The world of manufacturing has had a rapid change in the development of new technologies and techniques, that are replacing how manufacturing is done.

Newer technologies add speed, precision, and reduce wastage, but are expensive to implement; with the advent of manufacturing techniques, the cost of replacing old technology and investing in modern ones could be easily offset by the gains to be had in process efficiency.

This holds same for the printing industry, where newer technologies such as laser cutters and 3D printing have changed the whole outlook of the industry. The printing industry, starting from the mid-1400s, changed the way information was provided to ordinary people. The industry has seen three major upheavals in the scenario, with the advent of the photocopier, the desktop publishing industry, and now with 3D printing. However, traditional printing solutions still exist, and they use conventional methods to cut costs while printing in bulk.

The importance of cutting in the printing industry

TCurrently, in the printing industry, bulk printing is still the norm, with multiple pages of text printed on a large sheet of paper. The sheet is then cut, the pages arranged, and are bound to create books, magazines, and journals. The process of cutting was fairly standardised since the industrial revolution, with metal rules inserted into one side of the wood and the die cutter punching through the paper substrate to produce the final page. After the process was complete, the waste material could be removed. The process was fairly simple and could be used to make all sorts of designs, from business cards to bottle labels. However, creating the metal die was an expensive process, which could not be altered according to your requirement. Creating metal dies were only economically viable if the cutting was done in bulk.

The advent of laser cutting

Laser cutting is the newest entrant in the printing industry, providing a level of granular control, hitherto unheard of. Instead of cutting, lasers burn the paper to fit the desired shape required for the product. To best use the laser cutter, the following process is used:

• A wide roll of pre-printed paper is unwound using tension rollers into a glass tower.

• A laser would move across the glass, creating an outline.

• As the laser moves through, it burns through the paper, while a vacuum absorbs the smoke and paper dust.

• The unprinted waste paper is fed to more rollers that wind-up the web of paper onto a take-up reel for reprinting.

The laser cutting techniques allow for the use of digital data to control the laser beam. It could be used for a single prototype, or for multiple pieces of sheet paper. Since the movement of the laser is pre-programmable, it can be instantly changed without wasting time and money – (to buy the metal-cast die from third-party vendors, transport it to the printing press, and store it securely after use). If an alteration was required, the die needed to be re-cast again.

What are the benefits of laser cutters and die-cast cutters?

Both laser cutters and die-cast cutters provide a lot of intrinsic value for the printer, however, both have their uses in the printing process, with benefits for each process.

Laser cutters

• Laser cutters allow for intricate designs that metal dies cannot cut on to paper.
• Laser cutters do not have any overhead costs to produce prototypes.
• Laser cutters are not prone to edge dullness. In metal die-cast cutters, the edges eventually will become blunt after regular use due to wear and tear.
• All laser movement data is stored on a computer, allowing for infinite designs and patterns to be stored. For metal dies, each one has to be stored separately.
• Laser cutting equipment can be easily reconfigured to create a new pattern almost instantaneously.

Metal die-cutters

• Metal die cutters are more cost-effective on bulk-cutting when the same pattern needs to be cut for different paper types.
• Metal die cutters can often cut faster than laser cutters irrespective of the thickness of the source paper material.
• Metal die cutting equipment is cheaper than laser cutters.

Final verdict

Which kind of cutting equipment should you invest in? This question can be answered by your specific requirement. If you are into printing books, bottle labels, cartons, and so on, then metal die-cast cutting solutions seem perfect for your requirement. Alternatively, if your printing press offers creative solutions such as business cards, paper prototypes, flyers, and brochures, then laser cutting would be a better solution for your requirement.