New Dimensional Cutter Adds Value to Modern Woodmen In-plant

A flatbed cutter has always been on Mark McCready’s wish list.

“We upgraded our wide-format [printing] equipment in 2021 and have had great success with work from those machines. But as time has gone by, I felt we needed to elevate our offerings,” explains McCready, manager of Modern Woodmen of America’s Print, Mail and Distribution division in Rock Island, Illinois. “Every time I’d attend a print show like PRINTING United [Expo], the cutters always drew my attention.”

Now his wish has become a reality. The 18-person shop recently added a Colex Sharpcut Pro SX1732 automated cutter to its operation to run in conjunction with a Mimaki JFX200-2513 flatbed printer and a Mimaki UCJV300-160 roll-fed. It’s already starting to pay off, he says, helping the shop produce a large order of magnets, yard signs from full sheets, and some ‘jumbo head’ photo cutouts for an employee to use at a sporting event. McCready says he’s looking forward to using the cutter for future projects as well.

The new Colex Sharpcut automated cutter has added a ‘wow’ factor to the in-plant’s services to help it stay relevant with customers. From left: AJ Carlson, digital print specialist; Rene Reyes, digital prepress technician; and Mark McCready, manager, Print, Mail & Distribution.

“We have a project just about ready for production that will involve cutting new room identifiers for all our home office conference rooms and offices from ¼” acrylic sheets,” he says. “We are also brainstorming ideas for awards to produce from acrylic, aluminum, Sintra board … Our national convention is approaching in 2026, and it’s a large event that’s held every four years. We will be making nearly 1,800 custom name badges and dozens of signs, along with a few photo-op pieces incorporating the convention mascot.”

Aside from new projects like these, the Colex greatly enhances the in-plant’s cutting dexterity.

“The cutter adds next-level finishing,” McCready says. “No longer are we limited to squares, rectangles and right angles. Our company logo has a shield element, so we will be cutting around that quite frequently just to make things stand out more.”

Getting Upper Management on Board

Luckily the in-plant had support from upper management when it came to purchasing the Colex. It also helped that McCready’s director was the previous manager of the facility and the one that introduced wide-format to the in-plant.

Mark McCready

“Thanks to that, it didn’t take much to get him onboard with the idea of a dimensional cutter. We also involved our Creative Services department manager, who recently joined our company and is well experienced in cutting,” McCready says. “With his enthusiasm and imagination, we were able to explain many possibilities to our Chief Operations Officer, who is an enthusiastic supporter of our department and understands our need to innovate.”

Making Room

In a perfect world, installing a new piece of equipment is a breeze. However, McCready admits that delivery day was a little stressful due to the amount of available space in the shop.

“Because our production floor is rather full, we opted to install the Colex in the back corner of our warehouse. We did this for a few reasons, primarily due to the footprint the flatbed requires. In the distant future as we retire some older presses, we may consider moving it into the production shop,” McCready says. “But, delivery day was a bit stressful. We knew our inner dock doors needed to be removed to allow enough space for the crate to clear, so we had our facilities staff handle that ahead of time. It made it in with about an inch to spare. After that, no problems getting to the final location. Our vendor, Millcraft, was very diligent about overseeing all the logistics and ensuring smooth delivery.”

Adding Value

The stress was well worth it though. McCready can’t wait to see the opportunities the dimensional cutter brings.

“The cutter has me very excited. I keep telling our leadership that we haven’t even thought of the best ideas yet, but those will come with time and experience,” McCready says. “Whenever I see it run, I’m amazed at the speed and precision that it operates. We all know traditional print production is declining, so we need a new ‘wow’ factor to stay relevant with our customers. The Colex will keep them engaged and imaginative.”