Finishing & Screen Printing
Printers cut more pages, cleaner:
Thursday 25. June 2009 - New printing process innovation creates scissor-like cuts of printed products
Today, the printing process typically relies on traditional “crush-type” knives for cutting paper products. But Swedish manufacturer Tolerans recently introduced a revolutionary alternative, the Double Motorized Tab Slitter, and more and more printers are making the switch. The Tolerans tab knife can take on a lot more pages than traditional crush web slittingand thanks to the spring-loaded contact point between its knives, it makes a cleaner, more scissor-like cut that produces almost no dust.
A Technological Advance
Heres how it works: both the upper and lower knife in the slitter are actively driven, which dramatically increases the maximum number of webs that can be cut without compromising high cutting quality. Since paper fibres are cut cleanly, rather than crushed, the process produces considerably less dust. That also means greatly improved startup behavior (the beginning of the cut). The Double Motorized Tab Slitter cuts cleanly at web speeds up to 10,5 meters per second, and can cut up to 12 webs on 55 gsm paper. Since both knives are driven faster than the web, the slitter always “pulls away” from the web and avoids getting tangled, radically minimizing the risk of web breakage. Plus, by cutting through a hole in the former, closer to the nose, the web is kept intact longer than with traditional slitting in the RTF roller. This allows printers to have better control of the web tension.
Higher Quality Newspapers
Newspapers all over the world are switching to a stitched (stapled), compact format to stay competitive with readers and advertisers. The Tolerans Double Motorized Tab Slitter has been developed to make aesthetically-pleasing, clean cuts of printed products with high page-counts. Combined with stitching, the result is a higher-quality newspaper with a more accessible magazine feel.