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What is the life of a steel rule die?

How many impressions can or should be expected on a die? Wow, this is a loaded question and there are many variables that determine the answer. Most people think it mostly has to do with the hardness of the knives, when actually that is usually never the determining factor. The life of a die is directionally proportional to the length of the make ready. This is a fancy way of saying the quality of the make ready on press is the single most important factor in the longevity of a die. One hard hit on the platen will flatten a die. The steel on the platen is way harder than the steel in the knives. If they make hard contact the bevel of the knife will be rolled like a butter knife. You can look down on the rule and see the shiny surface of a flat knife. When you cut against a hard platen, the press must be brought up slowly until they just kiss. Cutting against a soft anvil, such as styrene or polyethylene, is the preferred method especially when cutting plastics and harder substrates. When the knives penetrate your material it then hits the sacraficial material instead of the hard steel platen.

The number of times a die is set up also influences the life of a die. Most wear on a die comes in the first few strikes. So if the die is left on for a long run it will last for more impressions, than if it is a short run die used every week. It is also important to keep presses level and in good operating shape. Plates, press beds and blankets that are in poor shape are sure to damage dies. Many pressman with these problems use steel shim tape to excess which is sure to wear dies. So in a perfect world, how long will my die last?

Paper-We have seen dies upwards of 250k impressions

Lamination-Expect 10-15k impressions

Thin Aluminum-2000 impressions

Chip Board-30-50K depending on whether or not if you hit a staple or other metal.

Styrene-30-50k impressions

Materials are also a determining factor on the life of a die. Paper is abrasive and wears on the rule but plastics such as lamination and styrene are much more abrasive. Chip board has lots of trash because it is a recycled product. It even contains metal from staples and is hard on the knife.

So as you see, there is no easy on answer on the question of die life. If you are having problems with short die life, we can help you to determine the reason.  Check out our website, graphicdies.com, to see some of our work.

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Bendable Microperf

Innovations have been slow in the steel rule industry the last few years but we were introduced to bendable microperf recently. In the past microperf was made from extremely hard steel that was also very brittle. Bending would cause the rule to crack and break. Any shapes or tight bends would have to be a combination of cut rule and microperf. Now with the new microperf we can bend rule in even complex shapes. Give it a a try on your next project!

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Custom embossers & stamps

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could personalize your personal stationary, envelopes or any paperwork. Well, it is very easy and affordable with custom embossers or self-inking stamps. All you need is vector artwork of your initials, logo or custom design. Check out our full line of products.

stamp flyer_Page_1 stamp flyer_Page_2

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Dies, Letterpress

Printing Plates

Letterpress printing has made a tremendous comeback and the ease of photopolymer plates is a big part of this comeback. We manufacture copper, magnesium, photopolymer and wood printing plates. Photopolymers are by far the most popular.

The two most popular photopolymer products are KF-95 and KF-152. These are filmed based products that have a transparent and flexible base. The 95 represents .95mm or .037’’ in total thickness. The 152 is deep relief and represents 1.52 mm or .060’’ in total thickness. By subtracting these numbers from type high or .918’’ and the thickness of your type, you set the height of your base plate. .881’’ for KF-95 and .58’’ for KF-152.

A base plate for deep relief or KF-152 is a very versatile plate. It not only allows you to mount KF-152 but also any 16 gauge (.063’’) metal such as copper and magnesium. Copper is by far the premium choice for printing or foil stamping. It is due to the hardness of the metal. Because it is very hard, it can be etched with virtually no shoulders on the image. This allows for clean transfer of foil or ink with no plugging, or ink pink up on the bevels. Copper can also be hit very hard to give maximum debossing of the stock. Photopolymers must have a bevel because it is not as hard and small type and strokes will not hold up.

Cost is a major consideration in choosing plate material. The most common minimum plate charge is $30. You can get up to 48 sq inches of KF-95 or 45 sq inches of KF-152. Up to 30 square inches photopolymer or copper is the exact same cost, $30. If you have the base plate, the cost is the same and the material is superior why not choose copper.

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Laser cutting paper- Will it show burn?

This is inevitably the first question everyone asks. When we first started burning paper nearly 20 years ago, some burn was expected on most jobs. The laser would smoke the front; causing browning or it would flash back off the metal grate burning the back. With the newer galvo laser we have much more control. We can alter speed and power to achieve a perfect burn. The laser is so fast that smoking is now a rare problem.

Many variables are out of our control that causes burning. Some of these are paper caliper, paper color, ink and coatings. We are not involved in the printing or coating, so it is very hard for us to understand the variables. What we do know is that thicker papers tend to burn more. It takes more power and time to laser. Many times we can eliminate the burn on the face and back. You may see some browning on the actual side of the paper in the burn area. This can be exaggerated due to the angle at which the galvo beam cuts. The maximum focal point of the galvo is 6’’. The closer the image is to the maximum size, the more severe the angle of the cut. The other factor is color. White will tend to show more burn than darker colors. Unfortunately white stock is the color of choice for most jobs.

