How jigsaw puzzles are made

A puzzle is cut in one stroke, as a hydraulic press drives a hand-built steel cutter through printed board.

stations: 7
things upstream: 58
raw sources: 18
steps from the ground: 10

The short version

Most modern jigsaw puzzles are paperboard. The picture is offset-printed on paper, glued to thick cardboard and coated for protection. A hydraulic press then drives a die, a set of steel blades bent into the piece pattern, through the board so every piece is cut at once. Pieces are inspected, bagged and boxed.

Offset-print the picture

The image runs through an offset press onto high-quality paper.

Goes in
Ink Paper
Glue it to board

A water-based adhesive bonds the printed sheet to a thick cardboard backing, which is cheaper and easier to mass-produce than the wood used for puzzles in the 18th century.

Goes in
Cardboard Adhesive
Coat the image

A UV coating or laminate protects the picture from wear and gives it a gloss.
Build the steel cutter

At Ravensburger each piece is first sketched by hand on paper draped over the image, so that no two share a shape. Metal is then bent into that pattern, which takes about four weeks.

about four weeks per cutter
Press every piece out

A hydraulic press forces the die through the board. The pressure has to be controlled closely so the cuts stay clean without crushing the cardboard.
Inspect the cut pieces

Pieces that are badly cut or flawed are thrown out.
Bag and box

The loose pieces go into a plastic bag, which goes into the printed box.

Goes in
Plastic Cardboard box

End of the lineJigsaw puzzle

Worth repeating

The first commercial jigsaw puzzle was a map cut along national borders around 1760, made to teach geography.
Ravensburger can resharpen a dulled cutter only once before scrapping it.
A 1,000-piece Ravensburger puzzle has 1,000 different shapes, so that no piece can fit in the wrong place by accident.