Print PDF + Silhouette cut guide

Summary

Export print PDF + cut guide, in Export, generates two paired files server-side: a print PDF and a matching SVG cut guide for Silhouette Studio. This export always gates behind a Production readiness — Export print package confirmation dialog that requires explicitly acknowledging any warnings before it proceeds, unlike Export PNG.

Use it when

• You want an actual print-ready file, not the lower-resolution reference export Export PNG produces (see that article).
• You want the matching Silhouette cut guide alongside your print file so perforation cuts register correctly with your artwork.

Before you begin

Have visible artwork on the artboard — the same blocking rules from Production readiness apply here (an empty or fully-hidden design blocks this export the same way it blocks the review).

Steps

1. Open Export and select Export print PDF + cut guide.
2. Read the Production readiness — Export print package dialog that appears — it's the same content as Review production readiness (format, size, output resolution, warnings, placeholders, details).
3. Select the checkbox: I understand the warnings above and want to proceed anyway. — Confirm stays disabled until you do.
4. Select Confirm to proceed, or Cancel to back out without exporting.
5. Wait for both files to generate server-side — a status message confirms completion: Print PDF and cut guide exported to your downloads. When you are ready to order, use Add to cart above.
6. Both files download automatically: the print PDF (e.g. classicSquare.pdf) and the cut guide (e.g. classicSquare-cut-guide.svg).

What changes

• This export always shows the confirmation dialog, with Confirm disabled until the acknowledgment checkbox is checked.
• Selecting Confirm uploads the design and sends a real server request — confirmed directly by capturing network activity: the artboard is uploaded in chunks to /api/uploads/chunked, then POST /api/export/print-pdf returns a JSON response pointing to the generated files, which are fetched from /api/export/downloads/{id}?t=... and delivered as browser downloads. This is not a client-side operation like Export PNG.
• The downloaded PDF is a valid PDF file (header %PDF-1.7) — for a Classic square (7.5 × 7.5 in) artboard with one image layer, the file measured just over 1 MB.
• The downloaded SVG cut guide is a real vector file, not a placeholder — for the same artboard it measured about 85,500 characters and contains, among other elements:
  • width="7.5in" height="7.5in" viewBox="0 0 720 720" — the same 96-units-per-inch coordinate system used by the grid, bleed, and safe zone overlays in the editor (see Grid and realistic preview and Rulers, guides, bleed & safe area).
  • A cut-boundary path: the artboard's outer edge, as a continuous die-cut outline.
  • A cut-perforation path: individual dash segments (not a dashed stroke style — each dash is drawn as a real separate path segment), with an inline comment distinguishing what's confirmed from what isn't: 0.25in grid pitch (placeholder, unconfirmed), 0.0981in (7.06pt) dash / 0.0269in (1.94pt) gap (confirmed physical measurements). In other words, the overall grid spacing is still a placeholder, but the dash/gap proportions within each perforation segment are stated as confirmed physical measurements, not placeholders — a real, precise distinction worth knowing if you're relying on the cut guide's exact geometry.

Print note

This is the export meant for actual production, with server-side color management (currently using the placeholder ICC profile documented in RGB, CMYK & print color). Compare this with Export PNG: that export's measured output (720 × 720px / 96 DPI) does not match the "target output resolution" language in Review production readiness — use this export, not PNG, for anything print-related. This article does not decode the PDF's exact embedded page size/DPI from its internal structure; the SVG cut guide's dimensions were confirmed directly as described above.

Warnings and limits

• This export depends on network connectivity and backend availability — it is not instant like Export PNG, and involves an upload step before the files are generated.
• The confirmation dialog reflects a snapshot of your design at the moment you opened it, same as Review production readiness — reopen it after making changes.
• Historical note: in earlier testing during this documentation project, this export failed with a server error (HTTP 500) in multiple independent attempts. That issue was resolved; the steps and outcomes above reflect the current, working behavior, reverified after the fix.

Desktop and mobile

The Export print PDF + cut guide button and its confirmation dialog (including the acknowledgment checkbox) were confirmed present and functional on both desktop and mobile at 390 × 844.

Troubleshooting

Related topics

• Production readiness
• Export PNG
• RGB, CMYK & print color
• Proof links, cart, and checkout

Verification note

Verified against Blotter Builder on 2026-07-22 (original research 2026-07-20; export failure found then was later resolved and reverified on this date).

Source notes

Primary observations — all from the live application at https://blotterbuilder.tdl.fyi. Network activity was captured by intercepting HTMLAnchorElement.prototype.click and overriding URL.revokeObjectURL (as a no-op) so the generated blob URLs could be fetched and inspected directly before the app cleaned them up, rather than inferring file contents from the UI alone.

• Observed (2026-07-20) — selecting Export print PDF + cut guide opened a dialog titled Production readiness — Export print package, with the same status/warnings/placeholders/details structure as Review production readiness, plus a checkbox: I understand the warnings above and want to proceed anyway. Confirm was disabled: true before the checkbox was checked, disabled: false after.
• Observed (2026-07-20) — selecting Confirm at that time triggered POST /api/export/print-pdf, which returned HTTP 500, reproduced twice. The status message read Print export failed — check backend and try again.
• Observed (2026-07-22, reverification) — repeating the identical flow: the artboard uploaded via POST /api/uploads/chunked plus sequential chunk uploads, then POST /api/export/print-pdf returned HTTP 200 with a small JSON body, followed by a GET /api/export/downloads/{id}?t=... returning content-type: application/pdf and a 1,001,729-byte body. Two downloads fired: classicSquare.pdf and classicSquare-cut-guide.svg. The status message read Print PDF and cut guide exported to your downloads. When you are ready to order, use Add to cart above.
• Observed (2026-07-22) — fetched both downloaded blobs directly: the PDF began with the valid header %PDF-1.7 and totaled 1,001,729 bytes; the SVG was valid XML/SVG (<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>), 85,558 characters, with viewBox="0 0 720 720" matching the 96-units-per-inch scale used elsewhere in the app, a cut-boundary path (red stroke, #ff0000, full artboard outline), and a cut-perforation path made of individual dash segments with an inline comment distinguishing the placeholder grid pitch from the confirmed physical dash/gap measurements.

Verification log