CutContour is the name of a spot colour used to mark cut lines in a print file. Print-and-cut software, such as Roland VersaWorks, reads any vector path in that spot colour as a line to cut, not as ink to print.

Is CutContour case-sensitive?

Yes for Roland VersaWorks: its manual says spot colour names are case-sensitive. Type it exactly as CutContour, with a capital C at the start of both words and no space.

What colour should CutContour be?

The name matters, not the colour. Most people use 100% magenta so the line is easy to see on screen. It must be a spot colour, not a process colour.

Can a raster image contain a cut line?

No. Cut lines must be vector paths. A line drawn in a bitmap is printed like the rest of the image and ignored by the cutter.

Is CutContour the same as a dieline?

They do the same job for different machines. A dieline tells the printer how to build a steel cutting die for boxes and folding cartons. CutContour tells a digital print-and-cut machine where to cut stickers, labels and short runs.

Guide

What is CutContour?

CutContour is the name of a spot colour that marks cut lines in a print file. A print-and-cut machine prints the artwork, then reads every vector path in the CutContour colour as a line to cut. Get the name or the setup wrong and the line is printed instead of cut.

By Jérémy Hervo · 14 November 2026

Where CutContour comes from

The name was popularised by Roland's VersaWorks software, which drives many wide-format print-and-cut machines. Its manual is explicit: cut paths are drawn using a spot color named CutContour, and these names are case-sensitive (Roland VersaWorks 6 manual). Many printers and other RIPs accept the same name, but not all: some use names such as Thru-cut or Kiss-cut. Always ask the printer which name they expect.

How to set up a CutContour line

Create a new swatch named exactly CutContour and set its type to spot colour.
Give it a visible colour. 100% magenta is the usual choice; the cutter ignores the colour, it only reads the name.
Draw the cut path as a vector path, apply the swatch to the stroke and leave the fill empty.
Keep the path on its own layer, on top of the artwork, so it is easy to check and to hide.
Extend the artwork past the cut line (bleed, usually 2 to 3 mm) so no white edge shows if the cut shifts slightly.
Export to a format that keeps spot colours, usually PDF, and check in the preview that the swatch is still named CutContour.

Common mistakes

Wrong name: cutcontour, Cut Contour or CutContour 1 are not recognised by software that reads names strictly.
Process colour instead of spot: the line is printed in magenta and nothing is cut.
Cut line in a raster image: a line inside a JPEG or PNG is pixels, not a path. The cutter cannot see it.
No bleed: a cut that drifts by half a millimetre leaves a white edge.
Several overlapping paths: the machine cuts every one, sometimes twice in the same place.

CutContour vs dieline

Both mark where the material is cut, for different processes. A dieline is the technical plan of a box or carton: the printer uses it to make a steel cutting die, and it also carries creases, glue zones and perforations. CutContour is for digital print-and-cut: stickers, labels, short runs and prototypes, cut by a blade that follows the path. A label printed on a roll often has a CutContour; a folding carton has a dieline.

Labels on tapered jars

A label for a tapered jar, cup or candle glass is not a rectangle but an arc. The cut path must follow that arc exactly, and the bleed must be offset along the curve. The free tapered label calculator draws the arc outline from the jar's diameters and height.

Boxobox goes further: it bends your flat artwork to the arc, shows the label on a 3D jar, and exports a 1:1 template with bleed and the cut line on its own CutContour layer in the SVG. Join the waitlist.

What is CutContour?

Where CutContour comes from

How to set up a CutContour line

Common mistakes

CutContour vs dieline

Labels on tapered jars

Questions

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