Somewhere in the back racking
A customer reorders their presentation folders with a slightly different pocket. Or do they? The estimator needs to know whether the existing cutting forme can be used, because a new one is a real cost and a supplier lead time. Someone goes to the racking where formes are stored upright and starts reading marker pen labels. Some say the customer's name. Some say a job number from an MIS you replaced years ago. One says 'folder A4 2 pocket' and could belong to anyone.
Half an hour later, a forme is found that looks right. Nobody is sure whether it was the one used last time, or whether the rules are worn.
Why dies get lost
Formes are expensive, physical and long-lived. They outlast the people who ordered them, the MIS that recorded them and often the job numbering scheme.
- Formes are labelled by hand when they arrive, in whatever style that person uses.
- The link between forme, dieline file and customer lives in memory.
- Formes shared between customers, such as standard folders, are not recorded as shared.
- Condition and number of impressions are not tracked, so worn formes surprise you on press.
- Formes belonging to customers who left are never cleared out, so the racking fills up.
The cost of a lost forme
The obvious cost is ordering a new forme you already own, and waiting for it. Less obvious costs are the estimator's time spent finding out, the press time lost when a worn forme gives a poor cut, and the risk of running a repeat with the wrong forme because it looked similar. There is also a pricing risk: an estimate that assumes an existing forme when none can be found, or charges for a new one when the customer knows you have theirs.
A die library linked to jobs
- Every forme gets a record: a unique ID on a durable label or tag, the customer or 'shared', dimensions, dieline file, supplier and date made.
- Each record holds the rack location, updated by scanning when a forme is taken out and put back.
- Jobs that use a forme are linked to it, so the forme's history shows every run and the job shows the forme used.
- Estimators search by customer, product type or dimensions, and see matching formes with their dielines before deciding whether a new one is needed.
- Impressions or runs are counted against each forme, and formes approaching the point where your team checks them are flagged.
- Formes unused for a period you set are listed for review, so the racking can be cleared with the customer's agreement.
| Question | Answered by | With the library |
|---|---|---|
| Do we have a forme for this? | Walking the racking | Search by customer or size |
| Where is it? | Someone's memory | Rack location from last scan |
| Which jobs used it? | Unknown | Linked job history |
| Is it worn? | Found on press | Usage count and notes |
Repeats without the hunt
Estimators know within a minute whether a job needs a new forme, which makes estimates for folders, cartons and die-cut work faster and more accurate. Press operators pick the right forme first time. The racking gets cleared of formes nobody will use again. And customers who ask whether you still hold their tooling get a straight answer.
The same library can hold other reusable tooling such as foil blocks, embossing dies and plates you keep for repeats.
Is your die store a mystery?
- Finding a forme means walking the racking and reading labels.
- You have ordered a forme you might already have.
- Dieline files and physical formes are not linked.
- A worn forme has caused problems on a run.
- The racking holds formes nobody can identify.