Flexo Repeat Length & Cylinder Calculator
Enter the gear tooth count and pitch to get the printing repeat, cylinder diameter, and how many images fit around the cylinder — in millimeters or inches.
Tooth count of the print-cylinder gear (the number stamped on the gear).
Distance per tooth. 1/8" (0.125" · 3.175 mm) is the flexo standard.
Plate gauge + sticky-back thickness — used to back out the bare cylinder diameter.
One image repeat in the print direction — we'll show how many fit around the cylinder.
Reference values only. Gapless and continuous designs use the gear pitch circumference as the repeat; confirm the pitch and tooth count against your press and cylinder spec before imaging.
How gear teeth set the printing repeat
In flexo, the print cylinder is driven by a gear. Every tooth advances the substrate by one circular pitch, so the repeat — the length of one full revolution at the print surface — is simply the number of teeth multiplied by the gear pitch.
Almost all flexo gears use a 1/8" circular pitch (0.125" · 3.175 mm), so a 100-tooth gear runs a 12.5" repeat. Change teeth to change repeat; the pitch is fixed by the press. The cylinder diameter follows from the repeat divided by π.
Repeat = Teeth × PitchØ = Repeat / πN = floor(Repeat / Image)- Teeth
- Tooth count of the print-cylinder gear.
- Pitch
- Circular pitch of the gear — 1/8" (3.175 mm) is the flexo standard.
- Image
- One image repeat in the print direction (the cut-off).
The repeat is measured at the print surface. To find the bare cylinder, subtract twice the plate + sticky-back build from the surface diameter.
Common tooth counts and their repeats
These assume the flexo-standard 1/8" (0.125") circular pitch, where repeat (in) = teeth ÷ 8. Wider-web presses with a larger pitch, or metric gearing, will shift these values — use the calculator above with your actual pitch.
| Gear teeth | Repeat (in) | Repeat (mm) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | 8.000 | 203.2 | Narrow-web label |
| 80 | 10.000 | 254.0 | Narrow-web label |
| 96 | 12.000 | 304.8 | Label, mid-web |
| 100 | 12.500 | 317.5 | Common label repeat |
| 112 | 14.000 | 355.6 | Flexible packaging |
| 120 | 15.000 | 381.0 | Flexible packaging |
| 128 | 16.000 | 406.4 | Mid-web packaging |
| 140 | 17.500 | 444.5 | Folding carton |
| 160 | 20.000 | 508.0 | Wide-web packaging |
| 176 | 22.000 | 558.8 | Wide-web packaging |
| 192 | 24.000 | 609.6 | Wide-web / corrugated |
A given press typically supports a fixed set of change gears, so not every tooth count is available on every machine. Check the gear rack for your press before quoting a non-standard repeat.
Repeat length, explained
How is flexo repeat length calculated?
Repeat length equals the number of gear teeth times the gear's circular pitch. Since almost all flexo gears use a 1/8" (0.125") pitch, the shortcut is repeat in inches = teeth ÷ 8. A 96-tooth gear runs a 12" repeat; a 100-tooth gear runs 12.5".What is circular pitch, and why is 1/8" standard?
Circular pitch is the distance from one gear tooth to the next, measured along the pitch circle. Each tooth advances the substrate by exactly that distance. The flexo industry standardized on 1/8" so change gears interchange across presses and repeats fall on clean increments.How do I get the cylinder diameter from the repeat?
The repeat is the circumference at the print surface, so the print-surface diameter is repeat ÷ π. To get the bare cylinder (or sleeve) diameter, subtract twice the plate gauge plus sticky-back build from that surface diameter.What is the difference between repeat and cut-off?
Repeat is the full circumference of one cylinder revolution. Cut-off (or image length) is the length of a single image in the print direction. If several images fit around the cylinder, images-around = floor(repeat ÷ image length), and any remainder is unused cylinder.Does distortion change the repeat length?
No — the repeat is fixed by the gear and cylinder. Distortion compensation scales the artwork down before imaging so it prints correctly at that repeat; it doesn't change the repeat itself. Use the plate distortion calculator to size the image for a given repeat and plate gauge.How does Flexoworks use the repeat?
Flexoworks is the MIS / ERP for flexo prepress trade shops. The repeat and cut-off live on the job ticket, so step-and-repeat, plate area, and imaging are all driven from the same cylinder spec — and the plate area billed matches what actually got imaged for that repeat.
The cylinder spec should drive the whole job, not live on a sticky note.
Flexoworks captures repeat, cut-off, and plate gauge on the job ticket — so step-and-repeat, plate imaging, and plate-area billing all run from one cylinder spec instead of being re-keyed at every stage.