to see a feel good factor in the industry, in particular retail seems to be picking itself up,” added Dave. “Our company has turned a nice little corner, seeing steady growth over the last six months, and we’re cautiously optimistic for the future.

“We’re always keeping an eye on where we think the work will be, and where the technology has been developed to deliver it,” concluded Dave. “Soft fabric is a really interesting growth area, so we’ll looking at that, as well as dye sublimation, and developing more continuous tone photographic capability. You always have to move with the industry.”

Atlantic Tech Services has announced launch of the versatile Shield Laminator range which has been designed and manufactured to deliver solutions for the widest range of applications from vehicle wrapping to visual communications and sign making.

The Shield range is totally field upgradeable from the basic cold lamination model to the dual heated roller version. The Shield is also available as a dedicated Wrapping edition end-to-end work station with motorised double roll and automatic rotary cutting system at exit, which can be completed with the addition of the optional back lighted and scratch resistant tables. The lamination rolls are covered with a specially designed silicone coating which enables easy lamination of media.

The Shield Flatbed model is designed for all professional lamination requirements comes supplied with a pneumatic pressure motor and moveable feed/exit tables as an online extension to the versatility offered by this quality laminator. This allows the Shield to become a complete online system when placed between any UV or water based flatbed printer and a digital flatbed router/cutter such as the Zund.

Available with hand or foot pedal controls in Cold or Hot versions with optional online vertical exit cutting and delivers an unrivalled low energy consumption performance. Maximum working width is 1650mm with a maximum thickness of 30mm and maximum speed of 3 metres per minute.

For more information, please visit www.atlantic-ts.com

[Image shows Neolt's Shield Flatbed model]