Preflight and cut contours for label production
Label and sticker work fails on the cut path more often than on the artwork. Prepta checks for a correctly named contour spot colour, generates one where the geometry is unambiguous, and applies the bleed and colour rules your label profile sets.
Typical profile
- Accepted formats
- PDF, AI, EPS, SVG
- Colour
- CMYK
- Bleed
- 3 mm
- Cut contour
- Required
- Minimum effective DPI
- 150
- Transparency
- Flatten
What goes wrong
No cut contour at all
The shape exists visually but there is no path the cutter can follow.
Contour drawn as ordinary artwork
A black stroke where a named spot colour is required, so the cutter prints the line instead of cutting it.
Contour on the wrong layer or colour
Named something other than the workflow expects, or set to process colour.
Bleed missing on a die-cut shape
Irregular shapes need bleed following the contour, not a rectangle around it.
What Prepta does
Contour generated from artwork outline
Created as a named spot colour at the offset your profile specifies, where the outline is unambiguous.
Existing contours validated and renamed
Checked for name, colour definition and overprint, and corrected to your workflow convention.
Bleed generated along the contour
Artwork extended following the cut shape rather than the bounding box.
Complex outlines escalated
Where a shape could be cut several plausible ways, an operator confirms which is intended.
Common questions — labels & stickers
What is a cut contour in label printing?
A vector path, usually as a named spot colour stroke, that tells the cutter where to cut. A black process stroke prints instead of cutting.
Can Prepta generate a cut contour automatically?
Yes, when the artwork outline is unambiguous. Complex shapes are escalated for operator confirmation.
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