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Launched in 1997, the Polar 66 was designed to be an affordable cutting machine suitable for quick printers, copy shops, franchisers and inplant print shops. Several factors made it suitable for this role: by eschewing the use of a blower motor and using a hydraulic knife drive with zero noise emission, operating noise was kept to a minimum, making the Polar 66 ideal for installation even inside offices.

Due to its construction, the Polar 66 was also suitable for installation in buildings where structural engineering does not permit heavy machinery to be used. Much attention was paid to user-friendly features, with an ergonomic control panel with clearly arranged controls, clear menus and context-sensitive help.

The machine also has several safety controls, such as an infrared light barrier and two-hand cut release. The knife is safely contained within the robust unit and there is a simple procedure for knife change, meaning that even employees with a basic level of training on the unit can operate it safely.

The 66 replaced its predecessor, the Polar 58, in response to a need for both improved control technology and a larger cutting size. Importantly, its larger size meant it could rotate A3 sheets under the knife, allowing for improved efficiency handling large jobs. Polar also improved the direct-positioning system, to ensure a higher level of accuracy. Other improvements included automatic programming and memory, which can store up to 99 jobs. Operators can program functions and then repeat them, even for different sized paper.

The Polar 66’s main competitors are the Ideal 7228-06LT and the Duplo PFI 660, both a similar size and able to handle the same kinds of jobs.

Popular design
The design of the original Polar machine has proved popular, and, apart from the increase in size, there have been no substantial upgrades. Mark Hogan, UK marketing manager for Polar distributor Heidelberg, says: “All we’ve really done is improve the ergonomics and add an LCD display and LEDs”. These improvements have the aim of making the Polar 66 as user-friendly as possible, reflecting the unit’s role as a cutting machine for small firms and franchises.

Some small internal changes since 2004 have included adding a heavy-duty spindle and improved positioning accuracy. These changes, along with the ergonomic tweaks, are not retrofittable, and spares are available from Heidelberg. The company says it can supply 90% of spare parts within 24 hours, and that it has 60 finishing engineers in the UK. It has more than 200 engineers overall, including print engineers

Active market
The company also claims that Polar is the biggest-selling brand of cutting machines in the UK, with more than a 50% market share. The Polar 66, which costs £15,000 new, has racked up 300 installations in the UK and 2,500 worldwide.

According to Hogan, there is an active market for used units. “Our clients get good secondhand prices for Polars,” he says. As such, Heidelberg says it does not usually offer a part-exchange service and, although it occasionally sells used equipment directly, buyers looking for used Polar units generally approach secondhand dealers directly.