When the RNIB began the search to replace its aging guillotine it had a particular key criteria in mind. The system had to have a soft touch – it had to deliver a high quality cut without impairing the Braille dots on the sheet.

After weighing up the market available options Stuart Hale, Production Team Leader, chose the Perfecta 76 HTVC from Intelligent Finishing Systems.

He explains: “We needed a guillotine that could cut a low pressures to stop the Braille from squashing. Now we can even cut labels and braille cards.”

He adds: “We had a 20 year old ITO guillotine and had been looking for a replacement for a while. We liked the new guillotine because we can pre-programme jobs easily on the touch screen and store jobs for a quick set up. The knife change is also much faster and this save us up to 50 minutes at a time.”

The department produces a range of general commercial print for the charity including Braille books as well as handling orders from external customers on Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Indigo digital presses.

He continues: “The system is a lot faster in setting up and running jobs. We are being asked to complete a lot more smaller jobs per shift so being able to set the guillotine up quickly means we can be more efficient. It is already paying for itself.”

It has opened up some production possibilities as well: “We can do a lot more bespoke products because the system is easier to set up.”

The slotless Perfecta 75 HTVC cutting table facilitates gentle stock handling and prevents paper dust or debris building up in the mechanical system. Its cladded surface of corrosion-free stainless steel protects the machine from wear and damage. It also offers Perfecta Service Drive and a side mounted, wearing free and clearing free linear guidance of the backgauge trough.

Mr Hale concludes: “It has been a workhorse in the bindery from day one.”