Automation Cuts Downtime

Programmable cutters put the bindery in-line with the rest of your equipment, boosting productivity.

Automation fever—catch it.

Better than the flu and more important to your well being than the office coffee pot, automation in paper cutting is fast becoming the next big thing.

"Say you got some little 3-1⁄2x7˝ job," proposes Roland Stroud, production manager at the Mays Mission For The Handicapped in-plant, in Heber Springs, Ark. "You can program it so you only have to hit the button once. That way one person can be sitting there boxing while the machine is cutting by itself."

And that, in a nutshell, is the future of paper cutting.

Broadly described, automation improves productivity by eliminating labor-intensive steps, saving time and money.

Automation can be broken down into two categories: programmability and automation around the cutter:

• Programmability refers to windows-based software installed into the cutter and accessed via touch-screen monitors or keyboards.

• Automation around the cutter refers to paper-handling equipment like air tables, jogging trays and stack lifts.

By enabling the user to program the individual settings specific to each job (clamping pressure, backgauge speed, multiple cuts) and store them, programmability minimizes the number of steps between operations and keeps the cutter moving.

Despite the improved productivity automation brings, though, convincing print shop managers to spend money on postpress equipment hasn't always been easy.

"Let's face it," says Tom Wood, manager of U.S. dealer relations for Challenge Machinery, "the bindery has always been the last area of consideration in the graphic arts industry."

His colleagues agree.

Nevertheless, they also say postpress operations—particularly paper cutting—are integral to the overall quality of the job. Moreover, they are quick to point out that nearly every job goes through the bindery, making precision cutting a necessity.

"Because a cutter is something you're going to rely upon for many years, it's not an area where you would do well to compromise," contends Mark Hunt, marketing manager for Standard Finishing Systems. "What you buy today is something you're probably going to be putting to productive use in your bindery for 10 or 15 years."

"In the past, the issue has been that customers would only look at prepress and press equipment," explains Rob Kuehl, marketing director of Polar Cutting Systems. "We've helped customers realize that a new piece of equipment can actually pay for itself many times over in increased productivity."

In addition to productivity, programming also addresses another problem common in the graphic arts industry: a lack of skilled workers. With the amount of intelligence and the number of safety features built into today's programmable cutters, shop managers can be more flexible in their hiring and scheduling.

"If I have programming, I can put somebody who doesn't ordinarily work the cutter on the cutter because it's just button pushing," says Standard's Hunt. "That gives me more flexibility as a manager."

Automation Assets

While software-based automation has been a boon to productivity in the shop, automation around the cutter can be equally helpful. Though much of this automation has traditionally been found on more high-volume cutters, some dealers say that is changing.

"I believe it's all about workflow," declares Wood, of Challenge. "It's about getting more throughput. And I firmly believe that these work-handling methods will be applied to smaller shops."

Polar's Kuehl points out other reasons automation will spread:

"Competition, lower costs, faster turnaround, higher quality and less injuries and workmen's compensation will drive the automation process in the coming years," explains Kuehl. "Demands to reduce back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome and heavy physical work are causing the need to automate the bindery."

Even as automation and programmability move into the bindery, a movement is underway to further integrate the entire printing process.

"There are several standards initiatives underway to more highly automate the off-line finishing functions," reports Standard's Hunt, "so that at the point of document creation I could specify everything needed for prepress, press and postpress."

This new initiative is the product of more than a dozen international manufacturers of prepress, press and postpress equipment working to develop a vendor-independent, standardized, digital interface, or Print Production Format (PPF).

PPF was developed by a consortium of industry professionals, known as the International Cooperation for Integration of PrePress, Press and PostPress, or CIP3, to be used as a container for the exchange of data through the production cycle.

The idea, while simple, is daunting. To completely automate the job process and further streamline workflow, manufacturers must first create a language all machines can "speak."

That's where PPF comes in.

PPF will create a format common to all participating machinery and allow multiple machines along the production cycle to easily interface.

Invest Now, Save Later

Though CIP3 currently represents the vanguard of print evolution, it also gives us a clue as to the direction that print production technology will take in the future and suggests that investing money now in cutter automation could save you valuable dollars later.

Of course, not everyone needs this level of automation. Some smaller shops may be just as happy with an electric cutter with manual clamps and a manual backgauge.

"Like a lot of graphic products, choosing the right cutter for the job is a degree of how complicated the job is, balanced by how much you expect to gain," notes Troy Pavy, product manager for Martin Yale Industries.

Fortunately, even if you don't need an automated cutter you can still benefit from technological advancements in the field.

Among the most significant achievements toward improving cutter safety was the introduction of controls that demand two-handed operation. This feature, along with automatic blade retraction—which automatically moves the knife up to its home position after it has reached its lower dead point—bring greater protection.

Light curtains, or light beams, found mostly on high-end paper cutters, are another significant contribution toward safety. By acting as a sensor that monitors the knife area of the cutter with a beam of light, light curtains help eliminate accidents due to careless cutter operation by rendering the blade inoperable whenever the beam is disturbed.

Don't Confuse Durable With Safe

Although some of these safety features have been around for a while, dealers say they have not become standard until recently. And even though cutters may last up to 30 years, manufacturers stress that they aren't necessarily safe, just durable.

"An older machine is inherently more dangerous than a new machine," asserts Wood, of Challenge. "Because of the changes in cutter safety, a machine that's only 10 years old isn't as safe as one manufactured today."

Which means that a new machine can not only increase productivity, but can also save money on health care costs and litigation.

Overall, paper cutters haven't changed much in 40 years.

"In terms of technology employed to cut paper, there has not been a dramatic change," agrees Hunt, of Standard. "What you do see is more performance packed into smaller, more user-friendly, safer packages."

"I think it's possible to find cost-effective machines that are a step up in technology and are affordable for any shop," adds Wood. "Certainly you're not going to get all the bells and whistles, but you're going to get some."

And that's the point. Not everyone needs a programmable, automated machine, however, everyone can benefit from the advantages of some level of automation.

Experts say that though cutters today are not substantially different from cutters 10 years ago, the trend toward automation is shaping, and will continue to shape, the industry and win widespread adoption in years to come.

However, despite all the advantages new technology can bring, sometimes the best motto may still be: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"If the sheet's square, the sheet's square," says Hunt. "And if [your cutter is] easy to use, and it's rugged and reliable, then the rest kind of becomes irrelevant."

by Allan Martin Kemler