BW Bielomatik launch in line sheeter for large format offset presses

Print Solutions

For many years, offset printers have installed inline sheeters to achieve greater speed and better reliability with lightweight paper or plastic films, or to enjoy the cost difference between rolls and sheets. Over 700 units mainly in 105 or 106 formats are operating today.

Some of these printers have upgraded to large format 145 or 165 presses only to find that no in line sheeter option was available.

The task of building a sheeter over 50% wider with increased speed and more automation is very challenging. These machines need to follow the press and are required to start and stop within milliseconds whilst maintaining sheet accuracy and sheet synchronisation. The increased width and maximum sheet length result in greatly increased inertia, the enemy of fast start and stop.

The Stuttgart based design team of BW Papersystems utilised leading edge controls technology and called on know how from US based colleagues to harness established BW Papersystems technology, to decrease the impact of this increased mass and inertia.

The results have been stunning. During testing the machine could switch from 200 g/m2 material to 40 g/m2 with virtually no manual intervention or impact on speed. The LFS 165 sheeter ran consistently at 300 metres per minute matching the requirement of the latest large format sheet fed offset presses.

The BW Bielomatik LFS 165 model represents a large step forward in speed, lightweight material performance and automation. It is available to all press manufacturers and can also be installed to machinery already in production.