Couple dieline/diecut questions...

PrintDriver · 05-24-2007, 10:52 PM

The Standard answer is ask your printer.

I take dielines in any program BUT if you are going to do it in InDesign you might want to make it a separate layer and make the shape with no stroke and no fill. That's what we ask for. Even in Illy it is safer to send it as noted. No chance of a non-printing layer accidentally getting turned on...

jimking · 05-24-2007, 10:55 PM

If you can create the lines in Indy, go ahead, why not? Just make the lines a spot color, not process, and not a spot that's in the job itself. The dies are for the die maker and printer. You can print the lines for proofing purposes but do not print the lines on a live job.

GeeDee · 05-24-2007, 11:08 PM

Thanks for the replies.

What if you're not printing with a professional printer? Without my dielines, how do I know where to cut if I have bleeds? Will InDesign give my trim marks for this?

**Buda** · 05-24-2007, 11:09 PM

I make dielines in Indesign quite often. Just follow advice above. No problems!

PrintDriver · 05-24-2007, 11:32 PM

If you are hand cutting, you print them of course.

Just cut to the inside so they don't show.
Caffeine or a state of inebriation is not recommended for this work.

Who said you had to do them in Illustrator?
You could even do them in Photoshop if you wanted to. Or Quack. Or whatever.

GeeDee · 05-24-2007, 11:42 PM

Cool, thanks for the help!

Originally posted by PrintDriver

Who said you had to do them in Illustrator?
You could even do them in Photoshop if you wanted to. Or Quack. Or whatever.

I was doing some research online, I think it was the Adobe Forums, and most people there preferred Illustrator for packaging. One little tutorial I was reading advised that you create your dieline work in Illustrator, then save it as .eps and bring it into InDesign for layout and print reasons. Just wanted to see what the people here preferred.

PrintDriver · 05-25-2007, 12:00 AM

It isn't so much what people prefer as what the print vendor prefers.

Personally, I find that getting a place eps file out of InDesign can sometimes be a little more hair-raising that just getting an outline out that has been drawn within InDesign. Designers have a habit of resizing things and an .eps outline that is placed is not necessarily the same size as the outline in the original Illy file... If you are gonna place it, do it at 100% please.

Just for the record, the die-lines I use are not executed within the program of creation. They are pulled out and fed into another program that cuts along the outside of the path using anything from a laser, to waterjet, to a 5'x10' CNC router table. I don't necessarily make actual dies (though I've jobbed those out too

)

CkretAjint · 05-27-2007, 12:32 PM

People generally create their dielines within Illustrator and then import them as a picture cause you can move it around easier within the program without the worry of moving one part and not another. This helps you when working and fine tuning your project. Less of a chance to screw it up (c:

**Drazan** · 05-27-2007, 12:55 PM

We use a visible dieline or "cutpath" that is a spot color that is specifically called a CutPath and set up a certain way in order for it to be read by our printer's rip.

We use either Illy or Corel to do this. Haven't tried a path in InDesign or Photoshop yet. Might have to toss another experiment on the printer during an off day.

Our printer is mainly used for signs and decals, the printer has a knife that will go back and cut along the CutPath to create our cuts for us. If you are sending this out, more than likely the cutpath/dieline is not going to be visible on the print.

The other thing that you want to ask your printer is if the require a bleed on the project. I've found that many times the printer's cutpath is off a bit on the registration and a bleed enables it to hide anything that is not lining up quite right.

I don't have much experience with how the dieline is converted to an actual die - for boxes and such.

rickself · 05-27-2007, 01:17 PM

If you're working with a particular packaging company, cd or envelope maker that uses dies, quite often you can download an Illy file from their website. I would download one anyway to see how they handle folds, flaps that tuck in and so forth. Good learning experience!

What I do if it's a template I use often in Illy, I'll convert the paths to guides and then you're sure that they will never print no matter what.

And, yes, always check with your printer before you get too deep into a project. It's much easier to know beforehand than to have a finished project and have to back-track.

**Buda** · 05-27-2007, 09:20 PM

Originally posted by CkretAjint

People generally create their dielines within Illustrator and then import them as a picture cause you can move it around easier within the program without the worry of moving one part and not another. This helps you when working and fine tuning your project. Less of a chance to screw it up (c:

Sure, but if you know what you are doing, you work in layers and you group your dieline once you have drawn it.

GeeDee · 05-28-2007, 09:50 PM

Wow, thanks for all your help, guys.

Anyone know any sites that offer free dieline downloads to practise with?

Couple dieline/diecut questions...

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