What is a dieline?

What it means for your file

Artwork is placed on the dieline with bleed past every cut. The dieline itself goes on its own layer as a named spot color set to overprint, so it guides the cutter but never prints.

How to fix it

If your printer sent the file back saying “The artwork doesn’t fit our dieline,” the fix page has the step-by-step way to do it yourself, and a fixed price if you’d rather have it done.

How to fix “The artwork doesn’t fit our dieline” →

Where else it comes up

• “There’s no white ink layer”
• “The barcode is too small to scan”

Related terms

Pantone (spot color)

A Pantone or spot color is a specific pre-mixed ink, printed on its own instead of being built from CMYK, for exact and consistent brand colors.

Bleed

Bleed is artwork that extends past the trimmed edge of a printed piece, usually 0.125 in (3 mm) on each side, so no white edge shows after cutting.

Safe area (safe zone)

The safe area is the margin inside the trim, usually at least 0.125 in (3 mm), where text and logos should stay so they are never cut off.

Vector

A vector graphic is made of mathematically defined lines and curves, so it can be printed at any size without losing sharpness.

Overprint

Overprint means an object is printed on top of the colors beneath it instead of leaving a gap for it, so the inks mix.