Import a DXF dieline into Illustrator

You can download any Die Cut Templates dieline as a DXF file and open it directly in Adobe Illustrator. The one thing to get right is units, so the dieline opens at its true size. Here's how.

Tip: the Adobe Illustrator plug-in skips all of this — it drops dielines straight onto your artboard at true size, with cut and crease layers intact and no unit settings to fiddle with.

1. Download the DXF in your unit

Die Cut Templates offers DXF files in two units: millimetres and inches. Pick your preferred unit on the dieline page before you download.

2. Set Illustrator's default unit

Tell Illustrator which unit the file is in: open the settings and set the default unit to millimetres (or inches, to match your download).

3. Open the file with the right import setting

Open the DXF in Illustrator and you'll get an import settings dialog. Choose Original size and 1 unit = 1 millimetre (or 1 unit = 1 inch for an inch file). That's it — the dieline opens at its exact production size.