Impressions - March 2021 - 29

In the Swatch Options window, name the color as required by
your printer, such as " CutContour. " It's important to spell the name
as required with necessary capitalization and spacing; otherwise, the
printer/cutter won't recognize it and won't cut.
Choose " Spot Color " as the color type; RGB as the color mode;
and move the sliders to adjust the colors, if needed, to get the color
you want. Click OK. When you create a spot color, a small white
triangle with a black dot will appear in the bottom right corner of
the swatch (see Figure 4). This helps to differentiate spot colors from
those that aren't in your palette. While spot colors aren't always necessary, it's good to know for when you need them - depending on
your production process.
Now, you can apply the color to the cut line. Click on the Fill and
Stroke color icons in the upper-left corner of the Swatches palette
to toggle to apply the colors. Select the cut line and fill it with the
" None " color option from the Swatches palette, and color the stroke
with the new color you created.
Next, set up the cut line with the appropriate stroke requirements
for your printer/cutter. With the cut line still selected, open the
Stroke palette (Windows > Stroke). Set the weight, limit and stroke
alignment as required by your printer. For example, my cutter works
best with a stroke weight of .25, a centered stroke alignment and a
limit of 1 (see Figure 5).
Now, you can bring in the raster image and combine it with the
cut line. Go to View > Snap to Grid. This will help to align the
image with the cut line. Go to File > Place and select the PNG file
with the bleed that you saved from Photoshop. Click anywhere on
the artboard and then move the image so that the upper-left corner
lines up with that of the artboard. Selecting Snap to Grid earlier
will help the image automatically snap to the edge and align with

the artboard. It also will help align the image with the cut line.
Go to Object > Arrange > Send to Back. Now, you should
see the cut line, which should be aligned with the image (see
Figure 6).
While the steps outlined here use Photoshop and Illustrator,
the basic concepts also can be applied using other graphic-design
programs. Once you get the overall idea and understand the general
principles, you can get more creative with your layouts. With some
practice and creativity, you'll be stepping up from the traditional
white-outlined print/cut designs in no time. 
Dane Clement is president of Great Dane Graphics, as well as vice president
of creative for GroupeSTAHL. He has been speaking and writing for the
decorated-apparel industry since 1987. He has authored several artworktraining books for various garment-decoration methods. For more information
or to comment on this article, email Dane at dane@greatdanegraphics.com.

When you create a spot color,
a small white triangle with
a black dot will appear in
the bottom right corner of
the swatch. This helps to
differentiate spot colors from
those that aren't in
your palette.

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