of-sale (POS) materials, and personalised marketing collateral. The cost, lead time, and inflexibility associated with conventional dies are encouraging many printers and converters to explore digital alternatives.” On balancing faster turnaround times with cost and productivity pressures, Hudson says customer expectations continue to rise while margins remain under pressure. “The response has been to reduce manual touchpoints throughout the production process and invest in smarter, more automated solutions,” Hudson says, continuing: “Digital die-cutting removes the cost and lead time associated with physical dies, while advances in automation allow operators to move between jobs with minimal setup and intervention. Increasingly, the focus is not simply on machine speed, but on overall workflow efficiency. “The most successful operations are increasingly those that can move efficiently from order entry through to finished product with minimal manual intervention. Productivity today is measured less by headline machine speed and more by the ability to process a greater number of jobs with fewer people, fewer bottlenecks, and greater consistency.” As has been the case across other areas of production, automation is playing a major role in die-cutting. Hudson describes it as one of the most important drivers of innovation in the sector, with the focus shifting from machine speed to ease of operation and consistency. Modern die-cutting systems increasingly incorporate technologies such as automated registration, barcode or QR-code driven job setup, preset job libraries, and workflow connectivity. Hudson says these capabilities reduce dependency on operators, minimise setup times, and improve consistency. Looking ahead, Hudson expects AI, predictive maintenance, and automated job preparation to play a greater role, helping businesses reduce manual processes and improve connectivity. Hudson comments: “The outlook for the die-cutting sector remains highly positive, particularly in areas such as digital packaging, folding cartons, personalised products, web-to-print fulfilment, and short-run production. One of the most significant opportunities lies in enabling commercial printers to diversify into higher-margin applications that were once the preserve of specialist converters.” Move Towards Digital Elsewhere, Richard Marlow, sales director at Vivid Laminating Technologies, also picks up on the digital trend. He says customers increasingly want shorter runs, faster delivery, greater personalisation, and the ability to produce multiple versions of the same job without the cost and delays associated with traditional tooling. At the same time, he notes a growing demand for added-value applications such as packaging, labels, POS, and speciality print that help brands stand out in competitive markets. “Solutions such as the VeloBlade range and the recently launched Razar have been developed specifically to address these changing requirements,” Marlow explains, adding: “Customers are looking for flexibility, the ability to handle a wide variety of substrates, and the opportunity to create more intricate, premium products while maintaining profitability. “The demand is no longer simply about cutting, it is about delivering complete finishing solutions that enable creativity, differentiation and faster routes to market. Razar takes this a step further by combining cutting, creasing, perforating, taping, and raised spot UV in a single system, allowing businesses to produce highly decorative finished products without multiple production stages.” Marlow goes on to say that the most successful businesses are reducing manual touchpoints and bringing more finishing proUltimately, the businesses that succeed will be those that embrace automation, workflow integration, and application flexibility Die-cutting originated in the shoe industry during the 19th century before becoming a core production process across print, packaging and labels Factoid 54 Issue 361 -July | August 2026 email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk DIE-CUTTING | ROB FLETCHER ►Duplo says its DSM1000 gives commercial printers a “serious” B2 route into cartons, folders, shaped cards, and display work
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