Reader's "Die"-gest

Notably, turnaround time is also the highest motivator for converters to maintain their current approaches to die production, whether done in-house or outsourced. Nearly half from the in-house contingent give turnaround top billing, and nearly a third who use outside suppliers give it the nod.

"To accommodate the amount of dies we purchase, and our typical turnaround of one to three days, we'd almost have to build a full-blown die shop," relates Sam Rudegeair, quality control manager at Grafika Commercial Printing. Rudegeair says the use of an outside supplier is a convenience that eliminates the investment and start-up challenges Grafika would face to produce the range of flatbed and solid rotary dies it uses.