What Is a Dieline in Packaging and Printing?

Dielines are colored lines indicating the ideal layout of a package. Each dieline is a marking. These markings can indicate where to fold, cut, and glue packaging. The result is a perfectly assembled package that’s ready for store shelves and product displays.

Here’s a quick look at commonly used packaging and printing dielines:

• Cut Lines: Shows a die cutter where to make cuts.
• Fold Lines: Shows where to fold a package during the folding process.
• Perforation Lines: Highlights where to create a tear-off perforation. Not required on all products.
• Bleed Lines: Shows the areas to place artwork and specific colors. Prevents print materials from bleeding into other areas.
• Glue Tabs: Indicates where to place glue during the package assembly process.

Why Are Packaging Dielines So Important for Custom Packages?

So far, you learned what a dieline is in packaging and printing. You may consider dielines as the MVPs of the custom packaging process. Here’s more information about the benefits of dielines for custom packages.

Avoiding Costly Errors

Errors cost companies time and money. Understandably, no business wants mistakes made during the printing or packaging processes. When your business has professionals creating its dielines, everyone else involved in the process knows exactly what to do.

If your company doesn’t use packaging dielines or they contain mistakes, either situation is likely going to cause errors for die cutters, printers, and assemblers. These errors cost your business time. They also result in expenses due to unusable and error-laden packaging.

Ensuring Accuracy

Custom packages let any brand showcase its creativity. You can use vibrant colors, bold messaging, and other tricks of the trade while designing packaging. Custom packages can also come in unusual shapes and sizes.

Dielines give everyone on your company’s product design team clear instructions. As a result of these instructions, your brand’s completed packaging will perfectly reflect its customized designs.

Keeping Your Products Consistent

Businesses utilize lots of time and employees to perfect their designs, products, and packages. Because of that, the last thing you want is for mistakes to happen as your products and packages come together.

With expertly added packaging dielines, your brand delivers consistent product experiences. This quality is one that some of the world’s most beloved brands share. Whether your business targets people or companies, both prefer brands to provide consistency in their products and services.

The Process of Using Dielines for Custom Packages

A company’s marketing professionals rely on dielines throughout the design, printing, and packaging processes. 

With all of the pertinent information gathered and considered, including regulatory requirements, weight restrictions, and size, the packaging type can be determined. At this point, a design concept can take shape! Sketches and flat mockups of the designs will have dielines added using specialized software to indicate where to place logos, product specifications and other branding information, as well as where to perforate, cut, fold, and glue parts of the printed packaging.

By using the instruction indicated by a package’s dielines, the assembled mock-up should accurately represent a product’s final design.

Avoiding Common Dieline-Related Mistakes

Using caution is a must if your business designs and uses its own dielines. Packaging dielines require extreme precision. Even simple mistakes can wreak havoc on your design, printing, and packaging teams. Fortunately, knowing a few tips should prevent costly dieline-related mistakes.

Neglecting the Proofreading Process

Proofreading is a simple process. Someone with good attention-to-detail skills looks over a product’s package to ensure everything is correct. Unfortunately, due to forgetfulness or tight deadlines, some companies forget the importance of frequent proofreading during the dieline creation process.

Mistakes not caught through proofreading these finer details can cause incorrect package folding, cutting, and gluing. It’s also likely to result in significant lost time and money for your business.

Not Ensuring Compliance

It’s understandable to focus on a package’s looks while creating dielines, but industry compliance should be a priority. While each industry operates differently, most companies must include certain information on their product packaging in order to maintain compliance with laws and regulations.

STiCKi’s knowledgeable team considers and ensures products and packaging adhere to all compliance and industry-related requirements. Our experts can take the guesswork out of packaging specifications and design and produce spectacular, compliant packaging. 

Including Enough Spacing

Considering spacing during the dieline process results in packaging that’s easy on a consumer’s eyes. Packaging designs should include plenty of room for text and graphic elements without cutting off designs or interfering with folds. Ensuring proper spacing and dieline placement before mass production is a must!

Contact STiCKi for Custom Packaging

Custom packages let your company show off its unique personality and style. Trust STiCKi to complete your custom packaging production—from the initial sketch to the dielines, printing, and assembly.

STiCKi specializes in offering full-service print and digital marketing solutions. Contact STiCKi for professional print marketing services today!