Label dieline generator

Pick a common size or type your own, choose a shape, and the preview draws your label with its bleed and safe zone. Download the dieline as an SVG, which prints at true size (1 unit is 1 mm), and place it as a layer in your artwork file. The calculator under the controls gives the file size to build your artwork at. We use 2 mm of bleed and a 3 mm safe zone as the standard.

The three zones on your dieline

Using the template in Illustrator, Affinity or Canva

The SVG holds three paths: the bleed in red, the cut line in black and the safe zone in blue. It also has a size label in the middle. Delete the label before you export for print.

1. Open your artwork file and place the SVG, or copy its paths in. Measure the black path to confirm it matches the label size you chose.
2. Keep the paths on their own layer, named “Dieline”.
3. Make the cut line a spot colour named “Dieline” too. That is the name we look for when artwork arrives, so leave it in the PDF you send us.
4. Run your background out to the bleed line. Keep text, logos and barcodes inside the safe zone.

In Illustrator, add a Spot Color swatch from the Swatches panel and name it “Dieline”. In Affinity, name the layer, and make the cut line a global swatch with Spot ticked. Canva can’t mark a shape as a spot colour, so use the template there to line up your design, then delete it before you download the PDF.

Common dieline mistakes

• Building the artwork at the label size. Use the artwork size from the calculator, which is the label size plus the bleed on every side. A 90 × 120 mm label is built at 94 × 124 mm.
• Stopping the background at the cut line. A slightly off cut then shows a white edge. Run colour and images out to the bleed line.
• Putting text or a barcode between the safe line and the cut. It can be trimmed, or sit too close to the edge once the label is on the pack.
• Leaving the size label in the print file. It is a text object in the middle of the template and prints if you forget it.

Our artwork check looks at bleed, dielines and copy near the cut line, along with colour mode, resolution and fonts. If your label needs a shape that isn’t here, ask about die-cut custom shapes, as used on spirit labels.