Gent (Belgium) -- i-cut, inc., a new OEM business unit developed from EskoArtwork's acquisition of Mikkelsen Graphics Engineering (MGE), debuts at booth 3966 during ISA International Sign Expo 2009, April 15-18 in Las Vegas, where it shows the benefits of digital finishing technology to 'design, RIP, print, finish, and deliver'. The company will display its new i-cut 7.0 as well as its i-script and ai-cut technologies.

"i-cut inc.'s 'vision' continues the work we began at MGE," comments Steen Mikkelsen, EskoArtwork Vice President. "With the introduction of i-cut 7.0, we keep on developing cutting edge vision software for finishing machines serving sign and display companies. We look forward to showing leaders in our industry how our technology can benefit sign shop customers."

Mikkelsen Graphics Engineering (MGE) has the longest track record of working with its customers to provide the best possible workflow solutions for specialty graphics printing and finishing. The industry's leading vision-based finishing/cutting workflow tools, i-cut and i-script, were developed by MGE. Due to this extensive technology track record, over 36 of the industry's leading RIP, printer and cutter and router manufacturers team with MGE's software solutions. After EskoArtwork's acquisition of MGE in late 2008, the OEM efforts of the company continued as i-cut inc., a wholly owned business unit of EskoArtwork.

i-cut's new i-cut 7.0 vision software takes print material specifications from the work stream, including cutting keys that supply operators with optimized tool settings and blade/bit recommendations to new way to process materials with preset cutting parameters. This makes finishing setup even easier and simplifies the tasks necessary for start-up of each unique job.  i-cut 7.0 sports a new, streamlined multi-document user interface and is fully Microsoft VISTA compatible. There are a number of enhanced production tools. By eliminating a pen lift with multi-pass routing, it provides improved speed. A new registration algorithm-including the ability to read all registration marks before cutting-delivers improved quality with placement registration. A new tool offset algorithm handles close curves as one unit, while improvements have also led to smoother cuts. Users can now export i-cut data to PDF format to print jobs or return them to an editing application, such as Adobe Illustrator. A new, advanced help system is available from all dialogs, and is provided with multimedia teaching videos, schematics, and animations. Visitors can see i-cut 7.0 in action on the Kongsberg i-XL 24 on the EskoArtwork booth.

i-cut will also demonstrate the power of a complete i-Script workflow, the interface between the digital print RIP software and the i-cut digital finishing system, effectively connecting and automating the graphic design process and the finishing data. i-script ensures that the operator does not have to re-register the tool head for each printed element on each sheet. EskoArtwork (booth 3553) will be receiving from partners on the ISA floor a number of different jobs printed on a variety of substrates. Printed pieces will be placed on the Kongsberg table randomly, but will be able to effectively cut each board correctly.

The ai-cut plug-in, an add-on for Adobe Illustrator, will be exhibited, streamlining the design process for setting up files for i-cut. It automatically inserts registration marks to help set up print/cut files that are later cut with EskoArtwork digital cutting/routing systems.

Partners at ISA

i-cut inc.'s influence in the sign and display industry is evident in some of the partners who will be displaying its technology. Among others, they include:

•    EskoArtwork (booth 3553) will be displaying a Kongsberg XP44 with i-cut digital cutting table, Kongsberg i-XL 24, i-R 1530 M i-cut Graphics Router.

•    AXYZ International (booth 5562) will be demonstrating an i-cut Graphics Router developed with I-cut inc.

•    Omnitech Systems Inc. (booth 1553) is displaying a Q-Kut router with knife cutting capabilities.

•    Pitman Company (booth 1905) will be exhibiting a Kongsberg i-XL24 table.