Launched in 1995, the Bobst SP 104 die-cutter was a 'pimped up' version of the company's existing 102/103 model. Targeted at the folding cartons and the greetings card sector, the main enhancement on the new machine was the improved transport of the sheet from the gripper bars.
"The 104 was the first machine to have bottom grippers on the crank drive," explains Bobst area sales manager Stuart Taylor. "We also made adjustments to the sector, which drives the gripper bars from section to section so that the sheet moved through the machine more smoothly. This meant that it could run at higher speed with fewer nicks or notches."
The 104 also featured a fixed central stripping board – on the 102 the stripping board moved up and down as the sheet went through, but the 104's fixed stripping board provided greater stability and aided smoother transport of the sheet.