57 BACK TO BASICS / DIE-CUTTING Issue 341 - March / April 2023 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk As an increasingly popular form of print production, die-cutting can be used to produce a wide range of applications. From custom stickers and labels, to packaging and mailers, this form of technology can play a key role in all sorts of markets. Rising demand for such machinery from print service providers (PSPs) means that there is no shortage of supply of new solutions, with manufacturers and suppliers constantly working on new developments to offer users new features, faster productions, and higher quality output. Reliability and performance Morgana Systems has a number of die-cutting options on offer, with Ray Hillhouse, vice president of sales and marketing for the Plockmatic Group Offline Business Unit, saying its solutions have been designed to meet the needs of both digital and offset printers. “Flexibility, reliability, and performance are the important issues that printers need to look for when they invest in a die-cutting machine,” Hillhouse says, adding: “Print companies should be keen to handle as many finishing tasks in-house as they can as the immediacy of digital printing can easily get lost when sending finishing tasks out to third parties. “They should be looking for a product that can bring as wide a range of functionality as possible – die-cutting, including complex cutting, creasing, kiss-cutting, perforating, embossing, and debossing are all available from Morgana equipment.” As to why PSPs should take care when committing to an investment, Hillhouse says a poorly cut, inaccurate end-product will quickly get a PSP a bad reputation and lose them business, adding that quality counts right the way through the finishing process. “Issues can certainly arise from poorly maintained or aged equipment,” he says, adding: “We all know the printer which is still banging this type of work through a tired, dirty, old platen style of machine that was last serviced before the year 2000. When printers fail to invest in die-cutting equipment they can miss out on a lucrative amount of business.” Looking to the latest solutions from Morgana, Hillhouse first picks out the new ColorCut SC5000, which joined the Morgana portfolio following Plockmatic’s acquisition of Intec Printing Solutions. An ‘on demand’ digital sheet cutter with no dies or setup costs, the device is targeted at busy printers seeking an affordable device for complete unattended cutting production. MAKING THE CUT A critical part of production for many print service providers, how can some of the latest developments in this area of the market help companies improve their quality of output?
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