With the flexibility of printed design, the need to easily change the cut shape to match has become very important. Traditionally, cutting has been done with mechanical die presses and knife slitters, where the user is locked into one design for a production shift. The cost and complex logistics of storing multiple dies make it unfeasible to have many cut shapes available.

Furthermore, downtime associated with tooling changes reduces productivity metrics, which is often a deciding factor in overall cost of operations. Laser cutting with high-speed scan heads has changed this to a dynamic and easily flexible process, where cut design changes can be done on the fly via software without stopping the production line. The digital printing revolution is ushering in need for laser processing because it is an ideal technology to produce short-run, custom jobs.