File requirements
What makes a file cuttable
Most bad cut paths are bad input, not bad settings. Two minutes here saves an argument with a client later.
Resolution at finished size
Not the pixel count — the pixel count spread across how big the thing actually prints. A 6400px file is generous at 60cm and thin at 300cm.
| Effective | Verdict | What you'll see |
|---|---|---|
| Under 30 dpi | Argued with | One pixel is close to a millimetre. The screen says so loudly and the button reads Download anyway — the figure is the printed raster, and the cut path beside it is vector. |
| 30–50 dpi | Flagged | Workable for a floor piece seen from a distance. The cut can't be tighter than the pixels. |
| 50–100 dpi | Fine | Normal for large format. Nothing is said, though 50–60 is worth a glance. |
| Over 100 dpi | Good | Tight tracing, fine detail holds. |
To work it out: pixel width ÷ finished width in inches. A 4000px file printed 173cm (68in) wide is 59 dpi.
The upload limits. PDF, PNG, JPEG, WebP or TIFF, up to 200 MB and under 60 megapixels per file. A batch takes up to 40 files at once, and every filename in a batch needs its finished size in it — 30CM, 40h, 250_width.
Transparent beats white
A transparent background means the edge is already decided — the alpha channel says exactly what is artwork and what isn't. Nothing has to be inferred.
Flattened onto white, the edge has to be guessed from brightness. That works for dark subjects on white and fails for pale ones: a cream tusk against a white background has almost no brightness gap to find.
A 60 dpi file with alpha will out-trace a 100 dpi file without.
| Format | Alpha | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| PNG | Yes | Silhouettes |
| Usually | Anything from Illustrator | |
| WebP | Lossless, yes | Silhouettes, at a smaller file size |
| JPG | No | Rectangles and shapes only |
| TIFF | Sometimes | Taken, with the caveats below |
| AI, EPS, PSD | Not taken | Export to PDF or PNG first |
About TIFF. TIFF is a container rather than one format, so a TIFF holds whatever was put in it: CMYK or RGB, 8-bit or 16-bit, one page or several. All of those upload and trace. Two things to know — only the first page is traced, and a TIFF carries transparency only when it was saved with an alpha channel, which a CMYK one never is. Without one the edge is guessed from the background, the same as a JPEG.
About WebP. A lossless WebP keeps a real alpha channel and is the smallest way to send a silhouette. A lossy one has no alpha channel at all, so it behaves like a JPEG. The encoder drops an alpha channel that is opaque everywhere, which is the right thing — an alpha channel carrying no silhouette is worse than none.
Things that cause trouble
Artwork already carrying a cut path
Common with files that have been through prepress once. On a drawn shape the job names the separation it found, because the cutter would follow both paths. Strip the old one in Illustrator and run it again, or take the file as it came.
Soft or feathered edges
Watercolour, airbrush, fur. There's no single correct edge, so the threshold is yours to set. Too low and you cut into bare white.
Drop shadows on a white background
A soft grey shadow reads as artwork and bulges the cut around it. Supply the file without the shadow, or with real transparency.
Content close to the edge
Scalloped borders swing inward at the troughs. Keep logos and text clear of a band equal to the scallop depth plus your blade offset.
Briefing a client or designer
Send them this: supply the artwork at final size, at least 50 dpi at that size, as a PDF, PNG or lossless WebP with a transparent background, no drop shadow baked in, and nothing important within 5 cm of the edge.