Polar shrinks makeready at Hatano

A Japanese company says it has cut its makeready times drastically after introducing Polar’s Compucut softwareto its business.

Polar supplier Heidelberg says that makeready has become a crucial factor in production because of the increase in short run jobs. As the first Compucut user in Japan, Hatano Corporation wanted to increase production speed. Akiyuki Mimura (pictured above), general production manager, says, “Our high expectations turned into reality. We have been able to reduce make-ready time on our two guillotines by 75 percent.”

Hatano uses two Polar high-speed cutters: one 92 XTplus with variable knife speed and one 115 XT with swivel backgauge and downholder in front of the knife. Integrated into the digital workflow, both machines have stack lift and jogger and are.

Heidelberg conducted on-site training with Hatano’s prepress operators. The process involves the prepress operator opening a self-generated JDF file to generate the cutting programme, then transferring the programme directly into the Polar.

Hatano also uses the optional variable knife speed on the Polar 92, which enables the operator to match the knife speed to different materials to be cut. The company says that using an incorrect knife speed leads to problems on some materials, such as the trimmed edges of material sticking together. By adjusting the knife speed, even plastic material can be cut without limits or loss of quality.

The company’s 50 employees produce high quality labels, clear files and marketing promotions. Hatano offers UV-printing, hot foil stamping and flatbed die-cutting.

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