Paterson, NJ – Lake Printing & Design www.lakeprinting.biz may fit the description of a small commercial printer, but owner Tom Goff has big plans on his mind. Two and a half months ago, Goff moved his six employees to a new 6,000 square facility on the north side of Charlotte, North Carolina. In December, he replaced an outdated trimmer with a reconditioned 37” Saber® paper cutter with Microcut® from Colter & Peterson, another sign that bigger and better things are on the horizon.

“This paper cutter is a real nice piece of machinery. It has increased our production since it is bigger and more powerful than what we had previously. Everyone here likes it,” remarked Goff, who got his start in the printing industry in 1982 and included a stint with R.R. Donnelly before opening his own shop. “It also fits well into our plans. Our next step is to move into doing more work in the 29” market. The cutter fits that sheet size very well.”

Lake Printing has long served its business-to-business local clientele, relying on a two-color Ryobi press and four-color A.B.Dick press to provide quick turnaround, short-run work for colleges and financial institutions. Conventional printing is 60% of their business, consisting of a steady diet of brochures, newsletters, labels and business products. But Goff says that dynamic is about to change. Digital printing has risen to 30%, and wide format is coming on strong.

“Wide format now accounts for 10% of our work and is an important growing part of our future.  It is another reason I chose the Saber paper cutter to help us with the larger materials we are handling. We recently installed a HP 360 Latex 64” Printer, along with the Summa D140 plotter and the Royal Sovereign 55” Heat Assist Laminator, to expand our presence in the wide format market. With these acquisitions, we are now producing a wide array of products including show graphics, mounted signage and vehicle wraps.”

Goff said adding the Saber was a logical move that only required a little research.

“We had a 30” Pro-Cut hydraulic cutter but it was a light production machine and I wanted to upgrade. I did an Internet search for new and used trimmers, then decided I didn’t want to spend money on a new machine. I bought the Saber after talking to people who were familiar with it. The cutter was built and refurbished here in the U.S, and it was important to me that it is as close to a new machine as you can get.”

Colter & Peterson is North America’s largest independent distributor of paper cutters and paper handling equipment. With over 80 years of benchmark results, the company also is the industry leader in rebuilding pre-used machines. Many of them now are equipped with a Microcut automated back gauge system, which improves speed and efficiency by memorizing all cutting sequences. A 15-inch touch screen control panel helps operators position the Saber’s blade to make highly accurate cuts within 1/64th of an inch.

“This cutter is a heavy duty machine,” confirmed Goff. “It has a double gear box so it is much faster, smoother and more efficient.  It fits right in with all the other equipment we have, and is part of the bigger plan we have for the future.”