By Melissa Donovan
Finishing is a common bottleneck in wide format print shops. Sometimes the solution isn’t a higher productivity device, but something a bit less complex.
In business since 1988, City Colors Digital Printing Center, Inc. offers an array of services from offset to digital print, apparel decoration—screen and direct to film, wide format printing, promotional printing, and laser engraving. Based in Doral, FL, customers are scattered across the U.S., although the majority are on the East Coast and towards the southern half of the country.
Working in a production space of roughly 17,000 square feet, 22 employees service on average 2,000 customers a month. Tony Infante, VP, City Colors, says 50 percent of its business is paper goods like business cards and the other half consists of wide format, promotional, and apparel printing all completed in house.
Above: City Colors of Doral, FL runs a Kala XY in house to keep pace with its various orders.
Committed to Growth
City Colors added wide format printing in 2020 with a Mimaki USA, Inc. UV printer. According to Infante, a couple of months into the purchase, the printer was operating at capacity, but the shop wanted to assess its finishing capabilities before making further commitments.
“We had to find a way to finish faster,” explains Infante. After conducing research on what it could commit to financially as well as physically in terms of space, Infante decided to bring in a Kala XY Cutting Machine, which it purchased through distributor Supply55, Inc.—the exclusive distributor of Kala XY trimmers in the U.S.
The Kala XY offers two cutting methods—X and Y. Horizontal or X cutting is done automatically by reading cutting marks or at fixed programmed lengths. Cutting marks—single or double lines—are generated by whichever RIP software is utilized. The X cutting blade is self sharpened with a counter blade. Vertical or Y cutting blades are positioned manually. The machine is equipped with three Y blade holders. The Kala XY is offered at maximum working widths of either 65 or 82 inches. According the manufacturer, it operates at speeds of up to 60 feet per minute.
It was quickly determined that the Kala XY was up to the task of finishing everything coming off of the Mimaki UV printer—and more. Soon after, City Colors invested in a Colorado UVgel roll device from Canon U.S.A., Inc. The cutter kept pace and City Colors added two more Colorado printers to its production facility.
Finish Faster
Today the Canon Colorados—in addition to other devices on site—print all day long. The one Kala XY cuts everything printed from the three Colorados in half a day.
Infante notes that the machine is less expensive than hiring staff to spend time manually cutting or overseeing a different piece of finishing hardware. In addition, since implementation, the Kala XY has presented minimal issues. Infante credits that to the simplicity of the device, since it’s a equipped with few cutting blades and makes one cutting motion—front to back.
Quick Finishing
With the Kala XY in place, City Colors processes job orders quickly. The shop feels the machine is a workhorse and has already paid for itself in dividends.
Apr2025, Digital Output
