Label printers run REEL, SHEET, and THERMAL orders simultaneously, often on the same slitter in the same week. Deckle Plus handles all three in one queue, calculates cut-out waste automatically, and generates compliance-ready challans for pharmaceutical and FMCG customers.
A label converting operation is more complex than a standard paper mill because of order diversity. A self-adhesive label printer may have REEL orders for laminate rolls, SHEET orders for die-cut label blanks, and THERMAL orders for POS label stock, all scheduled on the same slitter in the same week. Managing these in separate spreadsheets or planning tools leads to material estimation errors, missed cut-out waste calculations, and duplicate data entry.
A self-adhesive label converter produced REEL rolls for e-commerce sticker applications and SHEET label blanks for pharmaceutical clients. The pharmaceutical orders specified exact width and length dimensions: 100mm × 150mm labels, 5,000 sheets per order, and the planner struggled to calculate how much face-stock material was needed before each run started.
The problem was cut-out waste. A 100mm × 150mm label from a continuous reel requires the cutter to advance 150mm per label plus a small inter-label gap. This inter-label paper (the cut-out waste) was not included in the planner's material estimates. On three occasions in six months, the plant ran out of face stock mid-run and had to split pharmaceutical orders across two production runs, causing delivery delays and a formal quality complaint from one customer.
After deploying Deckle Plus, the planner entered SHEET orders with width and length dimensions. The system calculated cut-out waste automatically and factored it into material consumption estimates before the run started. For the first time, the plant could confidently order the right amount of face stock for every SHEET job and generate the per-run documentation the pharmaceutical customer required.
Result
Three production interruptions due to material shortfalls in six months dropped to zero in the following six months. The pharmaceutical customer reinstated the converter on their approved supplier list.
All three order types coexist in one pending queue. The planner selects which orders to include in each production run; the optimizer handles each type's calculation logic correctly: width-only for REEL, width+length for SHEET, width+core/OD for THERMAL.
For SHEET orders, Deckle Plus calculates cut-out waste from the finished sheet length and reel length specification. Material consumption estimates are accurate before the run starts, preventing the mid-run material shortfalls common in pharma and FMCG label jobs.
THERMAL orders carry core inner diameter and outer diameter fields per order record. These values appear in run summaries and delivery challans, eliminating separate spec-sheet files and reducing challan errors for retail POS and label customers.
Waste events in Deckle Plus can be categorized: trim, reel break, splice, liner waste. Pressure-sensitive liner waste is logged separately from face-stock trim, giving an accurate picture of face-stock consumption per run.
On run close, the delivery challan includes order reference, customer name, roll/sheet dimensions, GSM, core/OD spec, quantity produced, run date, and run number. The run's full audit trail (who planned, who executed, waste events) is accessible in the run history for customer audits.
Specific questions about how Deckle Plus handles this use case.
For SHEET orders in Deckle Plus, you enter the finished sheet width, sheet length, and quantity. The optimizer handles the width dimension (fitting sheet widths across the deckle to minimize trim), then calculates the number of passes needed based on the sheet length and reel length. Cut-out waste (the material between successive sheet positions as the cutter advances) is derived from the sheet pitch and added to the total material consumption estimate automatically. You see both trim waste and cut-out waste separately in the run summary.
Both order types sit in the same pending queue in Deckle Plus, but each production run is optimized for a single paper grade loaded on the slitter. If your pharmaceutical SHEET orders use 80 GSM glassine liner and your e-commerce REEL orders use 70 GSM PE-coated stock, these would run as separate production runs since different materials are loaded. If both order types use the same face-stock grade, they can coexist in one run.
Thermal label orders use the THERMAL order type in Deckle Plus, which includes core inner diameter (e.g., 25mm, 38mm, 76mm) and outer diameter (e.g., 100mm, 150mm, 200mm) fields per order. These specifications are stored with the order and printed on the delivery challan. The optimizer treats THERMAL orders identically to REEL orders for width optimization; core and OD are specification tracking fields, not optimization constraints.
On run close, Deckle Plus generates a PDF delivery challan containing: customer name and reference number, each order line item with finished dimensions and quantity, paper grade and GSM, core/OD specification for THERMAL orders, production run number, machine name, and completion date. The full run audit trail (planner, operator, waste events with timestamps) is maintained in the run history and can be accessed at any time for customer or regulatory audits.
Yes. Each physical machine is configured separately in Deckle Plus with its own deckle width and blade count. Your slitter and sheet cutter appear as two separate machines. Production runs are assigned to a specific machine; REEL and THERMAL orders typically go to the slitter, SHEET orders to the flatbed cutter. Both machines appear in the dashboard, report history, and inventory allocation view.
Book a 20-minute call. We'll confirm Deckle Plus fits your specific workflow and show you a live optimization on your order data before you invest any further time.