WestPack, booth #3578, Anaheim, CA – January 6, 2004 - Esko-Graphics, the market leader in packaging and CtP solutions, rolls out the Kongsberg Digital Converting Machine (DCM) at WestPack, January 6-8, 2004, at Anaheim, CA to converters in North America. Based on the successful Kongsberg XL series of cutting and creasing tables for packaging applications, the Kongsberg DCM automatically loads sheets from a stack of material up to 24” thick, cuts and creases each sheet from a CAD file, and unloads the sheet – running virtually unattended. No cutting die is required, generating further savings in cost and turnaround time. Producing small runs very profitably, the DCM can pay for itself within a year. With greater demands to get products to market quickly, packagers and display makers can use the Kongsberg DCM to help meet deadlines by producing sample packaging for market testing. However, with the experience Esko-Graphics has gleaned from a few bell-weather installations over the past year, there’s a tremendous opportunity for converters to expand services for customers by providing profitable, short run production. Most converters who own DCMs in their design departments have frequently used them for small production runs. Because the DCM provides automatic loading and unloading with very short start-up and change-over times, it can operate minimal labor labor. By eliminating the costs and time associated with cutting dies and going directly to production once the CAD design is ready, short run orders of up to 300-400 pieces can be very profitable. The DCM offers automated sheet cycling, featuring a load frame that instantly and simultaneously loads a fresh sheet and moves away the completed sheet. The DCM is equipped with several other features for efficiency and productivity, such as an automatic knife tip sensor to assure the knife blade is intact, vacuum sensors, traffic light for visibility of machine and job status, and simple, intuitive user interface. Extensive safety features comply with international regulations. “The ability to cut and crease from digital files offers new opportunities for a wide variety of market applications. The DCM is perfect for small runs of customized packaging or short runs of reorders,” observes Don Skenderian, Esko-Graphics director of sales, packaging CAD/CAM. “Some companies need unusual packaging and are wiling to pay a premium for small quantities. We have seen converters exploit the DCM for new, high margin opportunities – even hiring separate sales forces for small run, high value projects, such as custom packaging and trial runs.”