We are always willing to burn samples to show the outcome of laser burning. Check out some great videos of our lasers in action at www.graphicdies.com    

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Feb192016NOCOMMENTS

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Cutting dies, Dies, Steel Rule Dies

Ejection rubber in tight areas

Here is a die we built earlier this week:

IMG_1666

Notice the different colors of rubber. It is important to use different durameters of rubber in a die. The red is a medium hard rubber that has been waterjet cut. It is appropriate for thinner stock up to 15 pts on high speed presses such as Bobst, Ijima, Brausse & DGM. The green rubber is called green gorilla and is a much harder rubber used in tighter areas to give more punch to eject material.

We also have began to use an innovative new rubber called Dura Strip. It is great for tight areas such as hanger pack knives or slots. When rubber is compressed, the material has to go somewhere. It usually expands outward. This causes a lot of stress on the steel knives. This stress can bust mitres or joints, blowout slots or just distort steel rule knives. Dura Strip does not expand when compressed so it makes it perfect for tight areas.

The right rubber can make your job easier on press. Rubber can keep your paper from hanging up and help to eliminate nasty nicks in your finished product. It can make kiss cutting easier with less cut through. It can also help your press to run at higher speeds. I have seen press speeds drop from 8,000 sheets per hour to 4,000 with the removal of only a few blocks of rubber.

Let us show you our expertise in dies and rubber can help your die cutting process.

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Cutting dies, Dies, Industrial, REPAIR, Steel Rule Dies

Punches in steel rule dies

Tube punches come in many shapes and sizes. Circular punches are necessary when the diameter of a circle is less than one inch because it is not possible to bend steel rule. The smallest punch is 1/32”. Sizes vary up from there on 1/4” increments. Punches come in different bevels. Center bevel, inside bevel and outside bevel are the different profiles. Inside bevel punches are best for cutting thick stocks because they do not deform the substrate. They are also best for mitres when a cutting rule must butt up to the punch.

Punches eject in many different ways. The majority of punches eject with springs or silicone rubber. Side out punches are typically used on thicker materials and the slugs eject through the side of the punch and a routed trough in the die. Feed through punches allow the scrap to push through the punch. The smallest punch with a spring is 3/32”. Punches smaller than that would be side out. Many people think that the springs are to eject the slug from their material. Although this may happen, any form of ejection is solely to rid the punch of any scrap. If you must eject the chad from your paper, side out is your best choice. Be aware that your press may be lifted by the scrap holes. Amazingly only a small amount of paper pulled into the punch will blow the steel punch apart.

Custom punches come in many shapes, sizes and ejections. Custom punches are machined out of tool steel. Custom ovals, slots, and stars are examples. Metric punches may be custom if they have to be exact. Punches can sometimes be confusing. Please give us a call to make sure you get the right punch for your project.

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Cutting dies, Dies, Steel Rule Dies

The proper way to send in dielines

The proper way to send in a die line for a laser steel rule die.

We receive files in many different formats. The preferred format is an Illustrator EPS file. It must be a native file that was originally created in Illustrator. This means that it is a vector file, vectors are lines segments. TIFF, JPEG, Word and GIF files are examples of non-vector files. Many customers convert their files to PDF’s and that is fine as long as the original file is an illustrator file. We also receive emails with both Illustrator and PDF files. It is important to make sure both files are identical.Sometimes instructions are not included on one file and not the other or one file is not scaled to 100%. DXF files also work well. When these types of files are unavailable we can still work from samples, 100% scans and dimension drawings.

What is right reading?

We assume all files are sent right reading from our customers. If you do send your files die side, make sure to indicate this on the drawing and in your email.  There seems to be a lot of confusion about the term right reading. Here are a couple of different terms used:

Right Reading

1.) Print Side

2.) Outside View

3.) Sharps Down

4.) Print side/Front of print

vs.

Wrong Reading

1.) Die Side

2.) Inside View

3.) Sharps Up

4.) Back of Print

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Cutting dies, Kisscutting, Steel Rule Dies

Kiss Cut Dies

Kiss cutting is very common in the printing industry especially for labels. It is achieved by reducing pressure on the press to only cut partially through the sheet. On label stock, the die would cut through the label sheet but not through the liner. A quality make-ready with a spot sheet is essential for kiss-cutting without cutting through the liner. Kiss cutting is more difficult, but not impossible on cylinder presses due to the unequal forces in the horizontal and vertical directions.

Steel rule kiss cut dies and standard cutting dies are virtually the same with only minor variations. It is very important to have high quality flat wood and that the laser is checked to burn perpendicular to the wood. Any variance in this burn angle could cause havoc in the make ready and probably cause cut through. Rule joints and mitres must be perfect and all rule must be seated flush in the die. Some customers prefer to lower their rule heights, instead of reducing the cutting pressure on the press. Although this works, this could add cost to the die. Odd rule heights are expensive and the die maker’s tooling is usually set up for .937 cut or .918 cut. More intricate and complex designs add additional make ready time and may cause cut-through. This is due to the many bends in the rule made by the die maker’s tooling. Every bend affects the angle of the rule. Excess or uneven adhesive on label stock may cause uneven cutting.

