No More Games

It's the smaller print shops in particular which are often confronted with the challenge of customers expecting the full service - including finishing processes, where cutting and embossing are seen as the norm. Up until now, print shops were generally faced with only two options in this regard - either they outsourced, or they had to use a platen or a cylinder. But now there is a cost-effective alternative: the Varimatrix 105. Prague-based K.P.R., a print shop in the Czech Republic, has been using it for cutting and embossing since last summer.

Who likes being dependent on the schedules and quality of outsourced service providers? It is in the area of finishing in particular that many print shops find it difficult to compete with large or specialized companies, generally due to the high outlay involved in purchasing the equipment. This is why the relevant orders are passed on to third party providers, with the hope that the result will turn out right - and if it doesn't, that the customer won't notice. Still, this kind of "game" can quickly become expensive, quite apart from the fact that dissatisfied customers are prepared to change suppliers at the drop of a hat - if the finishing is no good, it doesn't matter how good the print job was. Using external suppliers therefore involves all kinds of hidden risks. It's important to note that highly specialized cutting and embossing machines also need to be run continuously at capacity for them to be profitable. And the old Heidelberg cylinders or platens need a lot of time to deliver quality products.

The Varimatrix 105 die cutter offers a way out of this dilemma, as it is a true entry-level model. The machine was developed in Taiwan and is also built there as a licensed product, but Heidelberg made many technical revisions to the basic model, modifying it to such an extent that it can now proudly boast the GS test mark (safety-tested to the internationally acknowledged strict requirements of the German standard). With this distinction, Varimatrix 105 has the potential to become a real sales hit, even internationally. It is already fully integrated in the Heidelberg global service parts logistics set-up - and this without the machines which have so far been delivered being known for unscheduled "pit stops."

No scrap iron and high-speed. The Varimatrix can even be used with the old tools from the platen, cylinder or other die cutters, meaning that the user has absolutely no need to be anxious about "hidden"
costs. But whereas on a platen "only" 1,000 to 2,000 sheets per hour are possible (depending on the application), the Varimatrix, running at its peak, can process up to 7,500 sheets an hour - depending on
the type of material used and other factors, such as the type and difficulty of the cutting required. This means that instead of having to turn down an order because the capacity of the old platens will be exceeded, or else having to outsource it and thereby pass on some of the profit to the finisher, the Varimatrix allows you to create a lot more added value in-house. On a 15,000-sheet job, you can more or less rely on the fact that what used to take almost two days at 1,000 sheets per hour on the platen, resulting in delayed delivery, can be managed on the Varimatrix 105 in around two hours. Additional jobs can then be dealt with in the time saved. A great leap forward in terms of productivity - and that at low cost - has now become reality. So it's goodbye to those finishing bottlenecks!

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