The paper presents numerical and microstructural investigations on a punching process of 2 mm thick steel sheets. The dual phase steel DP600 and the mild steel DC04 exhibit different damage and fracture characteristics. To distinguish the void development and crack initiation for both materials, interrupted tests at varied punch displacements are analyzed. The void volume fractions in the shearing zone are identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Gurson model family, which is recently extended for shear fracture, is utilized to model the elastoplastic behavior with ductile damage. The effect of the shear governing void growth parameter, introduced by Nahshon and Hutchinson (2008), is discussed.