When you buy blank labels from an office supply store, they are always diecut into shape. Then you print on these blank diecut labels. In the world of professional label printing it works the other way around. We load a roll of blank label material into our digital label printer and we print on this material. Then we diecut the material into shape to create finished custom diecut labels. Sounds easy, right?

Custom diecutting is actually a very complicated and intricate process, where dozens of variables have to come together to produce a good looking finished label. The cutting blade of the die has to cut through the label material with just enough strength to ensure a clean cut, but not too much strength that is cuts into the backing paper. This requires a great deal of precision.

The other difficult part in custom diecutting is precisely aligning the die. While we certainly strive for a perfectly diecut label, we are dealing with a roll of material this is moving through a machine, so some tiny shifts can occur. The tolerance for our diecutters are plus or minus 1/32″. For most labels you will never notice this tiny movement, but if you have a very thin border it can become noticeable. Now, we work hard to keep this movement to an absolute minimum, but the reality of working with a mechanical machine is that we can’t eliminate it.

So, next time you peel off a beautifully diecut custom label take a second to appreciate the effort and precision that went into bringing you this label. While we love to talk about the brilliant quality of our digital label printing, it is the die-cutting that provides you with a label you can actually use.

This article originally appeared on Lightning Labels’ website.