KB78626291: Studio Toolkit - How to create a custom die cut for labels and flexibles

Description

How can I create a custom shaped die cut for my labels and my flexible packages?

Procedure

Die cut labels and flexible packages can only be achieved in Studio Visualizer as we do not support transparency yet in Studio Designer in Adobe^® Illustrator^®.

You can create a die cut operation directly inside Studio Visualizer or you could specify a spot color separation in an editor like Adobe^® Illustrator^®/ PackEdge/ ArtPro and have this spot color separation match to the Die Cut operation in Studio Visualizer.

Custom Flexible Packages:

You can start in one of the editors (we will use Adobe^® Illustrator^® as an example):

1. Open the Artwork file in Adobe^® Illustrator^®.
2. Place your structural design file in the document and align it with the graphics.
   
3. Next create a new Spot Color swatch called "Die Cut" in Adobe^® Illustrator^®.
   
4. Create objects for the parts you want to cut out of the label or flexible package (or the inverse is also allowed as you can invert the operation in Studio Visualizer) and fill it with the new Die Cut spot color. In the below example, we've created the inverse of what needs to be cut away. Don't forget to put every object filled with the Die Cut ink in Overprint Fill!
   
5. From Adobe^® Illustrator^®/ PackEdge/ ArtPro perform an Open in Visualizer. As you can see, in this example, the Die Cut operation in Visualizer will cut out the inside of the flexible package, so you'll need to select the Die Cut operation in the Operations Stack in Visualizer and enable the Invert option.
   
   
6. Export the final result to a 3D file for Viewing (Collada file with textures) which can be opened in any Studio Viewer and/ or Studio Visualizer and Store Visualizer.
7. Optionally, when importing this final file for viewing into Store Visualizer, you'll need to tweak the materials so that it would completely mask away the die cut areas, as technically all the 3D geometry is still present, it was set to completely transparent in Studio Visualizer only. Open Store Visualizer and import the model, making sure to enable Modifiable materials on Import.
   
8. In the Settings tab, disable Ambient lighting option.
   
9. After importing into Store Visualizer, select the file in the Library, open the Model Browser and the Material Editor. Notice that even though the file looks fine in the Model Browser, it still looks incorrect on a shelf.
   
   
   
10. As you can see, the completely transparent geometry is still casting a shadow and blocking light. If you decompose the collision envelop, you will see that there is still 3D geometry where the die cut was applied.
    
11. To overcome this, simply enable Clipping Mask for both the Front AND Back Materials (optionally also reduce the shadow strength) in the Material Editor:
    

Custom Label shapes:

You can start in one of the editors (we will use Adobe^® Illustrator^® as example):

1. Open the Artwork file in Adobe^® Illustrator^®.
2. Place your structural design file in the document and align it with the graphics.
   
3. Next create a new Spot Color swatch called "Die Cut" in Adobe^® Illustrator^®.
   
4. Create objects for the parts you want to cut out of the label (or the inverse is also allowed as you can invert the operation in Studio Visualizer) and fill it with the new Die Cut spot color. In the below example, we've created the inverse of what needs to be cut away. Don't forget to put every object filled with the Die Cut ink in Overprint Fill!
   

5. From Adobe^® Illustrator^®/ PackEdge/ ArtPro perform an Open in Visualizer. As you can see, in this example, the Die Cut operation in Visualizer will cut out the inside of the flexible package, so you'll need to select the Die Cut operation in the Operations Stack in Visualizer and enable the Invert option.
   
   

6. Export the final result to a 3D file for Viewing (Collada file with textures) which can be opened in any Studio Viewer and/or Studio Visualizer and Store Visualizer.
7. Importing this file into Store Visualizer does not require any material editing since the label is glued onto another surface.