Dies is a post-printing process used to create a shape in a substrate, be it a hole, a border, a crease or a perforation. In Flexographic printing Dies are also used to calculate imposition.
For more on Flexographic printing, click here.
Main Menu > Setup > Dies (Flexo)
Remember to first set up the following:
Main Menu > Setup > Dies (Flexo) > New/Edit
The following fields are important and worth mentioning:
Enter the Label depth, Minimum Gusset dimensions and select a desired Cylinder gear size and click Calculate.
The below fields will populate. You can then select the a Cylinder for the Die by simply clicking on the Best, In Stock or Selection buttons.
Select Best and the remaining fields in Die Setup will auto-populate with the calculated settings.
The Cylinder field only applies to Rotary and Magnetic Die Types and not to Flat-bed Dies, so the Cylinder field can be left blank when a Flat Die Type is selected.
Watch this short video on how to set-up a Die:
There are three main Die types in Flexographic printing:
A Rotary Die Cutting Unit comprises of a tool holding cylinder, mounted with a solid die, and an anvil cylinder. The anvil acts as a cutting plate, allowing the cutting knives to penetrate the corrugated substrate and the creasing rules to create well defined creases.
This type is similar to Rotary dies, but in this case the cylinder is wrapped with a flexible steel die. The die is held in place on to cylinder with electro-magnets.
A Flat-bed Die cutting unit uses a flat die to punch the substrate in a reciprocating motion.