Hardware - Print Finishing

Following its successful debut at Sign & Digital 2011, Maxicam has again committed to the Sign & Digital exhibition (stand C32).  This year, the company's primary focus will be the MAXI-C 1325 CNC Router, aimed specifically at the sign making industry.

Maxicam's managing director, Bill Powell, comments, “Last year’s show was a great success and certainly allowed us to dip our toe in the water to evaluate the need for an affordable CNC router in a well established market place.  The overwhelming feedback was positive.  However, many visitors were keen to see a machine in action.  This year we are exhibiting the MAXI-C CNC Router, which is Maxicam’s fully loaded sign making CNC Router.  The MAXI-C 1325 is an ideal machine for the sign-making workshop as it’s come with very few costly extras.  The machine is highly specified in its standard configuration and all the customer really needs to decide is the size of the router table.”

The MAXI-C 1325 CNC Router comes as standard with Panasonic Servo Motors, HSD Automatic Tool Change Spindle with 6 position tool changer, Vacuum Table, Osai Numerical Controller with familiar Windows PC front end, lubricated and sealed for life THK Linear rails and guide blocks.  The router comes in 3 standard sizes 1300 x 2500mm, 1500 x 3000mm or 2000 x 4000mm.

For more information, please visit www.maxicamuk.com

Coherent will be presenting its Laser Machining Centers at Sign & Digital which it says are 'the most advanced laser cutting machine tools available today'.  The company will be exhibiting on stand G36 in hall 3.

Visitors to the stand are invited to learn more about Coherent's products - the Omnibeam and the Metabeam - and the variety of applications they can be used for.

The Omnibeam adds automated material handling enabling its use with a wider range of materials. Automation options include vision systems, automatic loading and unloading pallet, which enable higher throughput.  Other features include:

• Versatile, flexible cutting system
• ‘Ideally’ suited for non-metals
• Maximum material handling flexibility with Production Automation options.

The Metabeam offers material height sensing and a higher flow rate for assist gases; these make it suitable for cutting thicker metals up to 1/8 inch (3mm). Highlights include:

 

• Precision metal cutting focused system
• Backwards capable to Omnibeam
• Metal cutting “smarts” built in
• Capacitive Height Sensor

Coherent’s Laser Machining Centers are ideal for laser cutting perfect parts from a wide range of materials including plastics, rubber and metals. Higher power allows users to process thicker materials faster, with clean cut edges directly off the machine. Each system offers a level of flexibility and speed unmatched by other cutting methods. With no setup or tooling costs, and no consumables, it offers users faster turn around and lower costs with laser cutting.

For more information, please visit www.coherent.com

[photo shows Coherent Omnibeam]

At this year's Sign & Digital exhibition, Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) will once again be launching an 'abundance of new innovations' from its stand - M60.

With a UK based manufacturing and R&D facility, ITC services the UK sign industry with the 'most dynamic' tooling solutions available. At the 2012 Sign UK show, ITC will be showcasing new innovations such as the new 3061 Series for machining steel, the extension of the market leading 180 Series of cutters and the 4071 Series of cutters for the machining of foamex, plastic wood, MDF and additional abrasive materials.

Other new product developments that will be on show include the addition of 3 flute cutters to the 2091 Series of Up and Downcut tools and the 2121 Series of extra long cutters for machining difficult to reach surfaces. Complementing the existing range, the new products ensure ITC will continue to provide the market with the leading solutions for issues such as de-laminating, excessive burrs, poor surface finishes and the ability to eliminate hand finishing in many instances.

Leading the market in the provision of solutions, the ITC team is always listening to customers and keeping abreast of market trends. The latest trend noted by ITC is the import of cheap aluminium composite materials. This creates issues with tool life and surface finishes for end users. As the signmaking market is put under increasing price pressure by its customers, small sign making businesses are increasingly using low cost aluminium composites.

The use of low quality alloys is seeing more manufacturers witnessing low tool life, poor surface finishes and increasing production times. At Sign UK 2012, ITC will be demonstrating a range of products to overcome this issue.

For further details, please visit www.itc-ltd.co.uk

CBS Outdoor UK is making a major investment in new poster systems that deliver higher definition images, a lower carbon footprint and a safe environment for poster installers.  The company has teamed with visual communications and printing specialist Prismaflex UK to provide a new poster system for its national rail sites.

