By Cassandra Balentine
Wide format cutting tables offer task versatility—from tangential and oscillating cutting to creasing and sometimes extending to routing and engraving. Driving these functions are bits, blades, pens, underlays, conveyor belts, and creasing instruments. Finishing tools are an essential investment for a print service provider (PSP) and ultimately impact productivity and the bottom line.
Above: Kongsberg’s tooling solutions enhance productivity and streamline finishing operations.
OEM and Third Party
Both OEM and third-party finishing tools are on the market for PSPs.
As an OEM, Chris Nicholson, team lead, inside sales, Zund America, Inc., points out that Zünd offers a range of precision-engineered, high-quality consumables designed specifically for Zünd digital cutting systems. “This includes every type of consumable used in conjunction with all processing methods available with our cutting/routing systems, including blades, bits, creasing tools, pen/marking inserts, cutting underlays, and conveyor belts.”
As a systems manufacturer, Nicholson believes that Zünd puts a great deal of effort into the design and development of each tool in order to maximize the overall performance of the cutting equipment, “where literally every single component matters.”
Zünd holds patents on many designs, meaning it has tooling and consumable items exclusive to Zünd and not available from other sources. “Because we control every aspect of the manufacturing process, we are able to ensure quality at the highest level possible, an advantage that is generally not available to third-party resellers,” shares Nicholson.
Nicholson notes that all Zünd blades and bits are marked with the company’s insignia, part numbers, and batch numbers to ensure quality, consistency, as well as traceability.
Similarly, cutting system manufacturer, Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems, provides a comprehensive range of OEM cutting consumables, including high-performance knife blades, router bits, crease wheels, and milling accessories.
“Kongsberg’s innovative tooling solutions enhance productivity and streamline finishing operations. The VariAngle Tool enables cutting at any angle between zero and 60 degrees without manual adjustments, eliminating the need for frequent tool changes. This increases productivity by at least 25 percent and allows for the creation of complex, three-dimensional (3D) designs in corrugated and display materials,” shares Knut Ulvøy Johansen, product manager, Kongsberg.
Another Kongsberg tooling solution is the CorruSpeed Tool, which Johansen says is designed for high-speed corrugated board cutting without oscillation, reducing processing time while enhancing cut edge quality.
Kongsberg offers milling bits and router blades—over 100 different knife blades to choose from, available in both single- and double-flute variations. “Kongsberg’s consumables are crafted from high-grade tungsten carbide, ensuring longer tool life, reducing replacement frequency, and improving cut quality while reducing rework and material waste. These consumables are also optimized for cutting speeds further increasing overall equipment productivity, allowing print providers to enhance efficiency,” adds Johansen.
For applications requiring higher performance and productivity, Kongsberg also offers routing bits and blades that contain a unique C2 coating. Johansen explains that this coating is thinner while still providing an exceptionally sharp, hard, smooth, and durable surface for superior cutting. He says it results in a 60 percent reduction in friction compared to standard diamond-like carbon coatings, allowing it to last longer and enhancing efficiency, which in turn means less power consumption.
This C2 coating is also 100 percent biocompatible and is approved for food, medical, and dental applications, says Johansen.
Reputable third-party tooling providers are also an option.
For example, Superior Carbide Cutting Tools & Helicon Graphics offers third-party cutting consumables, service, parts, and fully refurbished large format digital flatbed cutting tables.
“Our products are made to meet or exceed OEM quality standards guaranteed. We are the largest independent supplier of blades, router bits, belts, and underlay in North America,” stresses Mark Boncher, VP of sales and marketing, Superior Carbide Cutting Tools & Helicon Graphics.
He says the company’s extensive knowledge and experience in this industry, combined with its customer service first mindset and reputation of quality tools at a great price set it apart from the competition. “We carry a massive array of blades and router bits for any flatbed cutting application. We are a one-stop shop for everything customers need and provide free remote technical support—plus we can do in-person services like preventative maintenance, installs, and de-installs,” offers Boncher.
Andrew Pagelow, VP, sales, VTX Tools, adds that third parties offer an array of products and more cost-effective pricing. “Without third-party suppliers of tooling like VTX Tools, OEMs were able to set the price and quality for their specific machine without any pushback or challenge. Competition is good for any industry, it is the driver of innovation, and of course, better pricing. With the influx of competition, it has driven everyone involved to develop better products, and new products, which have solved issues with problematic applications and materials. Overall, it improved the overall finish on wide format digitally printed substrates.”
Consider Cost
There are advantages and limitations when deciding whether to purchase a cutting tool through an OEM or a third-party provider.
“Purchasers are—and always have been—looking for ways to save money, especially when it comes to operating costs,” admits Nicholson. “Zünd prices are quite competitive with non-OEM blades and bits, and once you couple that with longer blade/bit life—less downtime for blade/bit changes, as well as higher and more consistent cut quality—greater material yield, less waste, Zünd consumables are an economic choice.”
