As one of the UK's leading manufacturers of personalised greetings cards and wedding stationary, Shipley based Collisons has extended its portfolio to offer personalised PoS displays, children's door signs and height charts, wedding signage and plans, and gift-wrapping to complement the existing product range.
To extend its presence in these niche sectors the company acquired a HP FB500 digital printer with a 1.6m wide print capability and a DYSS X7 digital cutting machine.
The West Yorkshire company bought the flat bed printer to increase its product range and increase its share of an expanding industry sector. However, printing on media such as Foamex, corrugated board, paper and Correx from 5 to 10mm thick, the company needed a fast, flexible and highly capable cutting solution. Commenting upon the acquisition, Collisons General Manager, Mr Mike Lammas says: "We knew we needed a digital cutting table and out of all the vendors we approached, AG/CAD offered the most flexible and versatile machine for our needs with the DYSS X71630C. We needed a machine that would complement our new flatbed printer and with a 1.6 by 3.2m bed, the DYSS X7 was the perfect fit."
Located in the same building as Collisons is sister company Herbert Walker, a premium print and packaging business. Herbert Walker had already purchased a smaller AG CAD machine, a DYSS X5 and this supported the business decision to opt for the DYSS X7. As Mr Lammas continues: "The DYSS X5 has been working well cutting and creasing small format work for Herbert Walkers for a few years. However, we needed another solution for processing tough, large format materials. Whereas the X5 is ideal for thinner paper, card and board projects, Collisons needed a high powered routing head on a large and robust platform for heavier cutting applications."
The DYSS X5 machine at Herbert Walker has given the company reliable, efficient, flexible and cost effective cutting. Furthermore, the service, support and technical assistance has been second to none. So, it made sense for Collisons to buy from the same reputable source.
From a flexibility standpoint, the DYSS X7 meets a diverse range of needs at Collisons, as Mr Lammas says: "We have a HP360 Latex printer and the FB500 that are both 1.6m wide and they both feed the DYSS X7. To service jobs from the HP360, the DYSS has a roll feeding option that enables us to quickly transfer jobs from one machine to the next. This enables us to precisely cut print runs of 50 to 200+ prints regardless of their geometrical complexity. Additionally, the print jobs on the flat bed printer are also sent to the DYSS X7 for cutting.
Having all three machines together has enabled Collisons to rapidly grow into new markets and also streamline its business model. One factor that has supported the rapid throughput of work is the ability of the K-CUT Vision software on the DYSS machine to communicate with the RIP software on the printers. As Mr Lammas continues: "The RIP software prepares our files for print and it also introduces registration marks to each print, which the DYSS K-CUT camera system then picks up. This ensures that even if the jobs aren't aligned completely straight on the bed of the machine, the camera will locate the marks and automatically adjust the cutting path to suit."
"Jobs are processed via the RIPs which are also networked to the DYSS, so the cutter knows exactly what it is working on next. The only thing we have to do is load the appropriate board and let the camera locate the registration marks on the print; from there the machine does the rest to produce the finished job."
Flexibility was key when selecting the DYSS. With Collisons producing personalised children's bedroom decor, wedding stationary and PoS displays and signs, the company could be making a vast array of designs and patterns on a daily basis. To produce made-to-order products with a fast turnaround, speed and efficiency are of the essence, As Mr Lammas states: "Producing personalised height charts and bedroom letters for children means that we have to be extremely flexible. There is no such thing as a long production run on this side of our business."
"We have been hugely impressed with the DYSS X7. It is the ideal complement to our roll fed and flat bed printers as the bed dimensions are a perfect fit and its powerful cutting head can easily process all the different material types we throw at it. The productivity and flexibility have exceeded our expectations and the support from AG/CAD has been first class," concludes Mr Lammas.