POSTPRESS Clamping down—the right way

The clamping pressure of a paper cutter increases as successive cuts make the surface area of the paper smaller. If the clamping pressure is excessive, the knife deflects to the front and may even become damaged. Insufficient clamping pressure, on the other hand, causes the knife to pull the material from beneath the clamp.

To determine the correct setting, test cuts can be made outside live matter in the area opposite the front marks on the sheet, or in the control strip. If the clamping pressure seems too high, the operator can reduce it from one test cut to the next until the pressure is too low and the knife pulls the material to be cut out of the clamp. After that, the clamping pressure is increased until the clamp holds the material securely.

Alternatively, the operator can use programmable adjustment to set the proper clamping pressure for each situation.