Johansen points out that Kongsberg tools are tested and certified for full compatibility with Kongsberg cutting tables. “They are developed, manufactured, and tested by the Kongsberg team in association with selected blade manufacturers. The metals used are carefully selected to resist wear and breakage. Then, they are ground to extremely tight tolerances. Before they are shipped, they undergo 100 percent quality control.”
Kongsberg only offers OEM manufactured drilling and routing bits and wider consumables as a matter of quality, productivity, ensuring longevity, and safety—not just for the operators but also for the final consumer to ensure no sharp or hard edges, which could present a hazard, are present in the final product, adds Johansen.
“The speed at which these tables run is also a key safety consideration for using OEM knives and blades. To allow our customers to get the most of their cutting table safely, the router bits are perfectly balanced for up to 60,000 rotations per minute (RPMs), which is the maximum RPM on our spindles,” says Johansen.
On the other side of the argument, Boncher advocates for purchasing through third party. “Third-party consumables companies can provide high-quality tools at lower cost. Our company can also provide top-notch technical support and service for customers. We can regularly provide savings of 30 to 40 percent on tools versus an OEM. If buying a brand new machine from an OEM you may get certain discounts on tools for a set period of time, and there may be a very few amount of odd tools that are OEM specific,” he argues.
Noticeable Demand
Whether you buy OEM or third party, experts see a noticeable rise in demand when it comes to cutting consumables.
Pagelow says the growth in wide format digital print may have slowed a bit but he does see new applications in different industries emerging as well as new materials that need to be processed.
“A general trend we have seen is an increase year-on-year in the demand of cutting consumables,” shares Johansen.
“Growth in small- and medium-size businesses seems to be driving the cutting industry—and cutting consumable sales—as it is becoming more of a main income stream for a larger array of companies, as well as more attainable for them, and there are more people trained in this field of industry,” offers Boncher.
Increased demand is expected based on customer needs as a general shift towards the use of new and more sustainable materials leads to the development of new consumables that need to be able to cut through the material.
Johansen points out that materials such as honeycomb board, “require sharper, more durable blades capable of handling tougher, highly recycled content substrates without compromising quality.”
Nicholson also sees a rise in demand for tooling along with an increased demand for cutting equipment and automation solutions in general. “This is partly due to the still tight labor market and growing cost of labor but also the result of the greater production efficiencies and profitability made possible in many cases through automation. Economic uncertainties, chaotic trade policies, anticipated price increases, and supply chain disruptions continue to motivate many North American manufacturers to increase domestic production capacities, in some cases investing in multiple locations within North America to meet market demand and increase proximity to a company’s customer base.”
The rise of customization also drives this increase as consumers continue to order short run, digitally customized goods that require digital finishing. Johansen says this impacts the need for high-precision tooling, “particularly for shorter run production where efficiency and accuracy are essential.”
Boncher cautions that as consumable demand grows, it is within the confines of a maturing industry. “Cutting tables are nothing brand new and while more machines are sold each year, you can easily argue that the industry itself has matured. Therefore, the consumable demand is still growing, but tempered compared to the growth seen when these types of tables were first introduced.”
Boncher adds that there has been major consolidation among large companies who purchase cutting tables, “which can lead to more efficiencies, but does not always garner massive growth in a maturing market.”
Finishing Trends
As previously noted, basic trends in the cutting consumables space follow trends in materials being printed on or used more in certain industries.
As the printing industry grows and changes, new digitally printed substrates continue to come to market, which presents the need for new tooling. “That being said, in addition to the hundreds of cutting solutions on our website, VTX Tools also offers hundreds of custom blades/bits in our product portfolio for customers’ specific needs,” comments Pagelow.
In addition, advances in the cutters themselves drive trends in cutting consumables. “Not necessarily vice versa in either of those cases,” offers Boncher.
Boncher adds that “the general level of quality in North America and Europe of cutting consumables has never been better, and customers have never had more options. The emergence of more choices in acrylics, dibonds, foamboards, fabrics, and more have meant the consumables need to keep pace, as well as creative new techniques using these consumables, and finally new software to create even better and more uniform finished products.”
As an OEM, Nicholson says Zünd puts a great deal of research and development efforts into producing new and better coatings for blades and bits. “Incorporating these products in our consumables offering will further help our customers save on operating costs both in terms of extended blade/bit life and consistent cut quality.”
Johansen notes that as cost and time of production become increasingly important, there is growth in demand for premium cutting consumables that deliver faster and more reliable production.
“The high-quality C2 coated consumables are a perfect example of how an initial investment can pay off in the long run. Not just thanks to their extended lifetime but also by delivering fewer production stops and cleaner cutting finish, which means less afterwork,” adds Johansen.
Finishing Focused
When it comes to productivity, finishing should be factored into the equation. In addition to cutting systems, consumables like cutting blades, bits, and belts have an impact on equipment efficiency, productivity, and versatility.
Jun2025, Digital Output
