What is a cut contour?
Short answer
A cut contour is a vector path in the artwork that tells a cutting device where to cut. It is defined as a named spot colour — often CutContour — set to a stroke rather than a fill, so the cutter recognises it and does not print it.
How it has to be defined
Three things have to be right: the colour must be a spot colour with the exact name your workflow expects, it must be a stroke on a path rather than an outline effect, and it should usually be set to overprint so it does not knock out artwork beneath it. A black stroke that looks identical on screen will simply print.
Spot name CutContour Definition 100% Magenta · spot Applied as stroke, 0.25 pt Overprint on Offset 0 mm from artwork edge
Kiss cut, through cut and offset
Sticker work often needs more than one path: a through cut for the shape and a kiss cut for the backing, sometimes with an offset border between artwork and cut. Each is a separate named contour, and which ones are required is a property of the production workflow rather than of the artwork.
When a contour can be generated
When the artwork has a clear outline — a shape on a transparent or uniform background — a contour can be derived from it reliably. When the edge is ambiguous, such as a soft shadow, a photographic background or several overlapping elements, there are multiple plausible cut paths and the choice is a decision, not a calculation.
How Prepta handles it
Prepta checks existing contours for name, colour definition, stroke and overprint, and corrects them to your convention. Where none exists and the outline is unambiguous, it generates one at the offset your profile specifies. Where the outline could be read several ways, it escalates for confirmation.