"Print+Cut": a brilliant idea
Outdoor Advertising: The combination of die-cutting and digital printing opens up new possibilities for advertising materials.
Outdoor advertising The combination of shape cutting and digital printing creates new possibilities for advertising media. The company Christinger Partner (Christinger) in Schlieren near Zurich, which is active in the lettering and realization of outdoor advertising, together with the company Zünd Systemtechnik (Zünd) from Altstätten SG, presented the only system in Switzerland to date that can print (on) advertising material and cut shapes. Although it is actually two separate systems - a digital printer and a cutter - the combination of the two machines makes the "Print+Cut" solution a particularly interesting addition to Christinger's machine park.fighting for attentionMichael Zünd represented his father Karl Zünd, owner and managing director, who was unable to attend for health reasons. In his presentation, Zünd explained that the aim of producing advertising material is to attract more attention than others and added that he believes this is possible with shape-cut products. There are many areas of application: Digitally printed and shape-cut products can be used as cardboard displays at the point of sale in supermarkets, retail stores or petrol stations, but also in trade fair construction, in sales rooms, on advertising walls and as stage sets. With the "Print+Cut" installation, materials can now be used that previously could not be used as advertising media or would have been too expensive to produce. Examples include small runs of printed and milled aluminum plates or wooden panels.
As new digital printing systems can be used to print on both rigid and flexible materials, sheets or rolls and can also use UV-drying inks, systems such as the large-format UVjet 250-Combi digital printing system are breaking into a segment that has long been dominated by screen printing. The UVjet also benefits from the advantage that, as with all digital printing processes, no printing form is actually required and therefore no production and material costs are incurred, making it ideal for printing short runs.
The combination makes the differenceHowever, the UVjet installed at Christinger is no longer a special feature on the Swiss market. It is the combination with the Zünd Cutter cutting system that makes the installation at the Schlieren-based company particularly interesting. The cutter can cut out figures or shapes from a wide variety of materials such as foam boards, cardboard, Plexiglas, foils, aluminum and wood using cutting and milling tools as well as printed orientation aids and cutting data. Graphic textiles can also be shaped with the cutter.
Karlheinz Kaiser, CEO at Christinger, mentioned that the boundaries between digital and analog printing systems have shifted due to increasing competition. He is enthusiastic about the possibilities and believes that his customers stand out with their customized designs. "Because they are printed digitally, stands can be produced individually and in much smaller runs than before - advertising materials for points of sale can be produced cost-effectively in small(est) series and exhibition stands can be redesigned at short notice. And these are just the classic applications ..."
Managing Director Toni Fricker is enthusiastic about the other possibilities that can be realized with the new combination of digital printer and cutter. Print+Cut systems are used primarily for the production of individual items or prototypes in a wide range of areas, from interior design to corporate decoration. "The production of an individual bistro table is possible - but this is just one of many examples," said Fricker. Compared to conventional production, the advantage of the system lies in its more cost-effective implementation: "There is no other way to subsequently cut digitally printed orders to a specific shape. An alternative would be to produce a cutting die, but this is not profitable for short runs and also takes a lot of time."
Printing and shaping The "Print+Cut" installation at Christinger Partner in Schlieren
consists of a UVjet 250-Combi large format printing system and
a Zünd cutter. The six-color printer, which was presented at the drupa trade fair last May, can be used for roll and sheet materials. With a maximum resolution of 400 dpi, the printer can print on both flexible and rigid materials up to 100 mm thick.
Print.
After printing, one or more panels are cut out of the subjects using special printed markings and with the help of a camera and the loaded digital cutting form (converted clipping data from Photoshop). The cutter can be used for depth-accurate cutting ("kiss-cutting"), through-cutting, creasing or milling. The right cutting or milling tools must be used with the cutter for the different materials. (jf)
Print, cut - done: advertising materials can be produced and shaped using a digital printing system (above) and cutter.
Jürgen Franck
As new digital printing systems can be used to print on both rigid and flexible materials, sheets or rolls and can also use UV-drying inks, systems such as the large-format UVjet 250-Combi digital printing system are breaking into a segment that has long been dominated by screen printing. The UVjet also benefits from the advantage that, as with all digital printing processes, no printing form is actually required and therefore no production and material costs are incurred, making it ideal for printing short runs.
The combination makes the differenceHowever, the UVjet installed at Christinger is no longer a special feature on the Swiss market. It is the combination with the Zünd Cutter cutting system that makes the installation at the Schlieren-based company particularly interesting. The cutter can cut out figures or shapes from a wide variety of materials such as foam boards, cardboard, Plexiglas, foils, aluminum and wood using cutting and milling tools as well as printed orientation aids and cutting data. Graphic textiles can also be shaped with the cutter.
Karlheinz Kaiser, CEO at Christinger, mentioned that the boundaries between digital and analog printing systems have shifted due to increasing competition. He is enthusiastic about the possibilities and believes that his customers stand out with their customized designs. "Because they are printed digitally, stands can be produced individually and in much smaller runs than before - advertising materials for points of sale can be produced cost-effectively in small(est) series and exhibition stands can be redesigned at short notice. And these are just the classic applications ..."
Managing Director Toni Fricker is enthusiastic about the other possibilities that can be realized with the new combination of digital printer and cutter. Print+Cut systems are used primarily for the production of individual items or prototypes in a wide range of areas, from interior design to corporate decoration. "The production of an individual bistro table is possible - but this is just one of many examples," said Fricker. Compared to conventional production, the advantage of the system lies in its more cost-effective implementation: "There is no other way to subsequently cut digitally printed orders to a specific shape. An alternative would be to produce a cutting die, but this is not profitable for short runs and also takes a lot of time."
Printing and shaping The "Print+Cut" installation at Christinger Partner in Schlieren
consists of a UVjet 250-Combi large format printing system and
a Zünd cutter. The six-color printer, which was presented at the drupa trade fair last May, can be used for roll and sheet materials. With a maximum resolution of 400 dpi, the printer can print on both flexible and rigid materials up to 100 mm thick.
Print.
After printing, one or more panels are cut out of the subjects using special printed markings and with the help of a camera and the loaded digital cutting form (converted clipping data from Photoshop). The cutter can be used for depth-accurate cutting ("kiss-cutting"), through-cutting, creasing or milling. The right cutting or milling tools must be used with the cutter for the different materials. (jf)
Print, cut - done: advertising materials can be produced and shaped using a digital printing system (above) and cutter.
Jürgen Franck
