The slitting machine is applied to cut and convert different materials such as metal film or papers. Hence, this kind of equipment is widely used in manufacturing and producing flexible packaging material. The material is printed and coated in wide, large diameter rolls for maximum efficiency. The rolls are then slit, using a slitting machine, into smaller rolls of the size to be used on the packaging machine.

For harder materials, such as sheet metal, blades cannot be used. Instead a modified form of shearing is used. Two cylindrical rolls with matching ribs and grooves are used to cut a large roll into multiple narrower rolls. This continuous production process is very economical yet precise; usually more precise than most other cutting processes. However, the occurrence of rough or irregular edges known as burrs are commonplace on slit edges. Also, the geometry of these rolls is determined by specific tolerances in addition to the type of material and workpiece thickness.