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With digital printers becoming more popular, businesses often tend to focus on press, and not think about finishing systems until later.
This is a little like building a house one brick at a time without an architectural plan. Finishing is often just as important as the quality of the print itself, making it crucial that businesses start thinking about finishing processes early in the digital print investment cycle.
What makes finishing so important?
Finishing has been a fixture of the printing world for centuries, but it’s only recently that it’s become a hot topic thanks to the rise of large-format digital printers. While these devices have helped make on-demand printing much more economical, finishing is often still a complex and labour-intensive process, wiping out the efficiency gains digital printing can potentially provide.
This becomes an even bigger problem in a marketplace that expects printing houses to be able to produce a huge variety of formats on spec – anything from business cards to books, shopping catalogues, product labels, and POS signage and displays. Digital disruption is forcing businesses to rethink finishing from the ground up in order to keep pace with evolving customer expectations.
The new age of print
Along with paper, the latest large-format digital flatbed printers are also capable of putting ink onto plastic, vinyl, fabric, wood, metal and other materials – generating endless market opportunities for the enterprising printing business. The downside is that it also creates additional challenges for the finishing team, requiring that they not only think about the shape and size of the end product, but its material properties as well – including thickness, density and any surface curvatures.
For businesses that are transitioning to digital printing, and startups looking to make a dent in an already active market, a more streamlined approach is needed.
Enter digital finishing systems
The solution is to add automation to the finishing process. This is what Canon has done with its Océ ProCut G-Series devices, which combine automated cutting and intelligent workflow control into one device. This provides the operator with a number of key benefits.
Higher finish quality
Quality-conscious customers will be expecting error-free cutting and absolute consistency in the final product. A precision automated cutting system can be set up to deliver optimal results for a wide range of materials. The Océ ProCut can even compensate for image or material distortion prior to cutting, and its vacuum surface system ensures that the material does not move during cutting.
Increased versatility
Different materials require different tools. The Océ ProCut can be armed with a range of tool options to match the material being used. They include a kiss-cutting tool for adhesive labels and decals; a pneumatic oscillating tool for soft but dense materials; and creasing tools for plastics, cardboard and other structural projects.
Reduced turnaround times
Automating the cutting and folding activities of the finishing cycle can drastically reduce finishing turnaround times. Jobs that would otherwise take hours to complete with manual cutting can easily be completed in minutes.
Less material wastage
The Océ ProCut 3200 XXL finishing system is one of the largest graphic cutters on the market, with a cutting bed size of 3200 x 2600mm. When combined with high cutting accuracy, this enables the user to maximise utilisation of the printing surface and reduce offcut size.
Reduced labour costs
The cutter can be run by just one operator, which frees up other workers in the finishing department for other operations.
New business opportunities
Business needs can change fast. An automated, multifunctional finishing system provides printing professionals with the flexibility and speed they need to take advantage of emerging market opportunities and stay ahead of ever-changing customer needs.
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