Flatbed Cutter Turns World Bank In-plant Into ‘Full-Fledged Sign Shop’

According to new In-plant Impressions research, 20% of in-plant respondents now offer automated flatbed cutting. In October, the World Bank Group’s in-plant joined that crowd when it installed a Colex SharpCut, its first CNC flatbed cutter.

The machine has been fully functional since November and has opened up jobs that otherwise would have been outsourced — opportunities encompassing “everything, in the wide-format world,” says Wes Troup, business solutions associate for the World Bank’s Print and Interactive Media program.

“Our wide-format operation was basically banners, pop-up stands, posters — that sort of thing,” he says. “Now, we’re able to become a full-fledged sign shop.”

World Bank's first Colex SharpCut.

The in-plant had looked at flatbed cutters for years, but the prospect was repeatedly pushed aside. The thought was: “We don’t necessarily need contour cutting; we’re doing fine. There’s not a huge demand for this at the Bank. Suppliers, other vendors, are doing it and it’s working well,” Troup explains.

“We went through the early part of the pandemic, and we saw how much the Bank really relied on wide-format at that point,” he continues. “We did stickers and floor decals and all the COVID signage, and printing on plexiglass and all that. We said, ‘Well, if we had a flatbed cutter, we could do this more efficiently. We could do it better.’”

Efficiency, along with speed, are two of the biggest benefits, Troup says. “The savings from increasing the efficiency of our workflow is huge.”

The most significant benefit, however, is its versatility, he says.

“It opens up the possibility to cut basically any material we’ve used for printing in the past. With a few exceptions, anything that will fit on our flatbed, the machine can cut,” he notes. “Now we have the opportunity to say, ‘Yes, we can make that,’ and, ‘Yes, we can cut it as custom design.’”

A 3D Acrylic Award produced by World Bank.

These advantages became clear as soon as the in-plant put the cutter to use for its first project — 3D acrylic awards — which was started during training. While the end product was simple, it was well-received.

“It made so many people happy,” Troup says. “To me, the expense of the machine was justified by producing that one job.”

To make the awards, the in-plant used plexiglass barriers left over from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which Troup cites as a “huge sustainability win.” The in-plant has also made tokens and done engraving demos with the plexiglass, and Troup plans to create phone holders, too.

The second project the in-plant has been tackling is ADA-compliant signage to be used throughout the Bank’s facilities.

“Braille is a different animal,” Troup says. “When you have to produce braille and ADA-compliant work, the final product has to be accurate, and it has to conform to the standards.”

The in-plant acquired the cutter through Ricoh, Troup says, and the company has provided both training on the machine and a “braille kit” that has been particularly useful.

“You just type out a word, you hit the braille icon on the toolbar ... it converts 200 different languages,” he explains. “You pick which one you want, and it converts that text to braille while placing it in the right spot on the design. That part of the process couldn’t be easier.”

For those looking to get an automated cutter, Troup emphasizes the need for developing a clear business case.

“Have an idea of what you’re going to produce first. Have an idea of how you’re going to recoup the cost first,” he says. “It makes the approval process for the expenditure so much easier.”

A showcase of items produced on the Colex SharpCut.

It’s critical to give your operators sufficient time to train on the machine, he adds, especially if they’ve never worked with a CNC cutter before.

“Let your operators play. Let them make mistakes. Let them tear up material,” he says. “Really invest in that because in the long run it really helps, especially when you need to do something quickly.”

Keeping people involved in the process from installation to final product — as well as marketing the technology — has been key in attracting customers from new departments, he says.

“When they know the struggle of making it, and they’re involved in the project with you and you produce this thing, they now think you’re the hero,” he says. “And anytime they need something, you’re going to be that hero.”