Slitting Pretty

Tidland's Klein emphasizes automatic knife positioning as "a must" for printers of four-color process work who can't afford slitting errors on higher-cost materials. He cites shear slitting with a pair of circular knives as a higher-quality route. The knives are more expensive than razor blades, but last longer due to their scissor-like, self-sharpening capabilities—a particular benefit to industries needing dust-free packages, such as food and medical industries, he says.