A kiss-cut setting cuts the label face stock and adhesive while leaving the siliconized carrier (liner) intact. You confirm the right setting not on paper but in a trial cut on the real material. This guide walks through how the test is set up, how the result is read, and why the record matters.
What a kiss-cut cuts — and what it must protect
A label roll is three layers: face stock or film, adhesive, and the siliconized liner. In a kiss-cut the rule passes through the first two layers and only “touches” the liner. On most materials the face layer is 50–100 microns thick, so the gap between a correct and a wrong setting is thinner than a sheet of paper.
That precision means rule height alone is never enough: the same die gives a different result on a different liner caliper. This is why the test is repeated for every material combination.
- A kiss-cut severs face and adhesive and keeps the liner as the carrier.
- The right-versus-wrong margin is measured in microns, not judged by eye.
- When the material or liner changes, the old setting is no longer valid.
Set up the test with the real roll and stepped pressure
A reliable test uses the very roll that will run in production; a “similar” material misleads. Cutting starts at low pressure and steps up until the label separates cleanly. Once the first clean-release point is found, one more step is tried and the liner is checked for any cut mark.
The test layout should combine a straight line, a tight radius and a corner: rules tend to work deeper in corners than on straight runs, so the setting is never approved before seeing the corner result.
- Always test with the production roll, never a look-alike material.
- Start at low pressure and step up to the clean-release point.
- Check corners and tight radii separately from straight lines.
Read the result with three checks: light, stripping, flex
For the light check, peel the cut sheet off and hold the liner against a light: no cut line should be visible, only a faint impression. A visible line means the cut is too deep; no mark plus a label that resists peeling means it is too shallow.
For the stripping check, the waste matrix around the labels must strip in one continuous pull without snapping. For the flex check, bend the liner gently along the cut line: if the liner surface cracks or tears, the setting is too deep and will cause web breaks on the press.
- Hold the liner to the light; a visible cut line means too deep.
- The waste matrix must strip in one piece without tearing.
- A liner that cracks in the flex test means web breaks in production.
The test record is the insurance for the production run
The approved setting is archived with the material name, liner grammage, pressure step and a test photo. On a repeat order with the same roll, production starts directly from that record; if the supplier or lot has changed, a short verification test is repeated.
Shared with the customer, the record gives both sides the same reference: instead of “like last time”, the conversation is about a measured, photographed setting.
- The approved setting is archived with material, liner and pressure details.
- A supplier or lot change triggers a short re-verification test.
- The photo record is the shared reference on every repeat order.
Quote details we clarify together
When the file, material, quantity and deadline are clear, the quote conversation moves faster and with less back-and-forth.
- Current revision file
- Material and quantity details
- Critical dimensions or production notes
- Deadline expectation and delivery preference
