Esko will present the North American launch of a new Kongsberg digital finishing platform, and show a new, optional extension to its recently introduced Kongsberg C-series when it demonstrates the Kongsberg V for Sign and Display Production and the Kongsberg C64 at booth 2103 during the ISA International Sign Expo, April 24-26 in Orlando Florida. The two systems reveal a completely new range of Kongsberg tables that offer both smaller and larger shops the opportunity to operate Kongsberg systems for different uses.
“Our Kongsberg development team has been very busy over the past couple of years,“ explains Tony Wiley, Esko North America president. “At SGIA we introduced the large, Kongsberg C series of digital finishing tables that, at ISA Sign Expo, will be exhibited with an auto-feeding system. At ISA Sign Expo we have the North American launch the Kongsberg V for Sign and Display Production, a cost-effective cutting table for the smaller shop. Even the Kongsberg XN table, on display on our booth, was introduced just two years ago at drupa. It provides a wide variety of systems for sign and display companies to choose from.”
Cost-effective cutting with the industry’s most solid table
ISA Sign Expo will signal the North American launch of the Kongsberg V, a cutting table that delivers durability, precision and ease of use at an attractive price. The Kongsberg V series features the same, rock-solid Kongsberg tabletop construction. In fact, most Kongsberg cutting tables—thousands of them—are still in operation today. Kongsberg V cutters offer a broad selection of tools, providing quality results on a wide range of cutting, creasing, and plotting activities. It has many of the popular features that have made Kongsberg tables popular, such as the i-cut Vision Pro camera system, which ensures print-to-cut registration, even with print-distorted materials. Exchanging different tools is quick, tool-free and error-free because every insert is identified by a unique bar code. Insert knife tools are available for cutting a wide range of materials, from thin paper to synthetic sheets through heavy-duty packaging and display material. The tooling selection also includes creasing, plotting and drilling tools.
There are two models of Kongsberg V tables. At ISA Sign Expo, Esko will demonstrate the Kongsberg V for Signage and Display Production, which comes with a MultiCUT tool head for milling productivity, along with a camera system. The MultiCUT combines all tool insert options with a milling spindle up to 45.000 RPM, perfect for a wide range of sign and display materials including acrylics and other synthetics. The camera system and innovative front-end software make it the perfect solution for smaller sign and display production.
Kongsberg C64: A larger finishing table re-engineered for the 21st century
Esko will be demonstrating its new Kongsberg C digital finishing series, a completely re-engineered and redesigned platform for Kongsberg finishing systems. One of the most noticeable new features is the innovative composite traverse technology that provides the fastest throughput along with the highest quality and precision in cutting and routing compared to all other systems of the same size. Just as impressive, the Kongsberg C provides the highest versatility for all sign, display and packaging applications. It does all this while making it easy to use the machine – from the new, simple interface to the ease of replacing tools on the table.
At ISA Sign Expo, Esko demonstrates the Kongsberg C64 model: it works with 126-inch-wide-by-126-inch long materials to accommodate today’s large format printing sizes. Also available is the Kongsberg C60 model to accommodate 126-inch-wide-by-63-inch long sizes.
Along with the Kongsberg C64 system will be an auto feeding system, capable of handling a wide range of rigid and flexible media, picking up materials from a pallet or table. It eliminates the manual loading of large format materials, thus preventing imperfections caused by manual handling.
Also on the booth will be the Kongsberg i-XN24, Esko’s most versatile, mid-range digital finishing device, able to working with just about any substrate, from thin flexibles, to foam, to fluted materials, to rigid boards. It can be easily configured for the widest range of applications: from kiss cutting to heavy-duty milling. Most important, the Kongsberg XN can be equipped with a very powerful, optional 3kW, water-cooled milling spindle, the MultiCUT- High Power, offering up to three times greater milling productivity. The Kongsberg XN offers a variety of proven options including cutting registration to printed artwork, tool heads and tool inserts to extend flexibility, and productivity add-ons like a material conveyor, an AutoFeeder or a Roll-Off unit.
i-cut Suite: Software to power the design to print to cut workflow
i-cut Suite is software that lets sign & display companies streamline their workflows. It preflights and edits incoming PDF files, ensuring that jobs will RIP and print correctly. It also helps build and edit sheet layouts, ensuring that jobs make the optimum use of substrates through intelligent true shape nesting and tiling. Kongsberg table technology ensures that die-less cutting contours match printed images perfectly, registering the actual dimensions and positioning cuts on the printed result. With i-cut Automate, all of these functions are automated in a single workflow, with less operator intervention.
In a more commoditized market, sign & display shops are also realizing that unique 3D display projects offer higher margins. More and more companies are investing in ArtiosCAD for structural design. ArtiosCAD 12 has an extensive library of resizable display designs to help designers so they do not have to start from scratch designing new displays.
“Our customers understand that a wide format printer is just the start of a complete digital system. You need an effective workflow and finishing system to really deliver high quality, cost effective work with high profit margins,” concludes Wiley. “We look forward to showing guests to our booth how Esko can really extend their product offerings.”
