Kiss Cutting: How Stickers Are Cut Without Cutting the Liner

A sheet of labels looks like one flat printed page. Peel a sticker off it and only that sticker comes away, with the rest of the sheet still sitting neatly in place. That behaviour comes from a cutting method called kiss cutting, where the blade goes through the sticker and the glue but stops at the liner underneath.

Cutting depth is the whole trick

Kiss cutting uses a steel rule die bent into the shape of the label. The die is mounted on a cylinder or a flat bed and pressed against the printed sheet until the rule cuts the face material and the adhesive layer. The blade must stop before it reaches the liner. Too shallow and the sticker is still attached and tears when it is peeled. Too deep and the liner is scored or cut through, which lets the sheet fall apart on the press and defeats the purpose of a release liner.

How the depth is held

The press sets the gap between the die and the anvil with a combination of die height, base material and pressure. A magnetic cylinder holds a flexible die that can be changed without removing the whole cylinder. On some materials the liner is left a little thicker so it absorbs small variations in pressure and protects the cut depth from the sheet. The operator checks the cut on a sample, peels a label, and adjusts before the run settles in.

Why the liner must stay whole

The liner is a paper or film sheet with a release coating, usually silicone, that lets the adhesive come away cleanly. If the liner is cut through, the individual labels separate and the web or the sheet loses its structure. On a roll, there is nothing to carry the labels through the press. On a sheet, the pieces can shift. Keeping the liner intact is what allows a printer to deliver one printed sheet holding dozens of separate stickers.

Materials choose themselves

Paper labels suit dry goods and short use. Vinyl handles moisture, curved surfaces and outdoor conditions. A clear film gives a no-label look on glass or plastic. The face material, the adhesive and the liner are ordered as one construction, because the die depth is set for that stack and a change of liner changes where the blade lands.

When a label order asks for a specific peel, the answer is usually in the die, the liner and the depth it is set to, not in the artwork.