CBS Outdoor UK is to install Prismaflex’s proprietary Storm-Flex dry posting system on 230 prime national rail sites. Storm-Flex offers a new form of tensioning system which improves visibility and quality by ensuring that there are no creases in the poster.   This creates much higher definition images than standard posters due to the absence of creases, the poster equivalent of High Definition broadcast images.

By doing away with paste, paper and ladders, Storm-Flex is also much safer for operatives, cheaper and quicker to install and remove than standard posters. It also produces a lower carbon footprint than current industry standards in its manufacturing process while adhering to the most stringent fire regulations.

Storm-Flex was developed by London company Urban Storm, founded by Sam Cook in 2001. In February this year Urban Storm, merged with French listed printing giant Prismaflex. In all, the company holds 45 patents in outdoor technology. Cook is now CEO of Prismaflex UK with Tom Weaver as Managing Director.

Following the Urban Storm merger, Prismaflex now offers higher value display to out of home media owners and property/brand owners through the transformation of standard outdoor hoardings and banners into drum-tight highly presentable display systems or display networks.

Jason Cotterrell, Country Director at CBS Outdoor UK comments, “We are determined that our national rail sites offer advertisers the highest quality visual display and most rapid turnaround available in the market, alongside our commitment to produce the lowest possible carbon emissions in the manufacturing process and the safest possible circumstances for our installers.  Our partnership with Prismaflex is a key part of our drive to be not just the best and the biggest in the transport sector but also the safest.”

Prismaflex UK CEO Cook adds, “This is a significant advance in the move away from paper and paste being made by outdoor companies and CBS Outdoor UK is leading the way in upgrading quality and convenience in the sector.   Crucially it also offers advertisers and media agencies a fast, reliable HD quality product that can deliver best-in-class results in a highly competitive part of the media market.”

Following the Urban Storm merger, Prismaflex now offers higher value display to out of home media owners and property/brand owners through the transformation of standard outdoor hoardings and banners into drum-tight highly presentable display systems.

One of the perennial problems facing self-adhesive graphics applicators, particularly on motor vehicles, is answered by innovative additions to the professional Avery Tools™ range from Avery Dennison:  Avery FleXtreme™ ‘micro-squeegees’.   They enable applicators to achieve a smooth finish around what may look like impossibly tight or intricate curves and corrugations.

Avery FleXtreme tools

Patent-pending Avery FleXtreme squeegees have been specifically designed for intricate vinyl graphics applications featuring very tight, compressed compound curves and other narrow substrate indentations.  They make it possible to smoothly push film down into the narrowest gaps – even between car panels and under the headlights.    Developed by Avery Dennison in close co-operation with the company’s professional applicator network across Europe, the new Avery FleXtreme squeegees have been extensively validated and tested.   

Two versions for different challenges

Supplied in a specially-designed plastic grip that fits easily into the Avery Toolbelt, the products are available in two logo-branded versions, in blue and red colourways to differentiate between a harder (blue) version and a more flexible (red) squeegee.

The blue Avery FleXtreme is designed to facilitate film application in areas of narrow curves and over the edges of car panels, and to ensure that the film conforms appropriately around the edges of logos and emblems, to create an aesthetically-satisfying application.  The red Avery FleXtreme is the right choice for film application over narrow, concave parts of a car, such as the grille, around the headlights, and the weatherseals around doors and windows.

Avery FleXtreme squeegees bring a new dimension to the art of squeegeeing, saving time and delivering an improved finish.  Full details are available via www.europe.averygraphics.com, and Avery FleXtreme squeegees – in boxes of 25 per quality – are available from Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Solutions distributors throughout Europe.

On stand A23, hall 8B, Esko will be launching the new Kongsberg XN finishing table at drupa 2012.

"Our Kongsberg finishing tables have always offered cost-effective digital finishing without the expense of conventional die-cutting tools and equipment,” explains Steve Bennett, Esko Vice President, Digital Finishing Business. “And, as people will see at drupa, Esko continues to define the ‘cutting edge’ standards in short run productivity and versatility. Combined with our integrated i-cut Suite software, we offer digital finishing solutions for every process, material and application.”

