What is a Dieline and Its Role in Printing and Packaging?

Clients get to hear the term dieline when they are talking to hear selected packaging and printing company representatives or designers. This term often comes up when discussing the themes and design with them. Although it remains a technical term used in the industry, it refers to a straightforward approach to making custom cardboard packaging more convenient for multipurpose.

One does not need a thorough grasp of packaging and printing to understand this term. In this article, we will try to explain them in simple words and also explain their importance in packaging. The readers who need to understand how they can b used to improve their packaging will also benefit from this article.

What Is A Dieline?

Dielines help the production and design department visualize the selected box type and format the artwork placement accordingly. Mapping the dielines on the flat cardboard sheets helps them understand where all sides and different box styles get positioned. The modern dielines even mark the bleed lines and safety zones non the packaging mediums. To conclude; they are vital for;

Marking the box layout
Marking the artwork and box measurements
Marking the artwork placement
Marking the creases, safety zones, bleed lines, etc.
Marking the sides and panels

These lines act as the layout indicators for the designers and the manufacturers involved in crafting the custom packaging tools of various styles. They are crucial in marking the design standard for the production house and the design department. The entire structure and the boxes' designs get built according to these lines. These lines identify and mark the boxes' creases, folds, and edges.

What is a Dieline in Packaging?

The dielines in packaging get categorized as vector lines and do not lose their quality upon editing. Dielines represent a 2-D version of the finished packaging tool. The scores marked by these lines act as a framework for the designers and help with the custom-printed boxes’ processing.

Once the clients and the printing companies agree on the selected material or medium for the packaging boxes, these large sheets get put in the printing machines. The printing machines mark the various lines on the sheets. Some printing companies use the die-cutting machine to chop off the extra material for convenience before printing orienting.

In the following lines, we try to explain a dieline template and how the designers and production department workers identify one-line type from the other. Of course, there ought to be a system for such distinction, evolved with the evolution of printing machines and techniques. Through this system, identifying the purpose and use of dielines becomes very easy.

Also Read About: What are the Uses of Perforation in Packaging Industry

We will also discuss preparing the material for printing the dielines in the article. There are various factors that the packaging companies must remain mindful of when printing these lines on the custom packaging medium.

What is a Dieline in Printing?

Let us explore how the printing companies use a standard dieline template to mark the different vector lines used to identify;

Glue tabs - These areas get highlighted using crisscross tabs in GREEN color coding. Looking at these marks, the production department knows the area where glue is applicable when erecting the custom retail packaging
Bleed lines - When color-coding highlights a solid GREEN line, it stands for bleed lines. It helps identify the extra space that measures substrate movements while printing to prevent faulty limits of the printing themes and content.
Cut lines - The color code for these lines is BLACK. The die-cutting machines cut along these lines.
Fold lines - They are marked in RED ink. Without these lines, the designers and production department will feel lost about constructing the boxes, allowing them to read the layout for folds and creasing.
Safety lines - The dotted lines in GREEN highlight the custom print medium margin that prevents the risk of the artwork from getting removed during the trimming of the material.

Some additional dieline types that get used on customized packaging tools include;

Perforated lines - They also get referred to as perf lines in the packaging sector. The main aim of such lines is to highlight specific areas on the prototype which can be torn. It can be in strip form in custom shapes or as cut-out windows.
Interior lines - They get used for layout with punched holes, perforations, add-on handles or cut-out windows, etc.

How to Create Dielines?

In the digital world, printing companies use software like;

ArtiosCAD
Adobe illustrator

to compose these lines. The production department gets these lines from the design department as a designer creates them.

The printing companies soften ask for samples or existing packaging nearest to the clients’ custom packaging box demand to ensure accuracy. Although it is possible to edit these lines later, starting well will get the world concluded early. At this point, the printing companies must ensure that;

Dielines are vector-based images created using mathematical formulae
They get created for color matching and accuracy
A hardcopy or sample before finalization gets printed to rule out errors before final printing

This step can be outsourced or accomplished by the in-house designers.

What are The Benefits of Using Dielines?

