How to make a cutline in Adobe Illustrator
The manual method: offset path, closed contour, spot colour, overprint.
Ways to make a cutline, compared
Offset Path, an action, a browser generator, the RIP's own tool, or a plug-in. Which fits which job.
Printers and cutters
Roland
CutContour spot-colour swatch named exactly “CutContour”, set to overprint.
Mimaki
Mimaki CutContour / CF cut line registered as a special spot colour for RasterLink.
Mutoh
Mutoh CutContour spot colour output through ValuePrint / Flexi RIP.
Epson
Epson CutContour swatch handled by Epson Edge Print for the SureColor series.
Canon
Canon CutContour path for the imagePROGRAF print-then-cut workflow.
HP Latex
HP Latex cut-contour spot colour read by the print-and-cut firmware.
Graphtec
Cut path sent via Cutting Master from a dedicated named layer.
Summa
Cut path exported for Summa WinPlot / GoProduce on its own cut layer.
Colex SharpCut
Cut contour recognised by the SharpCut RIP for flatbed finishing.
Zünd
Cut path exported as a named cut layer for Zünd Cut Center.
Kongsberg
Cut path prepared for i-cut Suite / Kongsberg Plot Manager.
GCC
Cut path sent via GreatCut / GCC Plotter on a dedicated cut layer.