Find Signage, a developer of dementia-specific signs, has installed a DYSS X7 cutting table to widen its offering and reduce production times. In addition, it has cut the cost of external suppliers by over 20% by reducing the work passed to subcontractors.
When Find Signage was acquired by Anthony Cockcroft in 2011, he recognised the urgency in evolving products for this niche market. Having previously worked closely with mental health experts at Sterling University and Bupa to create a range of signage, the company has diversified its offerings to include menu boards, pain assessment charts, personal orientation boards and activity cards. With many of the Forex/Foamex, acrylic, aluminium and Dibond substrates requiring the insertion of a variety of different visual aid cards, Find Signage was witnessing a bottleneck between its wide-format printing and the hand cutting of small quantity cards, promoting the purchase of the DYSS X7.
Cockcroft said: "We realised that while our large quantity print runs could be cut with industrial routers, smaller quantities and prototype work was labour intensive. It was clear that we needed a flexible and accurate cutting solution and we opted for the DYSS X7-2230C Superhead cutting table.”
With regard to its food menu boards for dementia patients, the Foamex and Dibond wall mounted boards have pockets for patients to select their next meal from a selection of card images and position on the boards. Printing post-card images of meals from 3m x 2m printed sheets, the card quantities of up to 200 per sheet were previously cut manually with a knife and ruler, taking upwards of four hours. By installing the DYSS X7 the time has been cut to five minutes.
With the arrival of the cutter, Find Signage has significantly cut the cost of external suppliers and reduced the reliance on platens/dies for small quantity production. A benefit of this is a drastic improvement to lead times on prototypes and development work. Find Signage can now produce samples internally by printing its signs and then cutting on the AG/CAD machine.
Cockcroft continued: "The benefits of the DYSS cutting table are evident throughout the company.”
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