Warped Cutting Plates? Try This.

If you have a die cutting and embossing machine and you’ve used it more than, say, ten times, chances are you have been annoyed by the occurrence of warped cutting plates. When they arrive with your new purchase, they’re so smooth, pretty, and translucent. Then you start using them and bit by bit they get mucked up. They start to bend. And curve. And warp. Then, when you go to use them and lay down your metal dies, they often won’t lay flat or stay in place. This equals you being annoyed. Being annoyed during crafting is not ok. Today I will share a card making tip to solve this problem!

When I first heard about this tip, I wanted to try it for a while to make sure it would work. After that, my problem was solved and I forgot to share this amazing tip with you. I finally remembered, and today I’m sharing it so that your cutting plates will be, from this point forward, wonderfully flat the way they should be.

The Cause

The rollers in your die cutting and embossing machine exert a large amount of pressure on your plates each time they run through. Because of irregular thickness of the items you send through the machine, as well as this pressure, it begins to push, stretch, bend, and warp your previously-flat cutting plates.

Resulting Problems

This probably goes without saying, but once you have warped cutting plates, they won’t lay flat. When you’re preparing your ‘sandwich’ of materials to send through your machine and you’re trying to get a die to lay precisely around a stamped image, it’s important that it will stay where placed. Warped plates = die won’t stay in place. Die won’t stay in place = you annoyed.

This is not necessary! I have a simple solution for you, so let’s talk about it.

The Solution

Label Top And Bottom

You’ll need to begin with a set of new plates. They are a minimal investment, and believe me, it’s worth it.

Label one plate as ‘top’ and one as ‘bottom.’ From now on, you will only use the ‘top’ plate on the top of your stack, and you will only use the ‘bottom’ plate on the bottom.

Use As Follows

Use the bottom plate on the bottom of your sandwich. Place paper on top, then your dies with the cutting edge downward. Place the top plate on top.

So…your top plate is always on top, the bottom plate is always on the bottom. Which side of the top plate is up or down, and which side of the bottom plate is up or down is not as important. If by chance you do start to notice a small bend in your bottom plate, the following tip may help.

Lay your bottom plate on your work suface and press down in the center of it. If it gives or moves downward at all (as the result of beginning to warp), flip the plate over and use it that way.

That’s it!

Video Tutorial

I’ll expain all of this in the video below. Enjoy!

I hope this solves all of your life problems when it comes to warped cutting plates. Please stop back soon!

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