Cutting and creasing are key finishing operations in all kinds of print, but shorter runs mean that flexibility and automation are as important for overall throughput as raw speed. Michael Walker sizes up Plockmatic’s latest flagship model that brings it all together A HIGHLY AUTOMATED AND VERSATILE CUTTER AND CREASER As digital print has made ever-shorter run lengths practical and cost-efficient, right down to the run-of-one, the suppliers of finishing kit have had to adapt to keep up. Ten minutes spent setting up a die-cutter that’s then going to run for hours, stamping out thousands – or tens of thousands – of items seems a reasonable trade-off, but makes no sense at all if each five-minute job needs a different die, even if you have the dies already made. The same arguments apply to perforating, creasing, and folding, so it’s no surprise that the main thrust of development among the finishing suppliers in the last decade or so has been towards greater automation and flexibility, from job set-up to tool selection to material feeding in and out. This is very much the case at Plockmatic, which bought UK-based Intec in 2022, merged it with Morgana at the start of 2025, and since the start of 2026 has retained both as brands within Plockmatic UK. Poole-based Intec (as was) has had a series of offerings in the B2+ multifinisher space, starting with the FB8000 which offered two passive tools, and then became the FB9000 after a couple of iterations, and then the FB9500, gaining a tangential wheel in addition to the passive cutting tools. Formally launched at FESPA in 2026, the latest incarnation, the Morgana FB9550 Pro-T, supersedes all of them by combining five tools – two tangential and three passive – into one unit that also has a sophisticated automatic feeder and a novel registration system for cutting one-sided print from the back. The FB9550 is therefore able to handle a wide range of media and print types, from kiss-cutting self-adhesive labels (in sheet form, not continuous) via the usual range of commercial substrates to cutting, creasing, and debossing various packaging and signage/display materials up to 3mm thick, including fluted types E, F, G, and N. Media up to 530 x 740mm can be fed automatically, though manual placement allows larger sheets up to 550 x 850mm to be processed. It’s held in place by a two-zone vacuum system, on a felt cutting underlay belt which is user-replaceable. Job recognition via QR code for cutting path and tool parameter loading, as well as registration are all handled via a high-speed CCD camera. The tangential tools include interchangeable creasing wheels, a blade holder for a 5mm blade, and a perforation wheel. UNDER THE HOOD | COLORCUT FB9550 PRO-T 48 www.printmonthly.co.uk Issue 362 - September | October 2026 Michael Walker is a trade journalist, technical writer, and editor with over 37 years’ experience in the print, prepress, photography, and digital imaging sectors, with a particular interest in the digital transformation of processes. In addition to editing Desktop Publishing Today and Digital Printer magazines, he is co-author with Neil Barstow of Getting Colour Right (Ilex Press, 2004) and Practical Colour Management for Photographers and Digital Image Makers (2009, self-published e-book) and winner of a Communicators in Business Gold Award. Maximum Format: B2+ up to 550 x 850mm Media Thickness: Up to 3mm Number Tools: Five – two tangential, three passive Cutting/Creasing Speed: 750 – 1,200mm/s Feeder Capacity: Up to 2,200 sheets Statistics
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