Output · print + cut PDF
Kiss-cut and Thru-cut in one file
Kiss-cut stickers inside the sheet's Thru-cut outline, each method on its own spot color and layer.
Impose, mark & cut
One layout, every file the press and cutter need
Export the imposed print PDF and its cut file from the same layout, so they line up. Line types set on the artwork travel with the job — Thru-cut, Kiss-cut, Crease, Score and V-cut arrive on separate spot colors and layers — and nothing is cut twice.
From Shop
Today, and with AutomatePrint
Today
With AutomatePrint
Today: The cut file is rebuilt by hand after every layout change.
With AutomatePrint: It's exported from the same layout as the print PDF.
Today: Shared edges are cut twice.
With AutomatePrint: A line along an edge that's already cut is left out, and every line is clipped to its piece.
Today: The guillotine operator works it out at the knife.
With AutomatePrint: A cut program lists every stroke: the pile, the turn and the back-gauge position.
In numbers
- cut file formats
- PDF · DXF · CF2
- Plus a PDF with one page per bed for conveyor cutters
- cutter profiles to start from
- 57
- Flatbed and roll cutters from Zünd, Kongsberg, Summa, iECHO, Colex and more
- each line is cut
- Once
- No stretch along an edge already cut, no duplicate line
How it works
-
Set the lines
Give the artwork its die and line types: cut, crease, kiss-cut, perforation.
-
Lay it out
Run the job; the print PDF and the cut file come from the layout you choose.
-
Export both
Download the cut file as PDF, DXF or CF2 from the Export menu, beside the imposed PDF.
-
-
Output · cut PDF over the print
Holes as inner paths
Windows and holes in the die are cut too, with their own method or Thru-cut.
A knife program for the guillotine
The cut sequence steps through every knife stroke — the pile, the turn and the back gauge — and lights the knife line on the sheet. Export it as CSV, or as JSON through the API.
- Back-gauge position
- This cut
What's in it
- Kiss-cut and Thru-cut in one file
- One PDF page per bed for conveyor cutters
- Registration marks at their printed positions
- Holes as inner paths
- Open lines for folds across a carton
- Strip slits as open Thru-cut lines
- Cut files named after the sheet code
- Cut program as CSV, or JSON through the API
Specs
- A spot color and a layer per method; one page per sheet or form, or one per bed
- DXF
- R12 in millimeters, one layer per method
- CF2
- Millimeters, with cut, crease and partial-cut line types
- Methods
- Thru-cut, Kiss-cut, Crease, Score and V-cut, spelled as Zünd Cut Center names them
Works with
- Marks & registration Cutter registration, sheet codes, barcodes and job data on every sheet.
- Nesting engine True shapes on sheets, rolls and beds, every layout verified.
- 1-up prepress Map dies from spot colors, build bleed from the die, trap it and preview every plate.
Read the docs: Cutting files and registrationExports
On which plan
Compare every plan| Capability | Free | Shop | Production | Plant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut files: Thru-cut PDF, DXF, CF2, one page per bed, guillotine program | Not included | Included | Included | Included |
From Shop.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Anything else? Email hello@automateprint.com and a person who knows print will answer.
Does it write CutContour?
Imposition cut files use method names such as Thru-cut, which you map to CutContour in your RIP. Cut files from a quote use your cutter's own spot name.
Does it cut shared edges twice?
No. A stretch along an edge already cut with the same method is left out, a duplicate line is written once, and lines are clipped to the piece.
Are registration marks in the cut file?
Yes, with a mark set on the job: on the cutter's registration layer, exactly where they were printed.
Which formats?
PDF with a spot color and layer per method, PDF with one page per bed, DXF R12 in millimeters, and CF2.
Will my cutter read them?
The files follow the published formats, and print and cut use the same placement. We haven't tested every cutter's import of every format, so cut a first job on yours before relying on a new one.
Put every job on one platform
Start free, with 14 days of every Production feature. No card, and your customers review for free.