HighMark Digital One-Cut Makes Door replacement Dramatically DifferentOne-Cut turns the industry on its head with revolutionary time and labor saving technology

September 20, 2007 - MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - For years, it's been the same story. Professional door installation has been an inexact science at best, and a time-consuming, mistake-riddled process at worst. Outdated door replacement methods have limited the growth of the remodel and repair market for the entire industry.

HighMark Digital, a technology company with deep roots in the construction and door replacement industry, is out to change all that. The company is launching its new One-Cut system, which provides a simplified three-step door fit system within existing jambs. With One-Cut, interior and exterior doors are precisely measured, cut and fit within minutes.

One-Cut

One-Cut uses proprietary tools and software that deliver precision measuring, cutting and fitting of doors, accounting for any variances in the door jamb, hinges and hardware by digitally capturing the structural components of the existing frame. The patented One-Cut system is designed specifically for manufacturer, distributors and retailers and includes a door imaging system, custom door machining center and software that ensures the final fit is accurate within 1/64th of an inch. With this process, HighMark Digital claims that it can reduce door installation time to as little as five minutes per door for any skill level.

"One-Cut provides the solution to a problem that has plagued the industry for years," said Dave Winter, developer of the One-Cut system and cofounder of HighMark Digital. "There are so many variables with doors - from the size, location of the lockset and hinge to the door jamb, which is almost never plumb and square. No two doors are alike. That's why door hanging has always been more of a custom finishing job, requiring expensive, skilled labor. Our system completely simplifies the process and eliminates the guesswork, ensuring that doors fit perfectly. Ultimately, this will allow the industry to sell and install more doors."

With a patented process, the One-Cut system employs three steps to ensure exact, simplified door installation and replacement, including:

1. Measuring: The One-Cut system uses a door imaging system that produces an extremely accurate 3D digital image, capturing the exact dimensions of the door jamb's key structural variances. This tool provides complete, self-guided instructions so that even a novice can take accurate measurements.

2. Cutting: Using the digital image, the new door is produced for the jamb. The door is cut with custom door machining equipment to provide an even reveal (gap), even if the jamb is bowed. Lockset and hinge holes are pre-drilled to align perfectly with the existing placements. This precise cutting system is fast, requiring less than two minutes per door. The One-Cut system software also delivers CNC-ready files with packing slips and barcode labels to better track orders.

3. Fitting: Once the door is made to fit a specific jamb, contractors or homeowners can quickly install the new door in less than five minutes.

One-Cut can be used to measure, cut and fit both interior and exterior doors, including single, double and bypass doors and be used in most residential and commercial applications.

Clear-cut business opportunity
According to One-Cut founders, better door replacement and installation systems open up major opportunities for distributors, manufacturers and the trades, including builders and remodelers. While other markets have flourished, the door replacement industry has experienced stagnant to minimal growth. Winter believes that's due to expensive, time-consuming, inexact processes, rather than lack of demand.

"Research shows there is nearly 1.5 billion doors in the residential market alone that may be ready to replace, and no one is really taking advantage of it," said Winter. "Yet we know that homeowners want to update and upgrade their doors, just as much as they want to update and upgrade the rest of their homes.

According to Winter, One-Cut also provides major opportunities for commercial applications such as condominiums, hotels and businesses by allowing doors to be replaced without disrupting guests or shutting down floors at a time resulting in lost revenue. "This system is going allow the entire industry to capitalize on that demand and achieve maximum customer satisfaction," he said. Winter said One-Cut has major advantages for large home improvement retailers that are looking to take the guesswork and costly errors out of installation services and provide a high degree of accuracy and customer satisfaction, while reducing skilled labor costs.

"It's a natural. Customers can pick out the door they want at a retailer or dealer, order the One-Cut system to ensure it is measured precisely and either have it installed quickly and easily or pick it up and simply do it themselves," said Winter. "Every door fits the first time, every time. In the world of doors, it's completely revolutionary."

While revolutionary, One-Cut is easily implemented into existing business processes and systems. It also delivers better tracking and accountability, with bar coding information that provides downloadable customer specifications and record keeping.

For more information about One-Cut, visit www.highmarkdigital.com or call 650-965-4321.