About: GraphicDies

A new innovative product is now available, bendable microperf. Normal perforated rule is difficult to bend. Because the small teeth are fragile the rule has to be very hard. The trade off is that the hard rule is very brittle and cracks when bent. We are able to make moderate bends with perf but are limited on sharp bends. But the new bendable microperf is a game changer. We can bend the new rule on even small bends. Give it a try on your next perfing project!

We have several high end tag and label customers. Their die cut products can never show any nicks. Nicks can come from poor rule joints or faulty mitres. Sometimes rule joints click apart because of too much pressure or from the rule being too tight. To avoid these types of nicks we always check to see if the joints are clicking and adjusting rule lengths. To make sure the rules can not click out of alignment on press, we use rule supports. Rule supports are basically plastic wedges to hold rule joints in place. One support on each side of the joint. We burn square cavities in the die board and insert the supports after knifing. We use this technique along with micro-nik.

If you have a project that would benefit from these techniques, contact us at [email protected] or call us at (770) 458-7528.

We are often faced with complex designs on dies. Many times rules are very close to each other. We have to alter art often to make dies possible. How close can 2 rules be to each other? 2 pt center bevel is .028” thick. The cutting edge is in the center. If you placed 2 rules together, the cutting edges would be .028” or about 1/32” apart. The problem is that we could not get any ejection rubber in the void and eventually paper would build up and blow out the rule. We must have a minimum of 3/32” spacing between rules to get sufficient rubber to eject. Many times we can place rules together much closer but the die will not hold up on press.

How small can a slot in a steel rule die be? 3/32” width is the smallest slot that can be out of cutting rule. We can purchase slots as thin as 1/16”.

What is the smallest punch-The smallest punch with a spring is 3/32”. The smallest side out punch is 1/32”.

We had a customer that came in today with a huge project and a huge problem. They had 104 up of a round cornered label, that had to be cut completely out without nicks. How do you get this out of the press? I see a lot of jobs that customers flare corners and make the final cut on the guillotine. This never looks good. Cutter pull always leaves a nasty edge that is unacceptable. Customers also use round corner machines which is a painfully slow process. So what was our solution?  –Micro Nik.   Micro Nik is pre-nicked rule that has microscopic nicks. If you hold up a single card the nicks are almost invisible. The nicks can be seen in a lift of cards. Even though the nicks are tiny, they are close enough in proximity to hold the individual parts in the press sheet as it travels through the press.  The rule works on cylinder presses, and high speed presses.

We have several high end tag companies who use Micro Nik and have used it many times with great success. Next time you have a project that requires it to be cut all the way around–let us build you a die with Micro Nik.

There are many different bevels of cutting rule used in steel rule dies. It is very important to use the appropriate rule for cutting stocks and to achieve the desired end product. We are going to discuss two of the bevels today.

Long bevel is a common rule used in cutting dies. It is also referred to as double bevel and extra sharp. Long bevel has a fine bevel that is about 3/16” long. The results are a super sharp knife, that has a small profile. The negative is that the knife is more expensive and slightly more difficult to work with, especially on mitres. It is also more tender and easier to dull. More care must be taken on make readies. It is also more expensive.

Long bevel rules are ideal for plastic stocks and thick materials. It works great on vinyl for kisscuts. It also works great on styrene, polyethylene and chipboard. The thin profile easily penetrates thick stock without distorting the material.

Another common rule is side bevel rule. It is also available in long bevel, side bevel. One side of the rule is beveled and one side is straight up and down. Side bevel rule is perfect for very thick stocks. May thick plastics, foam boards, gasket material and even corrugation will deform when cut with a beveled rule. By placing the bevel to the scrap, the straight side will be toward the finished product and it will not deform. files must be offset to account for the bevel. This rule us much more difficult to work with and far more expensive than traditional center bevel rule.