Well, I suppose you could put little tic marks with a pencil where the cuts should go, then erase them after you’ve cut them out. You could also print them out on a larger sheet of cover stock where you could use actual trim marks. Or you could print fewer of them on the piece of stock.
Student projects are sort of make-it-up-as-you go while improvising solutions to problems you’ll never run into in professional life.
Got it thanks for the responses lol. I’ll figure out my method for cutting down school projects. 
The simple answer is the final cuts are done via measurement.
It’s the only way to guarantee proper size in the end. Otherwise you’re trimming your piece short, or if it has a bleed, over trimming.
So get your ruler, I know you have it somewhere, and use it accordingly 
If I’m cutting something like this with a ruler and a scalpel, I just don’t remove the pieces until I’ve cut out all the parts. That way, you won’t be removing your all trim marks before you’ve had a chance to cut.
Fix your art on the cutting mat with masking tape, then start cutting as CraigB suggested.
@Trent Sorry, I wasn’t clear. My example is showing where you make your cuts based on the crop marks. I’m not recommending drawing actual lines.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks PD for doing this.
Yes, it’s called the Dieline. That is where the actual cut will be.
Versus “clear space” or safe print area" which is 1/18" inside the Dieline on digital and 1/8" Flexographic.
Bleed area is the extension of the background to make up for the shift on industrial machines. It is 1/16" larger than the DIE(line) for digital and 1/8" for flexographic.
Well, not exactly — at least not in any jargon I’m familiar with. It’s only called a dieline if a die needs to be made/used to make the cut. In those instances, the dieline, as you already know, is typically placed on a non-printing layer and serves to determine both where the cut will take place and the shape of the cut itself so the die can be made and positioned. In a straight-forward trim, like this one, no die is involved, so even if a non-printing line is drawn in, it’s not really a dieline.
PD’s mockup is much better than mine.
I was having a hard time trying to figure out why the OP was not getting it. Yeah, that last cut is a free flapper but it ain’t going anywhere.
Die line, we use the term for CNC cut paths even though we are using a machine rather than a fabricated cutting die. Still goes on a non-printing layer and still needs bleed, goshdarnit. CNC cutting does not just cut off the white. And it leaves fillets on any inside corners unless you are using something thin enough to be knifed rather than routed.
But I stray…
Thank you now i completely understand! You diagram is great lol
Lol, aren’t you splitting hairs a bit? This might be one of those local colloquialisms like in New England they say “pop” instead of coke or soda. I’ve heard it called all sorts of things but Dieline is the name I’ve heard 9 of 10 times.
To me, it’s a clear distinction. I dieline isn’t a dieline unless there’s a die and a die cut involved. A trim with an X-Acto or a guillotine isn’t a die, nor can they make die cuts.
You could be easily be right about this being local terminology thing, though. When I worked at a newspaper, the jargon from one part of the country would differ considerably from another part. When we’d hire a new pressman or printer from New England, for example, some of the terms they were familiar with would mean almost the exact opposite of the meaning we had for them in the western U.S. There was always some care taken to make sure new hires were speaking the same language as the rest of us.
Not disagreeing with you. I know what you mean dude. Different processes require different terminology in order to differentiate them. I totally agree a die is a die is a die and a hydraulic guillotine (scare the crap out of me) is not an X-Acto. But in casual conversation a dieline is understood by most to describe where the “edge” of the art is, no matter the physical process by which it’s done.
Not to me it doesn’t, nor does it match up to how I’ve heard the word used over the past 40 years. Again, though, maybe this is a Utah-specific constraint on the definition. I’m quite sure if I referenced a trim guideline to the local printers I work with as a dieline, they’d immediately question why I needed a die cut on a simple straight trim.
Like you said, though, not disagreeing — just exploring the interesting terminology differences.
My 2 cents, I’ve never called the edge of art a dieline. I’ve always referred to dielines as @Just-B has.
OK. I’m wrong. Happy Weekend!
I am actually very impressed with this kind of friendly discussion, unlike some other posters (perhaps who are younger or less experienced), who might get a little heated.
Keep it up.
