Generating cut contours directly in PrimeCenter

Some files sent by end users are not ready for production, especially for cutting, because they lack a properly defined cut contour. With PrimeCenter, you can automatically generate cut contours without needing a separate design tool. This eliminates the need to open and manually edit each file in design software.

Depending on your needs, you can create cut contours using one of the following check/fix profiles:

• “Create contour from PDFBox”: Uses PDF box information to generate a cut contour. This profile can also be applied to other file formats than PDF, using the image border as the selected box.
• “Create contour from page content”: Analyzes the image content to generate a contour. No file format restrictions apply.

This guide explains how to apply these profiles automatically, but you can also do it manually.

Prerequisites

Before applying the profile, you may need to learn more about check/fix profiles:

• Understanding check/fix profiles and how to use them
• Managing check/fix profiles
• How to apply a check/fix profile to a file?
• List of check/fix profiles included in PrimeCenter

Create a cut contour from a PDF box

Process

To generate a contour based on a PDF box, apply the Create contour from PDFBox check/fix profile. This guide explains the automatic application method, but manual mode is also possible.
 

Profile settings

PrimeCenter V3.1

📌 Creation method

Option available since PrimeCenter V3.1.

Choose when the software should generate a contour:

• Always: Creates a contour even if one already exists.
• If no contour is detected: Creates a contour only if there is no existing one matching a contour in the Cut contours list (formerly "Dictionary").
• If specific contours are not detected: Generates a contour only if the selected contours are missing from the file.

📌 Area & Adjustments

PDF Box

Choose the PDF box to use for generating the cut contour.
 

Contour name

By default, the contour name is CutContourAuto, but you can rename it to fit your workflow.

Rounded corners

Apply a radius to round the contour’s corners.

Adjust the contour placement

• Adjust: Adjust the distance between the PDF box and the cut contour.
• Offset: Move the PDF box.

Adjust page size to contour

Option available since PrimeCenter V2.5.

✅ Enable this option to automatically resize the PDF page to match the new contour, ensuring correct processing. It is recommended to keep this option enabled.

Create a cut contour from page content

Process

To generate a contour based on image content, apply the Create contour from page content check/fix profile. This guide explains the automatic application method, but manual mode is also possible.

Profile settings

PrimeCenter V3.1

📌 Creation method

Option available since PrimeCenter V3.1.

Choose when the software should generate a contour:

• Always: Creates a contour even if one already exists.
• If no contour is detected: Creates a contour only if there is no existing one matching a contour in the Cut contours list (formerly "Dictionary").
• If specific contours are not detected: Generates a contour only if the selected contours are missing from the file.

📌 Mode & Strategy

Mode

• Smart (default): The software automatically selects the best mode based on detected content.
• Visible Content Excluding White Areas: Generates a contour from visible content while ignoring unprinted (white) areas.
• Visible Content Including White Areas: Includes white areas in the contour but ignores transparent sections (e.g. if the file contains a transparency channel).
• All vector objects: Uses vector elements only to generate the contour, skipping raster rendering.

Rendering resolution

Select the resolution from the available options: higher resolutions improve accuracy but slow down processing.

Lightness tolerance

The Lightness tolerance allows you to adjust the difference between pixel values when rendering needs to include or exclude some parts (e.g. when the image is not sharp and slightly pixelated).

The higher the tolerance, the more areas are discarded from the shape.

• Low (Include All Pixels): Includes every pixel in the shape creation.
• Medium (Optimal Setting): Default tolerance, which is the optimal setting.
• High (Ignore Light Areas): Ignores light-colored pixels.
• VeryHigh (Ignore Very Light Areas): Ignores even lighter pixels.

Contour name

By default, the contour name is CutContourAuto, but you can rename it to fit your workflow.

Adjust the contour placement

Adjust the distance between the image content and the generated cut contour.

Control which contours are created

• All contours: Detects and creates both internal and external contours.

  

• Only external contours: Restricts the detection to external shapes.

  

Curve mode

• Optimized (default): Balances accuracy and smoothness by combining polygons and curves.
• Smooth: Prioritizes smoothness, using only curves.