Morgana AutoCut Pro or Duplo DC-616

[dnetcrawler]

Hello everyone,

We own a Xerox c70 and a Challenge Spartan 185 A. We were looking to purchase an automatic creaser, a folding machine, and a business card cutter, but we are now thinking an integrated Slitter / Cutter / Creaser and a folding machine might be the way to go. We don't need top of the line and we narrow down the options to the Morgana AutoCut Pro or Duplo DC-616. We wanted to get some feedback from folks, and see what their experiences have been. Are there any other workflows that would make more sense?

Thank you!

 

[jwheeler]

If you get the Duplo 616, make sure to get the Pro version...however...Duplo just launched a replacement for this product that is much faster (23 sheets per minute vs 10 sheets per minute), called the 618. I've used a 616 Pro for the last 5 years and it's been a great unit. The only downside is the speed. I would definitely consider the 618 or even the 646 if you can afford it. The 646 offers bi-directional perfing and creasing, and also strike per so you can do an L-shape instead of going all the way through the sheet - which I could have used on more than one occasion. I don't have personal experience with the Morgana AutoCut, but we do have the Morgana folder and numbering machines in my shop and they are rock solid.

Another series of machines worth considering is the AeroCut series by MBM. I have not personally used these either, but another shop I spoke with saw demo's on both the Duplo and AeroCut's and he liked the interface better on the Aerocuts. I think it's best to see a demo in person on any machine before making the final decision. Bring some of your jobs and watch them setup a job from beginning to end. Don't let them just run a template that's already installed, it doesn't give you the full picture. I think they will all be pretty similar. Another thing worth noting that Duplo points out in their demo is their rollers are VERY soft. This is important if you need to send jobs through it that have any embossing or foiling. Their rollers will not damage or flatten out your prints. I can't speak for the rollers on the Morgana or MBM machines.

Updating 3-9-2022 to my original 2019 post:
I just got a notification that @Morgan Bu reviewed this post, so I figured it's worth updating since I have now worked at a shop that has the AeroCut Prime Complete for about 3 years. It is a good machine, however, I prefer the Duplo series over the Aerocut line. I posted the reasons on this discussion: https://printplanet.com/threads/duplo-618-versus-aerocut-x.291926/post-303051