Slitter, Cutter Creasers

Cutter Creasers - Automated Finishing

The latest innovation in print finishing and card creasing machines are the Automated Finishing Solutions also known as Slitter/Cutter/Creasers.

First brought to market in the late 90's as basic desktop finishing devices by Duplo International these solutions have quickly expanded to become a main stay of the digital print finishing market. When first launched as digital finishing systems the DC range really only consisted of one machine the Duplo DC 545, many incarnations later and we have a range of solutions from not only Duplo but other manufacturers from around the globe including Multigraph Eurofold, Easi UK and Thermotype.

However, Duplo remain at the forefront of this technology with the largest range of automated finishing solutions on the world market with the DC616 and DC616 Pro, DC646 Pro and DC746 Pro high speed production models. Duplo also offer enhanced finishing options for these machines known as the IFS or Integrated Folding Systems, these solutions bolt to the DC range and enable fully automated Slitting, Cutting, Creasing, Perforating and now Folding to be completed in a single pass, a truly remarkable system to see in operation.

The latest addition to this highly competitive market are Multigraph Eurofold with the Touchline CPC375 which offers market leading productivity with options for high capacity pile feeders and pile stackers as well as the ability to Slit, Cut, Crease in both a positive and negative format in the same pass and bi-directionally perforate (X&Y) in a single pass. As the Touchline machines are all modular they can also work together to create completely bespoke solutions such as the the CPC375 link to a TCF375 enabling Slitting, Cutting, Creasing, Perforating and folding to all be done in once cycle.

These systems are the ideal partners to your digital print engines and ease the burden on the guillotine and your staff.

SCC, What does it Mean?

SCC is a term used when referring to a Slit, Cut & Crease machine and was first introduced by Duplo International in the late 90's. This form of automated finishing takes creasing to the next level and offers unmatched performance from any singular machine. Green button technology which is often referred to as Automated Precision ensures any operator without any special training or skills can operate these machines, ideal for companies with multiple operators or multi-tasking print engine operatives.

The SCC machines or Cutter Creasers have proven a very popular choice throughout the Digital Print Market with the entry level Duplo DC616 and Duplo DC616 Pro very popular with smaller copy shops, schools, colleges and Universities thanks to their ability to easily take work away from the guillotine. For more production orientated environments Duplo offer the faster and more advanced Duplo DC646 Pro and ultra fast Duplo DC746 Pro capable of processing up to 50 sheets per minute.

Cutter, Creaser or Traditional Guillotine?

There is still a huge demand for a traditional guillotine and in our opinion should always take preference over a Cutter Creaser due to the fact a traditional guillotine or ream cutter is far more versatile when it comes to the task of cutting paper or card. For instance, there is no minimum or maximum paper weight limitation a guillotine can cut, any paper or card can be cut to size in seconds regardless of weight, density, type of material or print coverage. Any printer will always purchase a guillotine over any other piece of finishing equipment they may need.

Having said that traditional guillotines also have limitations when it comes to accuracy of cut on digital prints. As we all know digital print can move or wander across the X & Y axis, guillotines although very accurate to a cut dimension cannot compensate for this movement so mistakes are easily made. All the Cutter Creaser models come with a registration camera built in which automatically reads the print position on each sheet, this allows the machine to compensate for any drift in X or Y direction on the fly. This ability dramatically improves accuracy and removes waste due to cutting errors, as a result if you want absolute accuracy combined with ultimate ease of use then a Cutter Creaser is the choice you should make.