First Time Poster..Cutting Machine Question

[osmasterflex]

Whats up Guys,

First Post, want to start off by saying Hello to All!

Well i purchased a Konica Minolta C6501 this week...We are not a huge print shop but we do enough printing to require a printer such as this.

We used to outsource all of our work to another company, but though enough is enough, it was time to do it ourselves.


I need recommendations on cutters for post print. Basically to make brochures, sell sheets, booklets etc. etc. full Bleed.

We need something economical, We are reasonable on price, but want something we can rely on.

Any suggestions are welcome! thanks!

 

[rbailleu]

a small polar would be nice. but if your budget is less than $10,000. you could go with old challenge/multigraphics hydrolic or something like it. we have an electric 19" cutter but the back gauge is not accurate so we only use it sparingly. you could pick up one like it for under $2000. maybe less these days. I like our old challenge 26" hand cutter better than the electric. its more accurate and cuts nicer too. Our main cutter is a 45" prism and its fairly nice. but then your talking over $20,000.00

 

[Internal_R&D_Analyst]

You might want to look at a Duplo 645 to slit, cut, and crease. We have placed these with digital devices and found that for the right work it does well. If you go to a trade show you will probably see this device in a dozen places including most of the digital press manufacturers.

The new model with inline folding is getting ready to be released.

http://www.duplousa.com/_upload/brochure/Image_20.pdf

 

[lfelton]

The Duplo's a really nice machine, but it's pretty expensive, so may not be in your price range. You may also end up needing a guillotine as well.

rbailleu makes some good points about guillotines and you need to do your research on what's best for you.

I'd say that the guillotine is the most important piece of finishing equipment you're likely to invest in and you should get ready to spend some serious money on it. If you get the cutting wrong, everything else that comes after it will be wrong. Likewise, you can save money by going for something cheap and manual, but this will prove a false economy in the long term when you waste huge amounts of time trying to get work out the door.

I'd make sure that you get a machine with hydraulic blade & clamp. Make sure that the guaranteed accuracy is 1/10 of a mm. Light guards are a must, unless you are only cutting very small amounts of paper, and I would highly recommend an air bed and side tables. An optical cutting line will save you a lot of time as will at least a basic level of progamming. You're going to need around a 55cm machine to comfortably cut SRA3.

In Europe, it's the law that you must have your guillotine safety checked every 6 months and I'd guess that there must be similar safety laws in the US. On one of the safety checks, you will need to have a PM service done. You need to make sure you budget for this, as it's not cheap.

A top end guillotine (Polar, Wohlenberg, Schneider) will last for as long as you care to maintain it. Mid level (EBA, Ideal, Horizon etc.) should give you at least 10 years good service. You can pick up used mid level machines for a reasonable price. Unless you know exactly what you are looking for and doing, buy from a reputable dealer and have them install the machine.

 

[osmasterflex]

Thanks for the replies!

What are your thoughts on the MBM Machines Triumph 4850

 

[lfelton]

It looks like a re-badged Ideal 4850, they are a German manufacturer and OK for light weight machines. It's not really designed for a printer, more of a large office environment, and will be pretty slow to operate.

Go and try a few guillotines. Make sure it's at a reputable print machinery dealer, not an office equipment shop, as they are unlikely to understand what printers need in a machine.

If this is your budget, you'd be better off buying a higher quality 2nd hand machine.

 

[rbailleu]

,

,

seriously if your spending money on a new machine, consider going up a step on a used "real" cutter.
but it does really depend on the amount of cutting you are doing. I cut paper at least 2 hours a day, could not do with out the big cutter for more than a couple days. as the little cutter takes 3 times longer to do most cutting. if you only cut 4000 sheets a day the ebm/ideal is probably a good starter cutter. just make certain the back gauge is accurate or you will be trial and error on every cut. mine a got dirt cheap from a bankruptcy, but I wont use it for anything that is close tolerance. it is basically to cut copier jobs in half or quarter.

 

[smatros]

We use the ideal 5221-95EP which preforms quite ok for most of our needs. However, our next one will be a Polar, which is more precise and stable.

 

[Alex@Challenge]

rb is making good points here. The cutter is one area that you should not skimp on. You will spend all sorts of time and money printing the product, only to destroy it in one knife stroke due to inconsistency/inaccuracy.

Challenge cutters have long been known throughout our industry as a solid, reliable machine with excellent ROI. The investment in a new Challenge hydraulic guillotine will provide you with years of trouble-free operation.

Alex Esnaola