04/11/2007 -- At China Print 2005 in Beijing, Heidelberg unveiled its Varimatrix 105 CS (CS stands for cutting and stripping) die-cutter, a cost-effective entry-level solution for packaging and commercial printers. More than 60 of the die-cutters have now been sold, over 60 percent of them installed in Europe. The first Varimatrix 105 CS in Germany was recently installed at Kohlschein in Viersen. This successful owner-run SME has been processing paper and cardboard for over 70 years. A workforce of 160 split between the company's two sites develops and produces high-quality displays for all the big cosmetics manufacturers. The displays have very complicated designs that require many pieces of waste to be stripped. The Varimatrix 105 CS removes these automatically with its stripping station. The company's Manager and Head of Marketing Oliver Höflich summarizes his positive impressions as follows: "The display production process is much more effective with the Varimatrix 105 CS because staff no longer have to strip manually and are able to concentrate on more skilled work. The automated production process also eliminates manual sources of error." Prague-based print shop K.P.R., where the Czech Republic's first Varimatrix 105 CS has been up and running since last summer, also swears by the die-cutter. Commercial printing used to be dependent on external suppliers but the Varimatrix has now made it possible to generate much greater added value in-house. "Because the wide variety of jobs we undertake necessitates relatively frequent die-cutting, we have also invested in postpress," explains print shop Director Ji?í Tomek. In addition to the greater flexibility of the Varimatrix 105, the K.P.R. print shop particularly appreciates its high productivity and shorter make-ready times. Thanks to the die-cutter, K.P.R. achieves production speeds of 6,000 to 7,000 sheets per hour, depending on the complexity of the job. At the same time - thanks to the large sheet format of 75 x 105 centimeter (29.5 x 41.3 inch) that can be processed - more blanks per sheet can be printed and die-cut on the Varimatrix. The main factor in achieving significantly shorter make-ready times than with the old die-cutters was the fact that the Varimatrix offers a whole host of automation and control elements that provide information relating to the individual machine component settings. K.P.R. is now also able to archive tools - once they have been set up - with the help of thin, exchangeable plates. This significantly reduces the preparation time for repeat jobs. The Prague print shop currently uses the Varimatrix 105 CS for runs of approximately 100 sheets and above, but the die-cutter can also be used for jobs running to over 300,000 sheets. The GP-Tryk print shop has been operating Denmark's first Varimatrix CS 105 for over a year, longer than any other company. It was brought in to replace a Heidelberg cylinder press. "With the Varimatrix, we can handle all kinds of jobs - whatever the format. Our productivity has increased by several hundred percent and our quality is also much better. The capacity is unbelievable. It has made us very competitive, in particular for print runs exceeding 4,000 copies. Most other companies have difficulty keeping up with us,” says Jan Sortkjær, co-owner of GP-Tryk. "The die-cutter has won us many new customer and new orders," adds Henrik Kruse, co-owner and Head of Sales. This is good news for the 28 staff at the print shop, which supplies other printing companies and advertising agencies. Even more added value for print shops The Varimatrix 105 CS cuts and embosses paper of 80 gram per square meter and above, card or solid board up to 1,400 gram per square meter and corrugated board up to a thickness of four millimeter (0.16 inch) at a maximum processing speed of 7,500 sheets per hour and a maximum cutting force of 300 ton. The sheet formats that can be processed range from a minimum of 370 x 400 millimeter (14.6 x 15.7 inch) to a maximum of 750 x 1,050 millimeter (29.5 x 41.3 inch). A cost-effective entry-level solution to die-cutting and embossing, the Varimatrix 105 CS scores well thanks to its high flexibility and short make-ready times. User guidance via a touchscreen display ensures easy handling, and even small jobs can be processed productively. The Varimatrix already incorporates gripper margin removal as standard. The die-cutter works according to the principle of a mobile lower plate, ensuring high-quality die-cutting. The variable lock-up frame can be used for various die-cutting dimensions, which means that existing die-cutting tools can still be used. In the feeder itself, a double sheet detector ensures that sheets are fed in reliably and precisely. To enable the print sheets to be processed accurately, the standard lays on both sides of the machine can be switched directly from pull to push mode. In the cutting station, stripping is performed with complete tools or using upper and lower pins. In addition to the Varimatrix 105 CS, for packaging applications Heidelberg offers the Dymatrix 106 CSB (B stands for blanking) die-cutter, which has been available since drupa 2004. The Dymatrix is intended for complex applications with a maximum speed of 9,000 sheets per hour. A further option is the Dymatrix 142 CSB, a die-cutter for 100 x 140 centimeter (39.4 x 55.1 inch) formats. The range also includes ECO and Diana folder gluers, which fold and glue packaging made from cardboard and corrugated board.