Abstract: A knife holder assembly for a knife cylinder configured to make incisions in a web material, and a method for installing knife blades on the knife cylinder. The knife holder assembly includes a knife holder having a first surface adapted for mating with an outer cylindrical surface of the knife cylinder, a second surface oppositely disposed from the first surface, a sidewall extending between the first and second surfaces, and a bore having an opening in the sidewall. An anchor is received in the bore, and a feature accessible through the second surface of the holder is provided for securing the anchor within the bore. A knife blade is secured to the knife holder with the anchor. Setup time for the knife cylinder can be reduced by moving and/or replacing blades on the knife holder instead of installing, removing, and moving the knife holder on the cylinder.

Abstract: A process capable of using a fixed repeat rotary cutter for offline finishing of commercial offset web printed products having inconsistencies in repeat length. The process includes transporting a web at a linear speed in a first direction, operating a rotary cutter to singulate the products from the web by forming butt cuts within a waste portion between an adjacent pair of products and transverse to the first direction, causing the products to continue moving in the first direction, causing the products to move in a second direction transverse to the first direction, and then trimming the products to remove the waste portion between adjacent products as the products continue moving in the second direction. Each butt cut is produced with an individual straight knife mounted to a rotating knife cylinder of the rotary cutter, and the rotational speed of the knife cylinder is adjusted so that each butt cut separates pairs of preceding and trailing products as a result of being produced in the waste regions.

Abstract: A variable rotary cutter and method for setting up a knife cylinder of such a cutter that reduces the setup (make-ready) time for the cutter by eliminating the requirement to install, remove, and move knife holders on the knife cylinder. The knife cylinder has a plurality of knife holders circumferentially positioned about the circumference of the knife cylinder. At least some of the knife holders extend the axial length of the knife cylinder and are configured to permit multiple knife blades of different lengths to be mounted therein end-to-end across the entire axial length of the knife cylinder. At least one knife blade can be mounted in at least a first of the knife holders, while knife blades are not mounted in at least a second of the knife holders so that rotation of the knife cylinder against a web material forms incisions spaced apart a first spacing distance in the web material.