Types

• Die cutters range in size from large industrial models to small, hand-operated models marketed for educators and scrapbook enthusiasts. Industrial die cut machines are able to mass-produce die cuts, and they are much faster and more precise than personal models. They offer pressure adjustment for the cut, automatic paper feed and a variety of customizable options.
  
  

Uses

• There are a variety of uses for die cutting. The process is used for creating cutouts for greeting cards and cutting labels and tags. It is also used to punch perforations in cardboard for folding boxes or displays. With the invention of hand-operated personal machines, die cutting has become increasingly popular for creating precisely cut shapes for crafts like scrapbooking.
  
  

Terminology

• There are many terms associated with industrial die cutting. Two of the most common are cutting pressure and multi-layer cutting. Cutting pressure is the amount of pressure the press puts on the item being cut. There should be about 500 pounds of pressure per inch of blade for a clean die cut. Multi-layer cutting is when a press cuts through multiple layers of material. Industrial presses can cut through three to four inches of material at a time.