Work on a dieline and see it in 3D, without Illustrator
Most packaging 3D tools are Illustrator plugins or online subscriptions. If you design in Affinity Designer or Inkscape, here is a clean workflow from the printer's dieline to a folded 3D preview.
1. Open the printer's dieline
- Affinity Designer: open the PDF directly. An
.aifile usually opens too, because Illustrator saves a PDF-compatible copy inside it by default. - Inkscape: open the PDF or SVG. Check line weights and that dashed crease lines kept their dashes.
- If you only got a DXF, ask the printer for a PDF: it keeps the colours and layers they expect back.
2. Protect the dieline layer
Put the dieline on its own top layer and lock it. Never move or resize it. In Affinity, keep its swatch as a spot colour with overprint, named as the printer named it (often "Dieline" or "Cut").
3. Place your artwork
- Artwork goes on layers under the dieline.
- Extend backgrounds past every cut line (bleed, usually 3 mm).
- Keep text and logos inside the safe zone, away from creases and the glue flap.
4. Export twice
One print PDF exactly as your printer specifies. With Boxobox, that same PDF is all you need for the 3D check; most other tools want a separate SVG with only cut and crease lines.
5. Fold it in 3D
This is where Illustrator users reach for a plugin. Without one, your options today are browser tools that accept an SVG dieline, or a paper prototype printed at 100%. Boxobox is being built to open that complete PDF on your Mac and fold it in 3D, with no plugin and no subscription.
New to dielines? Start with What is a dieline?