Cut Quality: Slitter vs. Guillotine?

[PantherMac]

Had a discussion w/ the owner over the weekend about getting a slitter for BC's. It's been an issue here in back w/ the monkey's, as we do a lot of cards, and cutting them on the cutter takes a lot of time. Turns out the owner's under the impression that the guillotine cutter makes a cleaner, neater, better looking cut, than what you get off a slitter, so he doesn't want to switch (labor costs be damned).
What's the experienced folks in this forum think about that statement? True? Sometimes? Depending what model you get?
We have regular BC work, that's a fair part of our business, so it makes economic sense, to be sure. We also print conventional and digital cards (toner has a tendency to crack/flake, so we back-trim all our cuts). Everything from 80lb - 120lb, all kinds of finishes, too.
Thanks for the input.

- Mac

 

[Alex@Challenge]

if both machines are in optimal conditions (sharp knives/blades, fresh cut sticks, etc), they should be identical. The problem with the slitter method is with digitally-printed products, the registration moves around a lot, and can have the operator chasing the cut around. Easier to correct on a guillotine, but there are other things to keep in mind with a cutter (programmability/ease of programming).

 

[PantherMac]

Thanks Alex,

We generally cut the cards in single stacks as it is, and the programs are set on the cutter (so yeah, they basically stick a monkey in front of it and tell him to have at it).

Do you have any experience w/ the 'self sharpening' rotary knife style? Like I said, we have issue w/ the digital cards cracking a little on the cutter as it is (knife probably dull.. I know they change them on Mondays, but I think that's it).

Thanks for the feedback!

- Mac

 

[CTmang]

It's been an issue here in back w/ the monkey's, as we do a lot of cards, and cutting them on the cutter takes a lot of time. Turns out the owner's under the impression that the guillotine cutter makes a cleaner, neater, better looking cut, than what you get off a slitter, so he doesn't want to switch (labor costs be damned).

I would disagree with the statement made by the owner. We too do a lot of BC and have been using a slitter for 7 years. The speed at which we can finish them is probably 4 to 1 over our cutter. Alex is correct when he says if the machines are optimal, the cuts are identical. Most importantly, we never get any complaints from our customers about the cutting. They reorder quite often.

 

[PantherMac]

Thanks CTMang,

I appreciate the feedback. I'd like to make a case for (at the very least) testing a slitter out, as from what I've seen, we'll reap greater than 4:1 efficiency improvements over what the bindery's pumping out.
Thanks again.

- Mac

 

[Flexo Grunt]

I think you would get better results investing in some knowledgeable employees that you can respect and getting rid of the "monkeys".........

 

[PantherMac]

ROTFLMAO!!! Amen Grunt, you're preaching to the choir there....
I can't get the guy to spend money on a slitter, you think he's going to pay $15/hour for a cutter operator?
(and for the record, I use the term w/ endearment, I'm just a pixel-monkey...)

- Mac

 

[Alex@Challenge]

the advantage of a cutter is its flexibility - it can cut whatever you want besides just cards. If you want something just for BC's, slitters are a nice way to go, but the digital print moving on you will show up with nasty results on a slitter. You can try something like a BC-10 or BC-12 from MBM which reads OMR to vary the trim head-to-foot for smaller-runs.

The issues you speak of I believe may be due to the toner/wax not fully adhering to the sheet when printed (if the blade is sharp and a new cutting stick). Other than coating (which helps but does not eliminate) the sheet, you need to bring this issue up with your print-engine technician/company.

 

[Craig]

Just to throw this in the mix. The movement on many digital devices is correct. But on the more expensive high production devices you can expect +/- 0.5mm. I am looking at the slitter option as well with gutter capabilities. RB Sun has a table top for about $5000.00, maybe woth looking at.

 

[StuartJMurphy]

I am bias, being a manufacturer, but we sell most of our machinery for slitting based on a demand from customers for better than guillotine quality. Have a look at this video for business card slitting and collation, note the autolay for print drift correction to better than 0.1mm, the cassette system for delivery and the ability to be run successfully by any staff to very high quality. "Rollem JetStream + AutoLay + Cassette Collection - Business Cards.wmv" These systems can do bleeds between cards down to 0.8mm (try that on a guillotine!) and can give 5 x 5 business cards on a standard SRA3 digital sheet.
Yours, Stuart at www.rollem.com

 

[UK Printer]

slitter every time

slitter every time

We're busy trying to swtich over to slitting, will save us a fortune on labour costs. Rollem make the best slitter, engineering is fantastic, check out their videos.

Some of the automation is mind blowing.

We had a Duplo DC-645, got it a few years ago, we had plans to use it for all our digitally printed BC's, it did ok for a few months, then the cut got very poor, we we're quoted a fortune to change the blades and so we stopped using the machine for any quality work.

We still use the DC645, for creasng, but its accuracy was pants on cutting.

 

[ondemandbindery]

the advantage of a cutter is its flexibility - it can cut whatever you want besides just cards. If you want something just for BC's, slitters are a nice way to go, but the digital print moving on you will show up with nasty results on a slitter. You can try something like a BC-10 or BC-12 from MBM which reads OMR to vary the trim head-to-foot for smaller-runs.

The issues you speak of I believe may be due to the toner/wax not fully adhering to the sheet when printed (if the blade is sharp and a new cutting stick). Other than coating (which helps but does not eliminate) the sheet, you need to bring this issue up with your print-engine technician/company.

If you are just pounding out the cards all day then maybe there is nothing wrong with slitting machines. I agreee with Alex in that you can do so much more with a cutter. I am not sure how much time people spend cutting business cards. I know of at least one shop I worked at and he did a ton of cards. His imposition was always routine and consistent. I could step in that shop and with a bindery helper boxing them up cutting the cards was just not time consuming. It seemed to me she had the tougher end of the deal on the packaging end. Just keep in mind that right now the market is loaded with cutters for a song and dance. Crunch some numbers and see if a good cutter can speed you up on other projects.

Good luck,

 

[StuartJMurphy]

Thanks for the kind words "UK Printer" about Rollem Equipment - stop by our stand at IPEX for a more impressive "thank you"! (18 to 25 May - Hall 18 - Stand E860)

 

[jzambole]

If scoring is an issue as well on the folds and fiber cracking is present I have a product to eliminate it. We are the national dealer for Technifold USA. We sell the Tri - Creaser. You can look at the Multi Tool which provides cut, perf & crease. 3 - Different perf blade options as well. 17 TPI, 25 TPI & 50 TPI. They install on the exit shafts of most all folders. This is a great option to not only improve your cutting, but now you can perf and crease as well.

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Ph: 800.656.7766 x 34 / Joe Zambole