Sticker & acrylic goods guides

PNG to SVG Cut Line: Make a Sticker Cut File From a PNG

Why a PNG wrapped in an SVG won't cut, how to trace and offset in Inkscape or Illustrator, and how to get an SVG cut line automatically.

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A cutting machine, or a print shop’s cutter, can’t follow pixels. It needs a vector path: a line made of points and curves that goes around your artwork. That path is the cut line. For stickers, “PNG to SVG” really means creating that path, usually a little outside the art so the sticker gets a white border.

A PNG inside an SVG is not a cut line

Many online converters “convert” a PNG by wrapping the image inside an SVG file. The file ends in .svg, but there’s no path to cut, so cutting software either ignores the image or can’t read the file.

To check, open the SVG in a text editor. If it’s mostly an <image> tag with a long data:image/png;base64,... string and no <path>, it’s a wrapped PNG, not a cut line.

What a good sticker cut line needs

  • It follows the outline of the art, joining pieces that sit close together.
  • It keeps a consistent distance outside the art (the white border). 2 mm, about 0.08 in, is a common starting point.
  • It has smooth curves and no deep notches in narrow gaps.
  • It’s sized in real units (mm or inches) that match the print size.

Method 1: Inkscape (free)

Menu names can vary slightly between versions.

  1. Import the PNG with File → Import.
  2. Select it and open Path → Trace Bitmap. Use a single scan and adjust the threshold until the whole silhouette is captured, then apply.
  3. Keep only the outer silhouette: merge the pieces with Path → Union and delete inner holes you don’t want to cut.
  4. Add the border with Path → Path Effects → Offset and set the distance in mm.
  5. Set the path to no fill and a thin stroke, then save as Plain SVG.

Method 2: Adobe Illustrator

  1. Place the PNG, run Image Trace with the Silhouettes preset, then click Expand.
  2. Merge the shape with Pathfinder → Unite and remove inner holes.
  3. Choose Object → Path → Offset Path, enter the border distance, and use round joins.
  4. Move the offset path to its own layer with no fill and a thin stroke, colored or named the way your print shop or cutter asks, for example a CutContour spot color.
  5. Save as SVG, or as PDF for print shops.

Method 3: Automatically with MyStickerCut

  1. Add your PNG to MyStickerCut. Solid backgrounds are removed automatically, and separate figures in one image can be split into separate stickers.
  2. Choose the cut line shape (Follow outline, rounded rectangle, rectangle, or circle), the white border, and the print size.
  3. Adjust Corner smoothing to fill narrow notches, and turn on Fill small holes so small gaps aren’t cut.
  4. Open Download, choose SVG, and save. Pick DXF for software that needs it, such as Silhouette Studio Basic Edition, PDF for print shops, or Sticker PNG for printing at home and cutting with a Cricut or Silhouette.

What’s inside MyStickerCut’s SVG:

Part What it is
Artwork group Your image at print size (an embedded PNG)
CutContour group The cut line: a closed path with a stroke and no fill
RegistrationMarks group Print-and-cut marks, only if you turned them on
Size Width and height in millimeters

Using Cricut Design Space? It doesn’t support images embedded in SVG files. For Print Then Cut, download MyStickerCut’s Sticker PNG instead: the white border is already drawn and the outside is transparent, so Design Space cuts along its edge. For cut-only projects, use the DXF (cut line only) and check the size after uploading. The full workflow is in How to make die cut stickers with Cricut.

Tips for a cleaner cut line

  • Start with enough resolution. Aim for 300 dpi at the print size; a 2-inch sticker needs at least 600 pixels across.
  • Watch for soft shadows and glows. Semi-transparent pixels usually count as part of the art, so a faint drop shadow makes the cut line bigger. MyStickerCut also treats all but the faintest pixels as artwork, so erase shadows you don’t want inside the border.
  • Close narrow gaps. Inner corners narrower than the blade can turn will tear or leave notches. Smooth them out.
  • Keep text away from the edge. Leave a safe margin inside the cut line so a slightly shifted cut never clips your lettering.

Get the SVG cut line in a minute. MyStickerCut traces the outline, adds the border, and exports SVG, DXF, or a print-ready PDF. It’s free, and your PNG file is never uploaded.

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