A die line in a PDF is usually a path drawn in a spot colour, such as "CutContour", or on a layer. The Line types tab on the right of the editor lists the inks used by stroked paths. Give each one a line type and the app knows what its paths are for: the cut line, a crease, varnish, a note for the die maker.
The Line types tab#
Open Line types in the right panel, or choose Edit line types below Separations. Each stroked ink has a card with its line type, an eye to show or hide its path overlay and a Die button. These eyes control production line overlays. Use the left Separations sidebar to show or hide printing plates.
Each card has:
- its swatch and name, and how many paths it draws;
- its line type (blank: No line type);
- an eye to show or hide its production-line overlay;
- Die, to use every path of the ink as the die (see The die).
Spot colours, layers of the file (optional content) and registration colour each get a card; the process inks share one card, Process colours. A page with none of these says No inks or dielines found.
Press the arrow on a card to list its paths. Each path shows its number and size, an In the die tick box and its own line type (As ink follows the card). Click a path to zoom to it. Very long lists stop after a while and say how many more paths there are; select those on the page instead.
Line types#
A line type says what the paths of an ink, or of a single path, are for: a cut, a fold, a finish, a note or nothing.
| Line type | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Cut | The die line: cuts through the material around or inside the piece. |
| Crease | A fold line pressed into board or paper; not cut. |
| Perforation | A line of short cuts so the piece folds or tears cleanly. |
| Score | A shallow groove that helps thick stock fold. |
| Kiss-cut | Cuts the top layer only, such as a label face, and leaves the liner whole. |
| V-Cut | A V-shaped groove for folding thick board. |
| Thru-cut | Cuts through the material and any liner. |
| Partial Cut | Cuts part of the way through the material. |
| Bleed | The bleed boundary drawn in the file; used as a guide, never cut. |
| Varnish | Marks a varnish area; a print or finishing layer, never cut. |
| Foil | Marks a foil area; a finishing layer, never cut. |
| Glue | Marks where glue goes; never cut. |
| Annotation | Notes and dimensions on the drawing; never printed or cut. |
| Technical | Technical marks for the die maker; never printed or cut. |
| Ignore | Paths the app leaves out entirely. |
Dashed lines on the page have no line type yet.
Line types decide more than the cut file:
- Technical inks never print. Cut, thru-cut, kiss-cut, partial cut, crease, perforation, score, V-cut, bleed, glue, annotation and technical inks stay out of the bleed, out of the 3D print and out of the ink totals, and they are never trapped.
- Crease, score and perforation are the folds of the carton in 3D.
- Foil and Varnish show as finishes in 3D (see Finishes) and are treated as foil or varnish when trapping.
- Ignore leaves the paths out altogether.
Set line types from the ink names#
Most files name their technical inks in a way the app recognises: CutContour, Thru-cut, Crease, Rillen, Perf, Varnish, Spot UV and so on. Auto at the top of the Line types tab sets the line type of every ink whose name it recognises; the badge shows how many inks it would change. The same action is Set line types from names in the list's ⋯ menu and Set from ink names on the Die & lines tab. It only sets line types; change any of them afterwards.
Clear all mappings (⋯ menu) or Clear (Die & lines tab) removes every line type and path override, and sets the die back to Cut lines.
One path at a time#
A path's own line type wins over its ink's. Use it when one ink draws two kinds of line, such as a cut outline and a fold line in the same spot colour. On the page:
- click a line to select it and find it in the list;
- [ and ] step to the previous or next path;
- Shift + click adds a line to the die or takes it out.
⌘ Z (or Ctrl Z) undoes a line-type or die change, and Shift ⌘ Z or ⌘ Y redoes it; the Die & lines tab has the same buttons.
Reading the file again#
Read the file again (Line types tab ⋯ menu) or Read inks and paths again (header ⋯ menu) reads the page from scratch. Line types stay on the inks that are still there and on paths whose shape is unchanged; line types and ticked die paths for inks or paths that are gone are dropped.
The first time the editor reads an artwork, the Die & lines tab says how many line types from the workspace were kept, and warns when some could not be matched. Check those mappings in the Line types tab.
When the file was replaced, the editor reads it again when it opens. If another app changes the artwork's paths while the editor is open, line-type changes are refused until you read the file again.
Changing the artwork's Front page on the Item tab reads the inks of that page.