New: Kongsberg XN suits virtually any application

The Kongsberg XN is the most versatile, highest performing finishing table available in the mid-range market. Capable of handling the broadest variety of materials, the new table serves all markets from packaging to sign making and displays. In addition, the Kongsberg XN can be used for cutting plates as part of the Esko Digital Flexo Suite and can handle the heavy materials used for protective packaging.

Choice of four tool heads and a full assortment of insert tools guarantee unmatched versatility. Newly developed tools include a solid board v-notching insert, a corrugated paper-core board v-notching insert and a Braille tool insert. Options that increase productivity and quality for every application are available. Whether one needs software to help with registration, such as i-cut Vision Pro, tool heads and tool inserts to extend flexibility, productivity add-ons like a material conveyor, an AutoFeeder or a Roll-Off unit – Kongsberg has a proven solution.

High Power Milling

The new Kongsberg XN can be equipped with a more powerful milling spindle, called the MultiCUT- HP. With this new high-powered MultiCUT-HP tool head, the Kongsberg XN offers up to 3 times more milling productivity. Even when processing the most challenging materials, it keeps a productive, consistent speed. And thanks to the power-saving variable vacuum hold-down technology, it consumes less energy.

XN goes up in sizes and materials

The contemporary-looking Kongsberg XN has a modular tabletop industrial design and is available in different sizes; from the smallest 1680 x 1270mm (66” x 50”) Kongsberg XN20 up to the largest 2210 x 6550mm (87” x 258”) Kongsberg XN48.The enlarged work area allows full Y-axis reach of all tools and the length of the XN24 and XN44 models has been extended to 3200mm (126”) for larger digital print materials.

With the launch of the XN platform, Esko has extended its’ product range on offer to its customers allowing them to grow in both productivity and versatility as their needs grow: the Kongsberg XN suites the mid-range market while the XP platform addresses the highest needs in productivity and automation. Both platforms come with a solid set of standard tools that can be extended with a growing range of exchangeable tools for a wide variety of digital finishing applications.

i-cut Automate 12: workflow automation software for sign and display shops

i-cut Suite is the first collection of workflow software targeted specifically at users of large format digital printers and/or digital finishing systems. Customers will enjoy the benefits of the optimised print sheet layout for odd shaped designs with material savings often running in excess of 20%.

Now, with i-cut Automate 12, based on Automation Engine 12 technology, interactive features like the creation of cutting paths, adding bleeds and setting nesting parameters can all be automated. In a short run production environment, automatic creation of the most optimal print sheet layout is a clear way to increase capacity, reduce the risk for errors and reduce expensive substrate waste. By removing repetitive work from operators, more time is available for higher value operations, creative input and customer service — along with a faster delivery to customers and improved order to cash.

Most complete range of digital finishing tables on display at drupa 2012

During drupa, four Kongsberg tables will be on display at the Esko stand, including the:

• Kongsberg i-XN24 for a wide variety of digital finishing applications
• Kongsberg XE10 Auto offering automated short run production on a wide range of materials
• Kongsberg XP24/c for finishing commercial digital printed materials from and short run packaging
• Kongsberg XP-44A, the biggest Kongsberg configuration ever exposed on a tradeshow, featuring a fully automated packaging and display production

In addition, the following industry partners will feature a Kongsberg table on their booth: a Kongsberg i-XL20 at FUJIFILM (Hall 8b, Stand A25 1-3); a Kongsberg i-XP24 at HP (Hall 4, Stand D60 1-9.

“Esko has upgraded and updated its range of digital finishing solutions for this drupa. Our lineup of hardware today ideally suits the needs of an ever growing range of applications requiring digital finishing: vinyl kiss cutting, digitally printed commercial brochures and folders, short run folding carton and corrugated packaging, signs in rigid materials, displays and interior decoration are only a selection of the many applications in need of a cost effective digital finishing solution.” Concludes Steve Bennett. “Besides that, we have extended our powerful i-Cut software suite and have populated it with applications that streamline the entire production process of sign and display from layout to printing to the finished results. We're excited to bring our range of digital finishing solutions to drupa and to show visitors that Esko has a solution for every need!”

For more information, please visit www.esko.com

[photo shows Esko's Kongsberg XN finishing table]