The DYSS device, which was bought from AG/CAD, has been installed at the company’s 1,860sqm premises in the last few months and has joined kit including a seven-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 102 UV press and a Screen Truepress Jet W3200UV HS wide-format flatbed printer.
The 3x1.6m DYSS machine was purchased to replace a smaller, slower and ageing cutter.
Print-Leeds managing director Rod Fisher said: “We bought the previous cutter to reduce our reliance on dies and subsequent costs. However, as the POS and packaging work has grown, we’ve recognised the need for a machine much larger than the previous B2 format.
“We also needed a router cutting capability for the ever increasing diversity of tough materials we handle, something our previous machine couldn't offer.”
The company came to the decision after looking at a range of alternatives on the market.
“The DYSS immediately stood out above the competition for its build quality, capability and the price point. I asked my technical team to take a more detailed look at it and they were thoroughly impressed,” said Fisher.
The machine can cut materials including polypropylene, PVC, foam board, acrylic and vinyl. The additional DYSS X7 Superhead, which has an oscillating knife tool, can be used for high speed routing as well as creasing, kiss-cutting and a raft of precise cutting operations.
“Having the ability to cut three-metre printed boards and sheets on the DYSS has already made significant savings over its smaller predecessor. Moreover, we can cut a number of smaller jobs from a single sheet and this has reduced setup times considerably, improving productivity by over 20%,” said Fisher.
“Furthermore, the DYSS can cut jobs at least 30% faster than the previous machine. The Truepress was recently upgraded to a high speed model and, without the equally fast DYSS, we would have had a major bottleneck.”
Prior to investing in the DYSS machine, Print-Leeds was outsourcing a percentage of its litho work that required cutting. The company said the machine has reduced its reliance on subcontractors by at least 20% and will save it more than £20,000 a year.
Separately, the firm, which has a turnover of more than £5m, has strengthened its digital print and management team with three new appointments, bringing its total number of staff to 40.
Richard Tandy and Adam Rider have joined the digital print team – Tandy as an account manager in digital sales and Rider as a digital print operator.
Isobel Hainsworth-Brear, meanwhile, has joined the management team as a director, heading up the firm’s marketing function and working on a range of special projects for the management team.
“The company continues to grow as we find new markets across all the divisions and the addition of highly experienced staff is of great value to us,” said Fisher.
“We are renowned for our high quality digital work and this division is showing strong growth.”
