3.  Stripping"Once the job is finished die-cutting, it’s still in full-sheet form.  You may be a little confused at this point, but this is because, if the machine cut the piece completely out, you’d have odd shaped die-cut paper pieces flying around loose in your machine.  Not a wise move when you’ve got sheets cranking through that press by the thousands.  There are larger presses that can handle stripping on press, but they’re much more expensive, so, as you’d expect, they’re used for larger jobs.  Smaller jobs are hand stripped, which can leave small “nicks” on the printed piece, from the tiny strands of paper that kept them fastened to the rest of the sheet for delivering out the back of the press and stacking neatly.""4.  Additional Finishing"After this, if there is additional finishing to be performed, it will commence.  Typical examples are folding, gluing, gift cards or promotional coupons, tipping (inserting) in product samples, etc.  If none of these processes apply, the job is packed and shipped.""Die cutting can cut, perforate and bend/fold. The diagram on the right shows the blade for perforating.

1. Die-creation"This starts with a dieline (an outline of the die). Once the dieline is submitted, it’s converted into a .dwg (AutoCAD or other vector based program) file for the die to be engineered.  Typically, a blank sample is cut to ensure that the piece works.  This is especially important if the die-cutting provides functionality.  Many times, for cartons and other packaging, numerous samples are made with the exact paper being used for the job, until it’s perfect.  Once the dieline is good to go, a large automated table cutter uses various tool attachments to drill and carve an incredibly precise copy of the dieline into a 18mm thick pine board.  Once the board is cut, the die rule is cut and formed to fit the curves of the die, so that it can be inserted into the carved slots and then pounded in securely and perfectly even for cutting.""If you reorder the same piece later, this process only happens once. Assuming no changes need to be made to the die, then your die cost is a one-time expense and this die will be re-used.

2. Die-cutting"The die is setup on the machine and locked into place.  The machine is sheet fed, so individual sheets feed into the press and are pressed against the die with a precise amount of pressure.  The operator must pay constant attention to the pressure being used and the registration of the cut to the crop marks and printed piece.  If this job is a piece of packaging or has other folding, conversion or functionality, the operator will strip the piece out and certify that it completes properly before running the full quantity of the job.

Die Cutting

Products:"Cereal boxes, pizza cartons, envelopes (that had to be die-cut before they could be glued), credit cards, gift cards, drivers license and many many more...