What the Lines on a Dieline Mean: Cut, Crease, Perforation, Bleed, Safe Zone and Glue Area
Quick answer
On a packaging dieline, a solid line is commonly a cut, a dashed line is a crease or fold, and a dotted or dash-dot line is a perforation. The bleed is the artwork extension outside the cut (typically about 3 mm), the safe zone is a margin inside cuts and folds (typically 3–5 mm) where text should stay, and the glue area is a flap marked to stay free of ink or varnish. Colours are not standardised, so give each line type its own named spot colour on a non-printing layer and follow the legend on your supplier’s template.
Dieline line types at a glance
| Line or area | What it tells the factory | Common drawing style | Typical spot-colour name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cut line | Where the knife cuts through the material | Solid line | CUT or Die Cut (often red or magenta) |
| Crease / fold line | Where a creasing rule presses a groove so the board folds cleanly | Dashed line | CREASE or FOLD (often blue, cyan or green) |
| Reverse crease | A fold made in the opposite direction, e.g. on some tuck flaps | Dashed line in a separate colour or labelled | REVERSE CREASE |
| Perforation | A tear line of short cuts and uncut ties, e.g. a tear strip or opening | Dotted or dash-dot line | PERF |
| Partial / kiss cut | A cut through only part of the material, e.g. a peel layer | Solid line in its own colour, labelled | KISS CUT or PARTIAL CUT |
| Bleed | How far artwork must extend past the cut | Thin outline outside the cut line | BLEED |
| Safe zone | Inner margin where important text and logos stay | Thin outline inside the cut and fold lines | SAFE |
| Glue area | Where adhesive is applied; must accept glue | Hatched or shaded area, labelled | GLUE or NO PRINT |
Cut lines
The cut line is the outer contour of the flat blank plus any internal cut-outs such as windows, hang holes or thumb notches. It is the line the cutting die or sample plotter follows. It should be a single, closed vector path with no duplicated segments on top of each other, because a doubled line can be read as two cuts.
Crease and fold lines
A crease is not a cut. A creasing rule pushes a groove into the board so it bends along a controlled line instead of cracking. Crease positions already include allowances for board thickness, which is why a dieline drawn for one thickness should not be reused for a much thicker board without checking. On folding cartons such as a tuck end box, you will often see both normal creases and reverse creases on the tuck and dust flaps; keep them distinguishable by colour or a label.
Perforations and partial cuts
Perforations combine short cut segments with small uncut ties so a panel tears open by hand but survives shipping. The cut-to-tie ratio decides how easily it tears, and it varies by material, so it is normally set by the factory and confirmed on a sample. Draw the perforation path on its own colour and note its purpose (“tear strip”, “dispenser opening”) rather than trying to draw every individual nick.
Bleed and safe zone
Cutting has a small tolerance, so background colour and images should run past the cut line into the bleed. About 3 mm is a common bleed for folding cartons; corrugated and some bag or pouch formats may need more, so follow the template. The safe zone works the other way: keep text, barcodes and logos roughly 3–5 mm inside cut lines and away from fold lines so nothing important is trimmed or split across an edge. Barcodes in particular should not wrap around a fold.
Glue areas
Adhesive bonds poorly to heavy ink coverage, lamination films and many varnishes. That is why glue flaps and side seams are usually marked as a no-print or “knock-out” area: artwork and coatings are kept off it so the glue reaches bare board. If your design needs colour to the very edge of a glued panel, ask the factory how much of the glue area must stay clear before you finalise artwork.
How to colour and layer the lines
- Create one named spot colour per line type (CUT, CREASE, PERF, and so on). Avoid CMYK or RGB mixes, which can print or be misread by prepress software.
- Put the structural lines on a top layer called “Dieline”, set to overprint and locked while artwork is edited.
- Put guide outlines (bleed, safe zone, glue area) on a separate guides layer, so they are clearly not cutting instructions.
- Keep special finishes such as foil, spot UV or embossing on their own named spot-colour layers.
- Add a small legend outside the blank explaining every colour and line style used.
- Before export, switch off the artwork layer and check that only clean, single structural lines remain.
Line colours are a convention, not a universal standard. One supplier may use red for cuts and green for creases, another magenta and cyan. The legend on the template you receive takes priority.
What to confirm with the factory
- Which colour and line style the factory’s CAD team expects for each line type.
- Required bleed and safe-zone distances for the chosen material.
- Whether glue areas must be completely ink-free or only coating-free.
- Perforation purpose and whether a sample tear test is needed.
- Board thickness used to draw the creases.
Common mistakes
- Cut and crease lines drawn in the same colour.
- Dieline strokes left in CMYK black, then printed on the pack.
- No bleed, leaving thin white edges after cutting.
- Small text placed across a fold or inside the glue flap.
- Varnish or lamination covering the glue area.
- Guide outlines (bleed, safe zone) drawn in the cut colour, so they are mistaken for cuts.
Once the lines are set up, run the full pre-press review in the dieline and artwork checklist, or start from a correct structure in the dieline library.
Frequently asked questions
What does a dashed line mean on a dieline?
In most templates a dashed line marks a crease or fold. Solid lines are usually cuts and dotted or dash-dot lines are usually perforations, but always check the legend on the template.
Is there a standard colour for cut and crease lines?
No universal standard exists. Red or magenta for cuts and blue, cyan or green for creases are common, but each supplier defines its own legend, which should be followed.
How much bleed does a packaging dieline need?
About 3 mm beyond the cut is common for folding cartons. Corrugated and some bag or pouch formats may need more, so confirm on the supplier’s template.
Why must the glue area stay free of ink or varnish?
Adhesive bonds poorly to heavy ink, lamination and many coatings, so a clear glue area helps the side seam or flap hold securely.
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