Manufacturing Excellence for Die Cutting and Flexible Material Converting

Surface Energy Management

JBC Technologies manages surface energy by using specialized processes such as Corona or Plasma treating.

Some materials don’t like to stick to others — particularly when one of them has low surface energy. Corona and Plasma treating can be used to change the surface energy of one material to improve bonding. 

Zone Coating

JBC engineers the adhesive pattern during lamination—using patterned coating, masked transfer adhesives, or precision registration of pre‑coated materials. 

Zone coating is used to apply adhesive only where functionally required, enabling features such as islands, pull tabs, controlled peel zones, and clean handling while reducing adhesive waste and application risk. 

Island Placement

JBC performs Island placement (a complex, multi-layer lamination) using specialized converting processes to precisely control the adhesive application or transfer.  This approach ensures that the adhesive pattern is precisely aligned with the die-cut geometry, resulting in intentional adhesive-free zones within the finished part.  

In certain products or parts (a Band-Aid is one example, even non-technical people can relate to), specific materials must be placed only where they are functionally required, or the product will fail to perform correctly. 

Multi-Depth Cutting

Multi-depth cutting is done by engineering-controlled cut depths across the die using precision die heights, shims, or segmented tooling. This is combined with tight registration and process control, so each layer is cut as intended (kiss‑cut, partial cut, or through‑cut) in a single pass. 

Multi‑depth cutting is used to selectively cut different layers within a material stack‑up—such as face stock, adhesive, and liner—to enable features like pull tabs, islands, extended liners, or staged release without compromising part integrity.  

Kiss Cutting

Kiss cutting is done by precisely controlling die depth and pressure, so the material is cut cleanly while the release liner remains intact. 

By keeping the liner intact, kiss cutting delivers organized, protected parts on a roll that support features like finger-lift tabs for faster manual peeling and seamless integration into high-speed automated assembly. 

Extended Liners

At JBC, when we refer to extended liners we are referring to the process of kiss-cutting the adhesive layer to the desired part geometry and stripping away the "matrix" (waste adhesive), while leaving the underlying liner intact and oversized. 

The key benefit is efficient high-speed assembly: it creates a non-adhesive "finger-lift" tab that allows operators to quickly peel and place parts without contaminating the adhesive or struggling to catch a flush edge. 

Split Back Liners

We create split back liners by laminating a release liner that is pre‑slit or selectively slit inline, then registering the split precisely to the die‑cut geometry, so each liner section peels cleanly without disturbing the part. 

Split-back liners are designed to facilitate a "crack-and-peel" application process. This approach allows users to anchor large or complex parts with precision, as the backing can be removed in controlled stages. By enabling partial removal of the liner, split-back liners help position components accurately before fully exposing the adhesive, supporting precise placement and reducing risks associated with misalignment. 

Kitted Parts on a Sheet

Kitting multiple parts on a sheet leverages many of the techniques discussed above, including multi-depth cutting and kiss cutting. It also includes nesting multiple die‑cut components onto a common liner or carrier sheet with controlled spacing and registration 

Kitted parts on a sheet are used to simplify handling, sequencing, and assembly by delivering multiple related components in a single, organized presentation, reducing touch time, errors, and application variability. 

Slug Management

There are quite a few different ways that JBC manages slug removal – from vacuum systems to pusher pin dies to high density foam inserts in the tooling.  

The slug is essentially the “donut hole” a.k.a. The part that went to waste until someone saw a market for undersized donuts. In die cutting the market for waste is small, so slug management enables JBC to deliver parts to print, with any excess “slugs” or center holes removed.  

Pull Tabs

Pull tabs are created during the converting process by selectively extending the cut geometry beyond the functional area of the part or by controlling adhesive coverage, so the tab remains non‑adhesive. 

Pull tabs are designed to make a die‑cut part easy to grasp, peel, or remove—most commonly from a liner, backing, or release surface.  They provide a dedicated grasp point that eliminates handling damage and adhesive contamination, significantly increasing application speed and part reliability.