Cut Your Run Time

With new advances, faster paper cutting doesn't have to mean compromised safety.

by Chris Bauer

Speed isn't everything—not when you're talking about paper cutters. With this equipment, safety comes first, leaving features like speed and productivity to take a back seat.

"Safety was really important when we were looking at cutters," remarks Carl Zalaznick, supervisor of Printing Services for Holy Cross Hospital in Florida. "Before the [Swaneck] ProCut 235, we had a really old Challenge. Except for cutting my finger once, we were really lucky that we didn't have any accidents."

He says his shop's new cutter makes up for the lack of safety features on his earlier model.

"Now, the one we've got has two safety light beams, and you've still got to press the two buttons," he says. So far it's working great; he hasn't sliced his finger yet.

Safety, according to leading paper cutting manufacturers, is the number one priority.

"Safety standards for paper cutters have evolved over the years, forcing manufacturers to incorporate many different elements such as photo eyes, redundant circuitry and special guarding," remarks Jeff Marr, vice president of sales for Colter & Peterson.

Sidebar: Choice Cuts The BaumCut 26.4 programmable paper cutter from Baum is hydraulic and stores 99 programs with 6,464 cut steps. Features include infrared safety beams, two-hand timed cut release, a covered rear table, a built-in table light and an optical cut line indicator. Challenge Machinery's Champion programmable paper cutters come with up to 37˝ cutting widths. 305 XT and 370 XT models feature a 10.4˝ color touchscreen, using a Windows-based system and has a 47,000-cut position memory capacity. XG models include dual LCD displays and a 9,801-cut memory. Colter & Peterson offers Prism paper cutters from 30˝ to 61˝, and Saber paper cutters from 37˝ to 62˝. The Maxima Plus line of cutters comes in 78˝, 102˝, 126˝ and 149˝ sizes, and Schneider Engineering cutters come in 72˝ and 87˝ sizes. Dexter Lawson offers 47˝, 52˝, 60˝, 60T80˝, 70T80˝ and 70T100˝ models, which feature microcomputer control. Backgauge speed is 8˝/sec. Clamp opening is 7˝. Duplo's 660 cutter stores up to 72 cut locations with nine job selections. It features an illuminated optical cutting line, a foot-powered clamp for difficult stock, false clamp plates to protect sensitive stock and an anti-friction surface. An eye-level readout shows paper position in inches or millimeters. Heidelberg's Polar ED cutter offers various additional functions and operating modes such as a full-function keyboard, programmable parameters specific to each job and backgauge compensation. It is programmable for each program or a series of options for special tasks that provide more convenience and additional efficiency, even for specialized cutting work. MAN Roland's Wohlenberg/Baumann Curve Gripper System allows a customer to prepare a total of five lifts that have been jogged, aerated and counted in a small work area with either one or two operators. The pre-jogged lifts are brought to the operator via the curve gripper so that the operator will spend less time handling the stock and more time cutting, thereby maximizing productivity. The Triumph 721 LT from MBM Corp. has an air table for easier paper handling of tall stacks of parent-size stock; a hydraulic clamp for mark-free cutting of specialty papers; an advanced keypad that can store up to 20 custom cutting programs with up to 16 steps in each; and, most importantly, the 721 LT features safety light beams to protect the operator during the cutting process. Perfecta-USA offers paper cutters in 30˝, 36˝, 45˝, 52˝ and 66˝ sizes. Units offer touch screen programming, quick knife change and a servo drive for improved accuracy and backgauge speed. The machines are CIP3 prepared. Standard Finishing Systems' Standard Horizon APC-M61 automatic hydraulic cutter offers rugged monoblock construction, quality engineering for precise cutting accuracy and maximum reliability, and programming simplicity. Up to nine programs with six steps each can be stored in memory. The APC-M61 features a rigid, chrome-plated table with a maximum cutting width of 24˝ and a maximum lift height of 3.9˝. Swaneck Graphic Equipment's Pro-Cut 235MPS hydraulic cutter has programmable capabilities and a 23.5˝ cutting width. It carries the same clamp and knife force as larger 26.5˝ cutters for better accuracy.

The current industry trend, according to Mark Pellman, marketing manager for Baum, is safety—the new ANSI B65.3 safety standards became effective in March. It's a voluntary directive that calls for infrared safety light beams as a safety feature on all hydraulic-powered paper cutters.

"The use of infrared light beams has normally been found on cutters at 36˝ width and larger," Pellman says. "This new safety spec brings ANSI standards closer to CE and other specifications that also require this important feature. Baum has included this as standard equipment before the standard was adopted and enacted."

Picking Up Speed

While paper cutting machines have become safer, strides have also been taken to make these units faster and more automated.

"Consumers want to increase their productivity without sacrificing precision and quality," says MBM Corp.'s Donna Hall. "Electric cutters are being manufactured with digital keypads for entering precise measurements, and memory recall for frequent cutting jobs, such as business cards."

Automation has seeped into almost every facet of the printing industry, and cutting machines are no different, says Tyrone Adams, manager of postpress sales for MAN Roland.

"A related trend that I see in the bindery is the issue of CIP3/CIP4 compatibility, which enables the cutter to be programmed automatically from prepress or MIS data," he says. "That speeds setup, reduces the chance of operator error and plugs the bindery into all of the advantages of computer-integrated manufacturing."

Adding Gadgetry To Decrease Risk

There are many ways to safely speed the cutting process, confirms Heidelberg's Rob Kuehl, marketing director of Polar cutting systems. Polar cutters, distributed by Heidelberg, can be purchased with numerous options. They include stack lifts to bring the material to the most convenient working height for better ergonomics, easier material preparation with the addition of a jogger, and determination of quantity with a weighing scale (chipmarker). Additionally, operators can cut with more efficient handling equipment like grippers and turning grippers.

Adams, of MAN Roland, distributor of Wohlenberg cutters, says that units can be ordered with a standard front-loading knife-change device, automatic waste removal system and an auto clamp stop function that allows the clamp to move just a fraction of an inch off the stock after making the cut.

"The backgauge then moves forward and positions the stock for the next cut, and the clamp goes down for full pressure and makes the next cut," he explains. "Because the clamp does not have to travel the total distance back to the top of the knife beam, it actually increases the cutting cycle speed of the cutter."

Automation and programming are part of an industry-wide trend to simplify setup and operation of finishing equipment, says Don Dubuque, product manager for Standard Finishing Systems.

"This has been influenced by heavy turnover in shops, which leads companies to want faster operator training and the ability to cross-train easily," he observes.

Dubuque feels this is made easier with the advent of simple, yet powerful, programming and automation features. Equipment decision makers are looking for equipment that is simplified through the use of control panels and touch screens that are similar—from one piece of finishing equipment to another.

Kelly Hogg, print shop manager for Circuit City, in Richmond, Va., is one user who is pleased with the programming capabilities of his shop's Baum cutter.

"You can program all your channels, your cuts," he observes. "You can store them."

The trend towards shorter run lengths is affecting the paper cutting market, Dubuque says.

"Shorter runs have less tolerance for waste, and this is particularly important when a job reaches the cutter," Dubuque explains. "Any mistake in the cutting can be very costly, which leads to the absolute importance of highly accurate, precision-engineered cutting."