What does the machine do?
We use the DC-645 to cut and crease many of our products, which include personalised greetings cards of various sizes, calendars, posters and our new range of notebooks.
Why did you choose this particular machine?
We researched the market and found that, while there were a number of rival machines suitable for cutting and folding paper, the DC-645 was the only one we could find that would automatically carry out the process. The operator-friendly software makes it extremely easy to set up jobs.
Did you look at any other similar machines?
We looked at a number of products and options, including guillotines and standalone creasing machines.
Why did you make the purchase?
We believed the DC-645 to be the best machine on the market to meet the high demands of our company, while giving a quality finish to all our products.
What features do you particularly like?
I like the ability to stack jobs in the machine and to be able to walk away while the process is being carried out. Also, the software has a wizard, which makes it very easy to set up jobs.
Is there anything that you dislike?
No.
Is there anything that you wish it had that it doesn’t?
It would be good if the machine could actually fold the product, although I understand that this is now available as a separate add on.
How fast is it?
It’s fine, especially if you take the register mark reader off. However, to do this you have to ensure that your paper is the right size every time.
How reliable is it?
If maintained correctly the machine is very reliable.
What’s the quality like?
It’s been excellent.
How easy is it to use?
After training, it’s a very simple machine to use.
How much time or money has it saved?
We found the machine extremely useful folding backboards for calendars, which saved us a considerable amount of time. I would estimate that, overall, we have cut around 50% of our production time.
Has it won you any new work?
Though we are not a print company, it has, indirectly, enabled us to produce greetings cards of excellent quality.
Would you say that it offers value for money?
It has definitely given us value for money.
Were there any difficulties experienced during the installation or after?
There were none.
What about the pre- and after-sale service?
I’ve found the service offered by Duplo to be excellent.
Who do you think the machine is right for?
Any company that wants to cut and crease paper.
Under what circumstances would you buy another?
As sales volumes increase and the demand for output rises proportionally, we will purchase another machine.
Conclusion
User’s verdict
Speed 3/5
Quality 4/5
Reliability 4/5
Value for money 5/5
Supplier’s response
Duplo International UK marketing manager Peter Jolly says: The DC-645 is fantastically suited to a business such as Funky Pigeon. It can handle the finishing of greetings cards extremely well with automatic set-up for slitting, cutting, short-edge and long-edge creasing all in one pass, saving on makeready and production times. The product is built for the web to print marketplace and was extremely popular at Ipex.
Price £29,250
Contact
Duplo International
01372 478279