The rubber on the die plays a large role in kiss cutting. Rubber is another inconsistency added to the die. We have many customers who prefer no rubber at all. This works because the stock is not pushed pass the bevel on the knife and does not have to be ejected off the rule. We have been successful in using water jet rubber. Water jet rubber is much more consistent than blocks of rubber. We also have had great success by using lower height rubber that sits lower than standard rubber. This allows the cut to happen without having to push through the rubber.

We also manufacture thermal kiss cut dies. These dies only work on vinyl and cut with heat. They are etched magnesium plates and works a lot like foil stamp dies. The dies are very level and can achieve intricate or simple cuts with no cut through. Heat is a great tool to use. We have many customers who even heat traditional wood steel rule dies to 200 degrees to aid in cutting vinyls and other plastic materials. Make sure your die is very secure and hopefully bolted to the press if you try heat.

 

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Jan192016NOCOMMENTS

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Dies, Letterpress, Photopolymers

Scoring on a Cylinder Press

A lot of printers utilize equipment for die cutting on machines that were converted from letterpress printing presses. The most popular of these are Heidelberg but there are others such as Millers.  Recently we have seen more customers cutting on Vander Cook proofing presses. All of these presses are work horses and do a great job on die cutting registered work. One of the particularities of a cylinder is score heights. A cylinder press exerts different forces along the vertical and horizontal directions. Forces on scores that run parallel to the cylinder are less than scores that run perpendicular to the cylinder. We typically offset the score height by .005’’.

Score height is computed by taking the cut height (.918 virtually all letterpress equipment) and subtracting the caliper (in inches) of your paper. If you are using matrix you will need to subtract an additional .003’’ for plastic or fiberboard matrix and .009’’ for steel backed matrix

.918’’ cut height (type high)

-.010’’ paper caliper

-.003’’ plastic matrix

.905’’ crease Ht.  horizontal               .900’’ crease Ht.  vertical

 

We actually made a pocket folder die for an Accu-cut table press last week. We had to offset the vertical scores by 0.015’’ because the vertical scores were die-cutting the stock. You may have to experiment with your die maker to get the perfect combination on your press.

Using matrix or some sort of female channel is imperative for achieving a true letterpress crease. Crushing the paper without a channel will give you a folding line but your paper will definitely tend to crack. This may be fine on white stocks but probably not acceptable on colored or printed papers.

The unequal forces may also be a problem when cutting or kiss cutting a grid pattern. Many times operators may damage the horizontal knives by increasing pressure because the vertical knives are not cutting. It may be possible with a very long make ready but we usually suggest running it on a platen style press like a Kluge or Bobst. Another solution may be to run the vertical knives in one pass and the horizontal knives in another pass.

 

Give us a call with any of your die cutting challenges or visit us at our website, graphicdies.com 

 

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Dies

Magnesium Emboss Dies

Could magnesium emboss dies actually be superior to copper emboss dies?

The answer is yes in many ways.

  • Much easier to control bevels during the etching process. Bevels help to stretch the paper fibers more gently. This allows for deeper embosses and less cracking
  • More cost effective-especially larger dies
  • We now pour cast counters on magnesium emboss dies
  •  Less concern over expansion
  •  Even though magnesium is softer than copper, there is less concern about crashing emboss dies than foil stamp dies.Less concern about expansion because of lower heat (also remember we can adjust artwork to accommodate expansion) 

Copper emboss is superior for:

  •  Registered embosses to either print or foil and particularly in large dies.
  •  Extremely long runs

 

Try out a magnesium emboss die and let us pour a counter for it. You may be surprised.At A&A Die we offer same day turns on copper, magnesium and photo polymer plates. We etch .250, .153, and .064 in copper and magnesium. Check us out and all of the services we offer at graphicdies.com

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Jan052016NOCOMMENTS

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Industrial

Why order a phenolic counter?

Counter plates offer significant advantages over creasing matrix and traditional cut press board.

Each counter plate is positioned over its corresponding die cavity using industry-standard nylon locating pins. Peel the release paper off the transfer adhesive, slide the die chase into position and cycle the press. The counter plates have been transferred to your cutting plate in perfect register with the die. As you press the counter plates down you will notice that the edges are smoothly unlike the straight edges of matrix which can catch on your sheets. Also, you only had to place a single counter plate on each die cavity instead of a piece of matrix for each piece of creasing rule.

Unlike a press board make-ready, you should never have to skive the edge of a counter plate channel to fix a “sharp” score. Sharp or cracking scores are an indication that the creasing rule in the die is not lining up properly with the scoring channel. Our close tolerance computer controlled counter plate router ensures a perfect match with our cutting die. Creases are accurately located and well-defined, which means an easier set-up on your folder-gluers too.

 

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