The reasons include:

– Rotary micro-perf blades for folding machines come as a standard 12TPI (teeth per inch). True micro-perforating perf rules used on a flatbed cylinder start at 17 TPI.

– The very nature of rotary micro-perforating goes against the fundamental principles adopted by flatbed cylinders. The rotary perf blade is simply too harsh when it runs against the steel cutting anvil, pushing the stock and forming a ridge before puncturing it and dispersing paper dust below. The paper dust and ridge can cause problems for those jobs that need to run through another process.

Metal against metal is a recipe for disaster

It’s a fact that blade running against anvil, or metal running against metal is no more than a recipe for disaster. Something is always likely to wear out or break and it usually happens when you least want it to, costing precious time and money.

It’s not hard to understand why micro-perforating is usually outsourced given that flatbed methods gently press up to 72 cuts per inch into the surface of the material without damaging the fibres. In fact, it has become an industry standard over the past few years for micro-perforating applications to be fine and flat and without any distortion so that the perfed sheets can run trouble-free through laser printers. You can also tell when a pile of sheets are micro-perfed correctly because they lie flat; whereas the ridge created by traditional micro-perforating devices builds up to create an oval shaped stack, making guillotining more troublesome.

The rotary method of micro-perforating adopted worldwide that incorporates the overlap of blade against a cutting anvil simply hides any possible imperfections. There is no quick way of telling if a blade is slightly oval-shaped or under the specified tolerances because it will always penetrate the stock during production. However, you may measure mid to long term wear by the burred edges that form on the blades or the amount of broken perf teeth you acquire or by the amount you spend on replacements each and every month or year.

The Tech-ni-Fold Micro-perforator was created as a result of extensive market research. The system produces an array of micro-perf options, and it was designed using new technology that adds strength and longevity to the unit, so that it greatly outlasts conventional methods many times over.

Unlike conventional perfs, the Tech-ni-Fold Micro-Perforator is designed to kiss-cut the sheet, and the narrow profile perf blade cuts through only to the bottom of the sheet, not beyond, which also minimises the knife area in actual contact with the sheet.

This means users get a cleaner, finer cut which permits the sheet to lie flat, and because the Tech-ni-Fold Micro-Perforator’s blade is mounted on a special shock-absorbing cushion, users get an accurate, precise kiss-cut the entire length of the sheet. Tech-ni-Fold Micro-Perforator blades are break-resistant for the following reasons:

– Strong double bevel construction; the hard wearing blades have been specially designed to penetrate paper.

– They cut against a comparatively softer nylon rather than steel. You get perfect, straight line micro perfs.

– The Tech-ni-Fold Micro-perforator is the only rotary action solution that replicates the proven micro-perf results you see come from the flatbed cylinder. The package includes 17, 25 and 52 teeth per inch blades that deal with stock ranges 65-350gsm and a choice of two nylon cutting anvils that greatly minimise blade wear.

Benefits of the Tech-ni-Fold Micro-Perforator include:

– Eliminates micro perf outsourcing.

– Save hours and days in turnaround time.

– Produces sheets that will run through laser printers and copiers.

– Sells jobs that you used to turn away.

– Saves money on replacing printing press blankets.

– No installation required, simply slide onto the folder’s slitter shafts.

– Frees up your printing press and die cutter for more profitable work.

– Never break a perf blade again.

Tech-ni-Fold products are available in South Africa from:

ATS – Advanced Technology Solutions (+27 11) 675 6397 nadine.hayns@ats-sa.co.za   www.ats-sa.co.za

Included were:

• Smart Electric Guillotine 4908, featuring a wide format pushage system, blade latch patent, touchscreen for diagnosis and function and blade changing reminder.

• Smart Hydraulic Guillotine R6710, featuring sophisticated modern design and patent of inclined cutting and rotary hydraulic actuator technology. Blade depth can be adjusted from outside.

• Smart Perfect Glue Binder K8 – guides on both sides ensure stable carriage movement, three binding modes, touchscreen with 7 sub menu, on board operating manual and fault finding diagnostic.

• Smart Automatic Creasing/Perforating Machine YH520L, featuring roll scoring, paper feed by air suction and accurate positioning.

• Smart Corner Round Cutter DQ807, featuring 80mm max. cutting height and wide table.

• Smart Booklet Makers ST100, featuring 40 sheet saddle binding thickness and 25 sheet flat binding thickness.

•Smart Digital Creasing/Perforating Machine K330A2, featuring error warning display, default creasing data and serve motor with +/-0.2mm accuracy. Creasing perforating pressure is adjustable.

Hi-Tech Business Systems (+27 31) 564 1728 http://www.hitech1.co.za