Graphtec F-Mark Sheet Fed Cutter

[Ynot_UK]

We are looking into buying one of these, obviously after doing some tests with our own work and substrates.
Has anyone got one and can give some feedback after used it for some months?
The cutter would predominantly be used for kiss cutting laser film and die cutting coated stocks.

Also, for a while we've been looking with no avail for a refurbed Scott or Onglematic, however the Graphtec looks like it could do our tab cutting jobs too, thus not needing a dedicated tab cutter, for the low volumes we do. On all of these jobs, the benefit of being able to complete is turnaround time and avoiding setup costs, delivering & collecting from a sub contractor, etc.

Any feedback/recommendations welcomed.

 

[SoggyWinter]

The "die cuts" may require perforation cuts for substrates that do not have a backing. I looked into this machine about a year ago and was advised to get a more expensive cutting table to get real die cuts in canvas and stuff. The graphtec technical sales advisor in my region gave substantive answers.

 

[Ynot_UK]

@SoggyWinter thanks for your reply. The heaviest stock we would put through the cutter would be coated 250GSM with 40micron Ultrabond film to both sides. It's main job would be kiss cutting 2.1mil gloss self adhesive film with a 5.5mil liner. It's other regular job would be die cutting 250GSM matt/gloss with no laminate.

 

[tngcas]

The machine is moving the paper as it cuts (vs. moving the blade), so the item being die cut has to stay "attached" to the outer edges of the paper somehow so that it doesn't just fall out of alignment, hence the requirement for either perforating or for connecting tabs that have to be manually cut or ripped afterwards. I think the machine looks super neat and researched it a while back. I've see other people using it for kiss-cutting but as a die-cutter it doesn't really work for most production quality applications without being attached to a liner or perforated.

 

[Dmiller35]

We've had one for over a year and it's best use is for kiss cuts but it can do die-cuts okay. I don't think you'd be able to replace your tab cutter unless you run them on 13x19 sheets. The one thing that we didn't know going in was how much margin it actually needs. Essentially you lose about an 0.5" all the way around. Also the way it feeds, you can't cut out too big of a shape, otherwise it won't have a solid enough surface to continue feeding. Also, it's made to be used for cutting heavy stock so if you have a thinner sheet, sometimes it can be difficult to get it to feed. For the price it's a great machine but if you're looking into doing some more serious die-cutting work then you'll need to look elsewhere. Most of what we do is small run prototyping for one of our customers. For that it works great.