The only thing a die workshop reads in your drawing is the lines: which one is a cut, which a crease, which a perforation? When two lines look identical, the workshop either asks (lead time grows) or interprets (risk grows). This guide gives a practical marking convention that leaves no room for interpretation.

The cost of two identical-looking lines

Every line in the drawing becomes a rule type: cutting rule on cut lines, blunt creasing rule on fold lines, toothed rule on perforations. If all lines in the file are the same black stroke, the choice falls to the workshop’s interpretation — and a wrong line in a produced die cannot be undone.

The classic accident: a lid’s fold line is read as a cut, and the lid separates from the body. The die and the lead time are both scrap — and the source of the error is not the workshop but a drawing that never separated the roles.

  • Each line role maps to a different rule type in the die.
  • An unseparated line means workshop interpretation and irreversible risk.
  • A fold line cut through is the most common role-mixing accident.

The triple convention: layer + colour + line style

A safe separation uses three signals at once. Layers: separate layers named “cut”, “crease”, “perforation”. Colour: for example cut in black or red, crease in green or blue, perforation in magenta. Style: cuts solid, creases dashed, perforations dotted. If one signal is lost, the other two still carry the role.

Perforation lines also carry their tooth note (“perforation 2×2 mm”), and on label work kiss-cut lines are marked as a separate role from through-cuts.

  • Layer name, colour and line style state the same role on three channels.
  • Every perforation line carries its tooth/gap dimension note.
  • Kiss-cut is marked as its own role, distinct from a through-cut.

Rules that survive any software: scale, outlines, layers

Whatever the drawing program, three rules stand: the drawing is 1:1 in millimetres; text is converted to outlines; and the layer structure is preserved when saving to PDF, AI or DXF. A flattened single-layer PDF may keep the colours but loses the selectable role information.

On printed jobs the dieline travels in the same file as the print artwork, on its own layer — so the cut-to-print centre relationship is carried inside the file itself.

  • 1:1 scale and millimetre units are universal across programs.
  • Outline all text; preserve the layer structure on export.
  • The dieline rides in the artwork file, on its own layer.

A 60-second role tour before sending

Before sending, toggle each layer off and on: with the cut layer hidden, only fold and perforation lines should remain; with the crease layer hidden, the box contour must stay intact. This tour exposes even a single line drawn on the wrong layer within seconds.

The last step is a small legend in the corner of the drawing: three lines stating which colour and style mean which role. With a legend, the role question is never asked — and any line still in doubt gets an explicit written note.

  • Toggling layers one by one exposes role errors in seconds.
  • Add a three-line colour-to-role legend to the drawing.
  • Write a note on any doubtful line; never leave it to interpretation.

Quote details we clarify together

When the file, material, quantity and deadline are clear, the quote conversation moves faster and with less back-and-forth.

  • Current revision file
  • Material and quantity details
  • Critical dimensions or production notes
  • Deadline expectation and delivery preference