Creating a CutContour

What does a cut DTF transfer do for you?

With CUT DTF, finishing becomes noticeably easier. Your designs arrive already cut to shape, you place them straight on the textile and press them on. That saves time on every piece, and the result looks the same from the first piece to the last.

• Finished faster: Especially with designs you need again and again, and with larger quantities, you save a noticeable amount of working time.
• Every design the same size: Even with large quantities, every transfer comes out identical.
• Easier to align: You place the pre-cut design on the textile more quickly.
• Plannable in series: You can order from one piece, and there are tiered prices for larger quantities.

Typical uses are company logos for workwear or crests for jerseys and teamwear. CUT is available by the metre at 560 x 1000 mm in two versions:

• CUT DTF Transfer for 100 per cent cotton and blends with at least 70 per cent cotton
• CUT Blockout DTF for dyed polyester textiles, with Blockout adhesive against dye migration, not for water-repellent coated fabrics

Download a free print template for CUT

So that you do not have to start from scratch, you get our working file in the final format 560 x 1000 mm as a PDF. It already contains a sample cut line: a closed path in the spot colour CutContour, 1 pt thick. If you open the template in Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can see in the Output Preview what a correctly set up CutContour looks like.

Place your designs on the template, draw a separate cut line around each one and save the file as a single-page PDF.

Template CUT DTF Transfer (PDF) Template CUT Blockout DTF (PDF)

Creating a CutContour line in different programs

Adobe Illustrator

Create a new swatch:

• Open the Swatches panel (Window > Swatches).
• Click the menu icon and choose ‘New Swatch’.
• Set the colour type to ‘Spot Color’ and name it ‘CutContour’.
• Choose a striking colour (e.g. magenta) so that it stands out from the design.
• Save, done!

Create the cut line:

• Use the Pen or Rectangle tool to draw a line around your design.
• Set the stroke weight to at least 1 pt.
• Make sure there is at least 5 mm between the cut lines and to the design.
• Apply the CutContour colour to the line.
• Save the file as a PDF.

Affinity Designer

Since October 2025, Affinity Designer has been part of Canva’s free Affinity app. There you work in the Vector area; the steps remain basically the same.

Create a spot colour:

• Open the Swatches panel and create a new swatch.
• Choose ‘Spot’ and name it ‘CutContour’.
• Choose a colour, save, done!

Assign the CutContour colour to the line:

• Create an outline around your design with the Pen or Shape tool.
• Choose the CutContour colour.
• Set the stroke weight to at least 1 pt.
• Make sure there is at least 5 mm between the cut lines and to the design.
• Save as a PDF with spot colour support.

CorelDRAW

Set up CutContour as a spot colour:

• Open the colour palette panel.
• Create a new colour, define it as a solid colour (spot colour) and name it ‘CutContour’.
• Choose a striking colour (e.g. magenta) and save.

Draw the cut line:

• Create an outline around your design with the Bézier or Rectangle tool.
• Choose the CutContour colour for the outline.
• Set a minimum stroke width of 1 pt.
• Make sure there is at least 5 mm between the cut lines and to the design.
• Save as a PDF.

Canva: is it possible?

Canva does not support real spot colours. If you still want to create a CutContour in Canva:

Create a line:

• Create a line or shape around your design.
• Choose a striking colour (e.g. magenta) so that the print shop can recognise it later.
• Make sure there is at least 5 mm between the cut lines and to the design.

Export as PDF:

• Click ‘Share’ > ‘Download’.
• Choose ‘PDF Print’.
• Leave ‘Crop marks and bleed’ switched off; the PDF must stay exactly at the final format.
• The file then has to be edited in another program to define the line as a spot colour. You can do this in the free Affinity app, for example.

Setting up cut paths on the designs correctly

If you place several designs on one gang sheet, make sure that each individual design gets its own cut path. You need at least 5 mm between two cut lines and between a line and the design.

Checking the file in Adobe Acrobat

After exporting your file, you should check whether the CutContour line has actually been set up as a spot colour. You can do this with Adobe Acrobat Pro as follows:

1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
2. Go to Tools > Print Production > Output Preview.
3. Under Separations Preview you can show and hide individual colours.
4. Look for the spot colour CutContour.
5. If it is missing, the line was not set up as a spot colour. You then need to correct this in your design program.

If you only have Adobe Acrobat Reader available, your options for checking are limited:

• Visual check: Is the CutContour line visible and does it stand out from the design?
• Interacting with the line: If possible, click on the line and check whether colour information is displayed.
• Print simulation: If your printer supports colour management, you can print a test page. If the line is printed, it has not been set up as a spot colour.

For a reliable check we recommend Adobe Acrobat Pro or another professional preflight tool.

For comparison, you can open our template as well. There, the sample cut line is set up in the spot colour CutContour and appears as a separate colour in the Output Preview.

Common mistakes with the CutContour

These are the points where a clean cut most often fails:

• Name spelt wrongly: The cutting plotter does not recognise ‘Cut Contour’ or ‘cutcontour’. The colour is called exactly CutContour.
• Fill instead of stroke: The CutContour colour belongs on the stroke of the line, not on the fill.
• Open path: If the line does not close, the design will not be cut out completely.
• One path for several designs: Each design needs its own closed line.
• Spot colour lost on export: As a PNG or JPG, or if all colours are converted to CMYK on export, CutContour becomes a normal print colour. The line would then be printed instead of cut. Save as a PDF and check the result in the Output Preview.
• Too little space: Less than 5 mm between two lines or between a line and the design cannot be cut cleanly.

Conclusion

A correctly created CutContour line ensures precise cuts in print production. In Illustrator, Affinity Designer and CorelDRAW you can set it up directly as a spot colour in the colour swatches.

Before you send the file to the print shop, you should always make sure that:

• The CutContour is recognised as a spot colour (e.g. with Acrobat Pro).
• The file is saved as a PDF. PNG files will not work.
• The line thickness is at least 1 pt everywhere.
• The distance between the cut lines is at least 5 mm throughout.
• There is also at least 5 mm of free space between the cut line and the design.
• The PDF has only one page and is not mirrored.
• The design is set up in CMYK with the ISO Coated v2 (ECI) profile and all elements are at least 0.4 mm thick.

With these steps, you avoid problems in printing and get a perfect end product!

Order CUT transfers

Is your file ready? Then upload it directly to the matching product. You can add the Pro File Check if needed.

Order CUT DTF Transfer Order CUT Blockout DTF

Also useful: Setting up print files correctly, FAQ and Heat press settings.

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Wishing you every success with your projects,

DTF-King Team