A cut file holds the lines the cutter follows for every piece in a layout, in the same place as the artwork in the imposed PDF. Download it from the Export menu as PDF, DXF (mm) or CF2 (see Exports).
What is cut#
For each piece:
- The outline is always cut, since it separates the piece. It uses the cutting method of the lines it follows, or Thru-cut when they have none.
- Holes in the die (windows cut out of the piece) are cut, with their own method or Thru-cut.
- Other lines of the artwork are cut when their line type is a cutting one (crease, kiss-cut, perforation…), or when they are part of the die. A die line without a line type is cut. Lines that don't close, such as a fold line across a carton, are written as open lines.
Nothing is cut twice or where it would harm a neighbour:
- where a line runs along the outline or a hole that is already cut with the same method (or Thru-cut), that stretch is left out, while its slits and tabs into the piece are kept;
- lines are clipped to the piece, so nothing reaches past the die into the next piece;
- a line with the same shape and method as another is written once.
You set the die and the line types when you open the artwork (see Jobs and artwork). Pieces whose shape is a Trim box, a Custom size or a Pixel contour are cut along that outline only.
Strips layouts add their slits as open Thru-cut lines across the sheet.
Line types and cutting methods#
Each line type becomes a cutting method, named as Zünd Cut Center names its methods. Line types that aren't cut are left out of the cut file.
| Line type | Cut file method | CF2 line type | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cut | Thru-cut | 1 (cut) | The die line: cuts through the material around or inside the piece. |
| Crease | Crease | 2 (crease) | A fold line pressed into board or paper; not cut. |
| Perforation | Crease | 2 (crease) | A line of short cuts so the piece folds or tears cleanly. |
| Score | Score | 2 (crease) | A shallow groove that helps thick stock fold. |
| Kiss-cut | Kiss-cut | 4 (partial cut) | Cuts the top layer only, such as a label face, and leaves the liner whole. |
| V-Cut | V-cut | 1 (cut) | A V-shaped groove for folding thick board. |
| Thru-cut | Thru-cut | 1 (cut) | Cuts through the material and any liner. |
| Partial Cut | Kiss-cut | 4 (partial cut) | Cuts part of the way through the material. |
| Bleed | Not cut | – | The bleed boundary drawn in the file; used as a guide, never cut. |
| Varnish | Not cut | – | Marks a varnish area; a print or finishing layer, never cut. |
| Foil | Not cut | – | Marks a foil area; a finishing layer, never cut. |
| Glue | Not cut | – | Marks where glue goes; never cut. |
| Annotation | Not cut | – | Notes and dimensions on the drawing; never printed or cut. |
| Technical | Not cut | – | Technical marks for the die maker; never printed or cut. |
| Ignore | Not cut | – | Paths the app leaves out entirely. |
PDF, DXF and CF2#
- Each method is drawn as a 0.25 pt stroke in a spot colour of the method's name, and also on a layer of the same name, so the cutter's software can map methods by spot colour or by layer. One page per sheet or form, or per bed with PDF, one page per bed.
- DXF (mm)
- DXF R12 in millimetres, one layer per method. DXF files carry no unit, so import them as millimetres.
- CF2
- The die-making format read by Esko and Kongsberg tables, in millimetres, with line types 1 (cut), 2 (crease) and 4 (partial cut). Not every cutter reads type 4 the same way: you may need to map it to your kiss-cut tool on import. Perforation lines are cut with the Crease method (see the table above), so they arrive as type 2, never as CF2's perforation type 3. CF2 has no score or V-cut type, so Score lines are written as crease and V-cut lines as cut: check them when you import.
DXF and CF2 put every sheet of the layout in one drawing, stacked one above the other.
Notes for Cut Center users#
- Method names. Thru-cut, Kiss-cut, Crease, Score and V-cut are written with Zünd's own spelling, so Zünd Cut Center can assign each method from the spot colour or layer name. Zünd has no perforation method, so perforations go on Crease, where Zünd's own manual puts them.
- Other cutters. Imposition cut files always use these names: the spot colour names set on a cutter in Equipment are used only by estimates. For a RIP that expects another name, such as CutContour, map Thru-cut to it in the RIP, or use DXF or CF2 and map the layers or line types.
- Conveyor tables and beds. A conveyor flatbed cuts a roll one bed at a time. A contour that crosses from one bed to the next has to be split by the cutter's software. To avoid that, set Bed boundaries to Keep parts within one bed (see Sheets, rolls, margins and equipment): every piece then sits inside one bed, and PDF, one page per bed gives one page for each feed.
- Long roll layouts. A PDF page can be at most 200 in long. Longer cut PDFs use a larger PDF unit, which not every reader honours, and Zünd Cut Center support for it is unverified. The export menu warns you: use DXF or CF2 for layouts longer than 200 in.
Registration marks#
Registration marks come from the job's mark sets. The imposed PDF prints them, and every mark with Cut turned on is written into the PDF, DXF and CF2 cut files on the registration layer of the job's cutter, at the position it was printed. See Cutter registration and job codes.
What is and isn't verified#
The files follow the published formats, and the lines are placed with the same transform as the artwork in the imposed PDF, so print and cut agree. We haven't verified every cutter's import of every format, and Zünd Cut Center's reading of PDF pages longer than 200 in is unverified. Cut a first job on your own cutter before relying on a new format.