The benefits of using dielines on custom cardboard packaging include;

The design department or the clients can demand a prototype sample based on the artwork and dielines provided to the design and production departments. It will also help evaluate adjustments required via trial-and-error tests. The resulting finished product, as a result, will be accurate and satisfying.
Furthermore, it is the best tool to merge feedback received from the client, design, and other departments for improving the packaging tool under processing. The seasoned companies involve not just graphic designers but legal teams for seamless designs that can minimize complications in the future. Improvising the packaging tool during the digital and prototype phase is better than incurring loss after unsuccessful final production.

How are Dielines Used?

There remain several ways these lines get used in packaging other than laying out the map for the designers and the production department.

Also Read About: The Best Custom Packaging For Small Businesses in 2022

However, when printing them, the printing companies must remain mindful about not messing up;

Safety warning - Details may include information about shipping or storing combustible items. It may also include labels concerning choking hazards in the case of children's toys and related items.
FDA - Approved nutritional labels must also not be affected by these lines. Sometimes an FDA-approved ingredient list is included on the product packaging, which falls under the same category.
Instruction manual - These labels include directions for product or customer information that they will find helpful regarding product-specific safety.
Branding identity elements - These include logos, USP, taglines, slogans, signature images, signature stickers, etc.
Specific labels - Highlighting cruelty-free testing, organic or eco-friendly, biodegradable packaging.
Industry requirements - Including industry rules and legal regulations, etc.

Which Elements Affect The Dielines?

There are more than one element that the packaging companies must consider before printing the dielines on the cardboard sheets. Some of these include;

Most seasoned printing companies try to select the minimum size in packaging for a cozy fit. It reduces the risk of product movement inside the boxes and the chances of using void fillers. The printed dielines will always get printed on cardboard sheets that fit the printing machines.
Weight is another crucial factor that is considered before printing the dielines. Heavy products will require packaging material that can provide a security cushion during transit, shipping, and delivery. Material like this includes options like the corrugated board boxes, which will impact the dieline type used on this material.
What the clients plan to aim for via packaging is another important factor that the printing and packaging companies must consider when printing the dieline. The dielines for the layout of retail product boxes will be different from the custom shipping boxes. Sometimes the dielines may vary from one sector to another depending upon the packaging requirements.
The readers must note that if thicker dielines get used on the printing material, it will shrink the artwork space on the boxes.

How is Artwork Printed Within The Dielines?

Once the dielines are according to the printing size of the machines, it is time to determine the printing method for the content. Mostly the companies use two approaches, which include;

Offset printing
Digital printing

The artwork, which uses rich colors and requires high-end printing on the finished custom retail packaging boxes, gets printed using offset printing. However, offset printing can be expensive for companies if the order number is not high.

Also Read About: How to Differentiate Between Rigid Cartons and Folding Cartons

The economies of scale balance out the investment into offset packaging to make it pocket-friendly for the clients who require large orders and premium printing.

The custom packaging boxes with content with a lot of text get printed using the digital printing option. Moreover, the order number of these boxes is low, requiring instant results.

The printing requirements for these boxes are not very rich or high-end and may include only black and white printing. The setup cost for digital printing is low for shorter runs, which are enough to print fewer quantity orders conveniently.

Why Use Only Adobe Illustrator for Dielines and No Other Software?

When a company uses Adobe Illustrator, they must remain mindful of a few things, irrespective of the design software used for theme content.
All finished designs will get saved in PDF format, which is accessible via Adobe Illustrator.
The designer will always select the color mode for the saved documents for the option CMYK.
Here is the path showing how to perform this action; File > Document > Color Mode > CMYK
For any spot color swatch, the action path includes; Window > Swatch Libraries > Color Books > Pantone+ Solid coated.
As the swatch window pops up, a color gets selected after sifting through the swatches. A single click will add the colors as swatches in the box.
This swatch box gets named according to the project demands for saving in the system.
It is essential to use Adobe Illustrator as it allows files to be saved in vector format, which packaging companies can resize without compromising on the quality.