As one of the UK’s largest retail PoS and PoP printers, the Bradford based company did its due diligence and this resulted in the installation at its 30,000 sq ft premises of a DYSS X5-1630 and KASEMAKE software from AG/CAD.
As part of his research Managing Director, Mr John Charman, immediately recognised that the robust, high quality build of the DYSS was far superior to its competitors. However, the new addition wasn’t bought purely upon its construction; productivity, precision, reliability and service were all also key factors in the decision.
Explaining the reasoning behind the decision to consider a third digital cutter for the business, Mr Charman says: “Our two existing digital cutting tables are allocated to specific tasks. One is purely used for prototyping work, making 4-6 prototype display units for customers each day. The other machine is utilised for production packaging. We needed a larger, faster machine for production purposes, something that would also release capacity from the cutter allocated to packaging whilst offering back-up for the prototyping cutter.”
With the fragrance and cosmetic industry representing over 40% of Creative Display’s business, a typical production run for this kind of PoS display work is from 30 to 100 units, although runs sometimes exceed quantities of 500. This relatively low production volume is ideally suited to a digital cutter as the lower quantities often make it financially restrictive to add the cost and delay of procuring cutting formes into the equation. As Mr Charman continues: “We were spending anything from £2,000 to £3,000 per month on cutting formes and this has to be added to the cost of the work we were producing. By using the DYSS, we have eliminated this expense and reduced costs for our customer base. Furthermore, removing the reliance on cutting formes has improved throughput and workflow, significantly reducing our lead-times.”
Cutting outgoings by up to £3,000 each month on die formes is just the start of the benefits of the new machine for the 36 employee company. The 3.2m by 1.6m cutting area on the DYSS has also given Creative Display the capacity to undertake large-format work. Previously outsourcing upwards of 10 to 15 large-format projects each month, Creative is now saving an additional £1,500 per month by bringing this type of work in-house. Again, having this capability internally has streamlined this process and reduced lead-times.
Running the business on a two-shift pattern, Creative Display has identified that the DYSS X5-1630 is at least 30% more productive than the other cutters. In addition, the company has noticed that the KASEMAKE CAD software from AG/CAD is also significantly more user friendly and faster to create structural designs for PoS with than its legacy CAD software. This means that three of the five internal designers employed by the company have already switched over to using the KASEMAKE software.
Since the arrival of the DYSS, the remit of the design department now also encompasses the internal design and production of packaging for shipping its products. With corrugated packaging construction accounting for 60% of the business, the cutting of BC flute board for boxing-up its own PoS work is bread and butter for the Yorkshire based business. Once again, by having this capability and cutting capacity on the DYSS, Creative has brought work in-house that was previously outsourced, saving over £1,500 per month in costs. Combining this saving with the reduced cutting forme costs and the outsourcing of large format work, the DYSS has slashed costs at Creative by around £6,000 per month. The combination of these savings will see the business achieve a rapid return on investment.
With reference to the quality of the work produced on the DYSS, Mr Charman says: “The DYSS is built on an extremely strong base and the speed and precision is giving our business big productivity and capacity benefits. The cutting head is much faster than the existing machines and it also generates a better cut quality and improved creasing. This is down to its ability to generate higher pressure on the creasing tools, and faster oscillating speeds with the knife tools, as well as better and more precise control of the movement of the machine during cutting operations, especially on detailed work.”
“One of the other main factors in selecting the DYSS was the service and support package. AG/CAD provided exemplary service from the general enquiry stage through to commissioning and training. The after sales support also extended to the KASEMAKE CAD software; in the first couple of months after software training, our staff is pushing the boundaries of their CAD knowledge, and AG/CAD has been on-hand to assist every step of the way.”
“We’ve only had the DYSS on-site for a few months, but it has already made a huge difference. It is running 16 hours a day, taking capacity from our prototyping and production machines as well as handling the large format work. This gives us a great deal of extra flexibility and enables us to react even faster as a business. We are genuinely very impressed with the machine and the service – it is really refreshing compared to our experiences with our previous machines. We are confident that the DYSS digital cutter and KASEMAKE software will help future proof the business, standing us in good stead for whatever developments and challenges we may face over the mid and long term in this fast moving, demanding industry.” concludes Mr Charman.
