Glossary → Die cut
Die cut.
a cut through both the sticker and its backing liner, so each piece is separate
StickerApp describes a die-cut sticker as the sticker and its backing liner cut to shape together as an individual piece, against the kiss cut, where the liner stays whole. The file carries the same kind of path, a cut line, and the shop's setup decides what it does. In StickerApp's file setup for kiss-cut stickers the outer die-cut goes on its own layer, separate from the inner kiss-cut, and the die-cut layer is locked. The same shop wants a cut-line swatch named "die cut" (StickerApp cutlines). Fiery XF lists Die line and Through Cut among its ten default cut names, next to Kiss Cut (Fiery XF cut contours). A swatch named "die cut" is therefore a shop convention and not proof of what the job is: the product ordered decides that. A file prepared for one cut type and ordered as the other comes back with the wrong cut.
Where this matters: Stickers › Die cut versus kiss cut
Related terms: Kiss cut · Cut line (cut contour)