
THERM-O-TYPE Zip-A3 Cutter/Slitter is available
for large and small production facilities. The Zip-A3 is designed to
handle print-on-demand business cards, playing cards, tickets, post
cards, greeting cards and other multiple-up products commonly produced
using digital output equipment on sheets up to 12.6" by 20".
The Zip-A3
programmable cutter/slitter offers several unique capabilities:
Inline
rotary gutter-cut slitting, scoring and perforating capabilities.
These
capabilities are especially important for customers producing ticket, foldover business cards and two-up greeting cards.
Crosscutting can be
registered from the edge of the sheet or a registration mark.
Edge
registration mode is usually used when running black or dark colored
stocks. The registration mark mode is the most popular registration mode
because it automatically compensates for vertical registration errors.
Processing laminated or un-laminated sheets.
The Zip-A3 feeder,
guillotine cutter, paper advance mechanism, rotary tooling cassette and
delivery are designed to handle laminated and un-laminated sheets.


The Zip-A3 can feed un-laminated or laminated sheets as well as a
laminated web.
Processing a laminated web of paper.
This capability is important to customers who use inexpensive laminate
to protect toner image areas and to simulate UV coating.
Operates with light and dark colored stocks,
including black.
The Zip-A3 optical registration system can be set to detect almost all
paper color and finish combinations.
Minimum crosscut length of 1 1/2".
This feature allows two rows of tickets to be crosscut, then slit and
perforated in a single pass.
A friction feeder is used on the Zip-A3. Maximum feeder paper capacity
is rated at up to 1 1/2" of stock. Paper side guides are adjustable with
a single knob to the centerline of the machine. A second knob provides
micro side-to-side paper position adjustment. Non-marking feed wheels
are used to advance stock into the machine.
A guillotine cutter crosscuts stock as it passes through the machine.
Crosscut position information is easily entered and can be stored. The
crosscut can be registered from either the edge of the paper, or from a
registration mark printed at the lead edge of each sheet. Registering
from a mark compensates for vertical imprint registration errors. Lead
edge registration is most often used when running black or dark colored
stocks. Programmable crosscutting allows a scissor-cut or a variable
size gutter to be removed. The guillotine cutter also removes lead and
tail edge trim. After crosscutting, sheets are conveyed to the rotary
tooling cassette.
A removable slitting/scoring/perforating cassette is mounted at the
delivery end of the machine. 6mm (.236") wide gutter-cut slitting blades
are typically used to remove bleeds. Optional 1/8" (.125") wide
gutter-cut blades are also available. While pre-configured cassettes are
normally used, gutter-cut slitting blade spacing can be adjusted within
the cassette. The space between the guillotine cutter and cassette
allows two-up 8 1/2" by 11" sheets to be cut from an over-size A3 sheet.
Various combinations of slitting, scoring and perforating blades and
hubs can be supported in cassettes.
Pre-configured cassettes, w/slitting, scoring
and perforating tooling, can be installed in about a minute.
Removable, pre-configured cassettes allow standard products to be easily
and uniformly produced. Format changeover, using pre-configured
cassettes, takes about a minute. These cassettes offer superior
flexibility, accuracy and versatility over machines with fixed tooling
or machines that require disassembly and re-assembly each time a
different job format is run.
Finished material is delivered to a platform located at the delivery end
of the machine. Partitions are attached to the delivery platform
magnetically. Individual partitions are easy to install and adjust.
An optional, slow delivery conveyor is available. The delivery conveyor
can be run in manual (on/off) or automatic mode. When running in the
automatic mode, the delivery conveyor is turned on when the rotary
tooling cassette drive is activated. This mode improves product delivery
onto the conveyor.
Operators can switch between the standard delivery and the optional
delivery conveyor in less than a minute without using any tools.
Zip-A3 with optional slow delivery conveyor
The Zip-A3 can easily handle 24-up business card formats printed on
oversize A3 sheets. Using a gutter-cut guillotine crosscut and
gutter-cut slitting blades, four-sided bleed cards can be produced. Up
to eight, 24-up business card sheets can be run through the Zip-A3 per
minute. This allows a five hundred business card order (21 sheets of
24-up cards) to be produced in just over two and a half minutes.
The Zip-A3 programmable cutter/slitter is not a high production business
card slitter. However, the Zip-A3 offers a unique combination of
capabilities and features that make it ideal for any digital output
production facility.