The Highcon Euclid is the company's first product launch since Aviv Ratzman and Michael Zimmer founded the business in November 2009.

The machine wields precision laser optics and polymer technology to streamline and migrate the die-cutting and creasing process from analogue to a digital.

Highcon's Euclid uses the company's patent-pending Digital Adhesive Rule Technology (DART) to crease lines direct from digital data, which helps cut set-up times.

Each crease line job is created digitally after the data is received from the design and production software. This is claimed to remove the costly die-making process and the associated set-up times involved.

Multiple lasers and precision optics are then used to cut the sheets up to a maximum size of 760mm x 1060mm and up to a maximum weight of 550gsm.

According to the manufacturer, the Euclid can handle runs from a single unit up to 10,000 items on a maximum thickness of 0.6mm.

Aviv Ratzman, chief executive at Highcon, said the past two decades catalysed key areas of the supply chain to move to digital, except for packaging finshing.

"Converters and their customers have been unable to benefit from the speed and flexibility that digital solutions could provide to finishing. But this is about to change," he said.

Highcon has been in dialogue with a number of packaging converters in the UK, US, Germany and China, working on a collaborative approach to tailor the Euclid to meet the demands of analogue converters.

Chris Baker, vice president of sales and business development at Highcon, told PrintWeek that the majority of die-cut jobs surveyed were on runs lower than 20,000, which positioned the Euclid capable to take on a large number of existing analogue jobs.

He said: "We've been in discussions with a number of converters concerning the costing of their jobs, the setup and turnaround times involved and their average run lengths.

"Many have a portfolio of work that includes a number of smaller jobs that they do to keep the customer happy. At best, this could take a day for a die to be produced and then you still have to set-up and produce the job.

"With the Euclid, this is removed by eliminating the need for a conventional die and a job could be ready to go in 15 minutes, it's an astonishing turnaround."

Highcon's development of the Euclid has included investment from several parties including Landa Ventures, the investment company owned by the Indigo founder Benny Landa, who has high hopes for the machine.

"I believe that Highcon will do for the folding carton market what Indigo did for print - and the industry will be changed forever," he added.

Another key investor is Israbieg, which is Israel's largest die supplier, a move Baker said signaled the company's expectations behind the new machine's potential.

Highcon expect to commence beta testing of the Euclid with an Israeli company early in 2012 ahead of a launch and live demonstration at Drupa in May.

According to Baker, the machine will then commence commercial availability in Europe from the third quarter of 2012.

Below is a video that demonstrates the Euclid's "disruptive" new technology




Tweet