Shenhua Printing: Special knife pad for die-cutting on thick substrates, solving the problems of die-cutting on hard cardboard and thick grayboard

With the growing market demand for high-end gift boxes, hardcover books, wine boxes, tea boxes and other products, the die-cutting applications of thick base materials such as thick gray boards, hard paper boards and multi-layer composite boards have become increasingly widespread. However, die-cutting of thick base materials has always been a technical challenge in the industry. Ordinary die-cutting plates have insufficient elastic support and poor impact resistance, which easily lead to incomplete cutting, numerous connection points, knife line cracks, and rapid collapse of the elastic support pad. This not only results in a low yield rate but also significantly increases the wear of the die-cutting plates and equipment. Shenhua Printing focuses on the specialized scenarios of die-cutting of thick base materials and develops dedicated elastic support pads for thick base materials, leveraging its core advantages of high support, high impact resistance, and long lifespan to overcome the technical difficulties in the die-cutting industry of thick base materials.

Die-cutting of thick base materials is fundamentally different from ordinary thin paper die-cutting. The thickness is usually above 1mm, and even up to 5mm or more, with high density and high hardness. During die-cutting, a great deal of pressure and support force is required. Ordinary die-cutting pad has low hardness and poor compression resistance. Under the high pressure and strong force of die-cutting of thick base materials, it will quickly collapse permanently, unable to provide sufficient support force, resulting in incomplete cutting, residual connection points, and frequent knife line cracks; at the same time, the reverse impact force during the die-cutting of thick base materials is extremely large. Ordinary elastic support pads cannot effectively buffer it and will directly transfer it to the knife line, causing frequent knife line cracks and dulling, and significantly shortening the lifespan of the die-cutting plate. Moreover, die-cutting of thick base materials is mostly for small-batch and multi-variety production, and requires higher adaptability of the elastic support pad and convenient replacement.

To address the specific pain points of die-cutting of thick base materials, Shenhua Printing's dedicated elastic support pads for thick base materials have achieved comprehensive upgrades in three dimensions: formulation, structure, and process. In terms of formulation, a high-hardness special synthetic rubber formula is adopted, with a Shore hardness of up to 65-75 degrees, which is more than twice that of ordinary elastic support pads, possessing extremely strong compression resistance and supporting capacity. Under high pressure and strong force, it can maintain a stable shape and will not collapse quickly, providing sufficient support force for die-cutting of thick base materials, ensuring thorough and no connection point residual cutting; at the same time, through formulation optimization, it retains excellent impact resistance while maintaining the superior compression resistance. It can effectively buffer the reverse impact force during the die-cutting of thick base materials, protecting the knife line from cracking and extending the lifespan of the die-cutting plate by 2-3 times.

In terms of structure, a thickened multi-layer composite structure elastic support pad is launched, with the inner layer using high elasticity rubber for buffering and the outer layer using high-hardness wear-resistant rubber for support, meeting the dual requirements of buffering and support. Specifications ranging from 3mm to 15mm for different thicknesses of base materials are provided, eliminating the problem of uneven pressure caused by multiple layers. In terms of process, a high-temperature long-time vulcanization process is adopted to allow rubber molecules to fully cross-link, significantly improving the fatigue resistance and lifespan of the elastic support pad, enabling tens of thousands of continuous die-cutting of thick base materials while maintaining stable rebound, with a lifespan more than 5 times that of ordinary elastic support pads.

At the same time, Shenhua Printing has created a refined product system for different scenarios of die-cutting of thick base materials: for 1-3mm thick gray boards and hard paper boards, a 65-degree medium-high hardness dedicated elastic support pad is launched, suitable for the die-cutting requirements of regular hardcover books and gift boxes; for 3-5mm thick multi-layer composite boards and high-density gray boards, a 75-degree ultra-high hardness dedicated elastic support pad is launched, providing strong support force to ensure thorough cutting; for customized die-cutting of irregular thick base materials, a pre-formed elastic support pad is provided, perfectly fitting the irregular knife lines, eliminating the need for manual trimming, and significantly improving the efficiency of die-cutting plate production.

To help enterprises better solve the technical difficulties of die-cutting of thick base materials, the professional technical team of Shenhua Printing can visit customers' sites to provide one-on-one selection of elastic support pads and optimization of die-cutting processes based on the thickness of the base material, die-cutting equipment, and product structure. They will debug the optimal die-cutting pressure and elastic support pad arrangement to ensure stable die-cutting results and a yield rate of over 99%.