How to Make Kiss Cut Stickers with a Roland Printer Cutter

Kiss cut stickers are the ones that peel off a backing sheet, just like the professional stickers you buy online. If you own a Roland print-and-cut machine, you already have everything you need to make them. The tricky part has always been creating the CutContour line. Here is how the whole process works.

What You Need

A Roland print-and-cut device (BN-20, BN-20A, BN-20D, VS-300i, VS-540i, or similar), sticker vinyl media, a laminate overlay if you want waterproof stickers, VersaWorks RIP software, and a PNG image of your sticker design with a transparent background.

You also need a way to create a CutContour spot color in your PDF. This is where most people get stuck. Traditionally this requires Adobe Illustrator or SAI Flexi, but there is a much faster option.

Kiss Cut vs Die Cut: What is the Difference?

A kiss cut only cuts through the vinyl layer, leaving the backing paper intact. Your stickers stay on the sheet and peel off individually. This is how most commercial sticker sheets work.

A die cut goes all the way through both the vinyl and the backing paper, creating individual loose stickers. Die cuts require more precise blade settings and are harder to weed.

For most sticker businesses, kiss cut is the way to go. It is easier to set up, more forgiving with blade depth, and customers love peeling stickers off sheets.

Step 1: Design Your Sticker

Create your sticker artwork in any design software you prefer (Photoshop, Canva, Procreate, Illustrator, etc). Export it as a PNG with a transparent background. The resolution should be at least 300 DPI at the final print size. For a 3-inch sticker, that means at least 900 pixels on the longest side.

Step 2: Add the CutContour Line

This is the step that stops most people. VersaWorks needs a vector path in a special spot color named exactly “CutContour” (case sensitive) to know where to cut. Traditionally, you would open Illustrator, trace your artwork, create an offset path, assign it to a spot color swatch, and export a PDF with separations. That takes 10 to 30 minutes per design.

With CutContour, you upload your PNG, adjust the border offset and sticker size, and download a print-ready PDF in seconds. The cut path is already embedded as a proper CutContour spot color that VersaWorks recognizes automatically.

Step 3: Import into VersaWorks

Open VersaWorks and import your PDF. You should see the CutContour separation listed in the layers panel. If VersaWorks does not show it, make sure you imported the file (not placed it as an image) and that the spot color name is correct.

Set your print quality settings based on your vinyl type. For most sticker vinyl, 720x720 DPI with 8-pass bidirectional gives a good balance of quality and speed.

Step 4: Set Your Cut Settings

In VersaWorks, configure the cut settings for kiss cutting. The blade should cut through the vinyl but NOT through the backing paper. Start with low pressure and do a test cut first. Every vinyl brand behaves differently.

Typical kiss cut settings: blade offset around 0.250mm, speed 10-15 cm/s, force between 60-100gf depending on your vinyl. Always test first.

Step 5: Print and Cut

Let VersaWorks print first, then give the ink at least 15-30 minutes to dry before cutting (longer is better). Some vinyl brands need up to an hour. If you cut too soon, the blade can smear wet ink. Once dry, VersaWorks will use the crop marks to align the cutter and follow the CutContour path.

Pro Tips for Better Stickers

Use a border offset of 0.06 to 0.12 inches for a clean white border around your sticker. This gives a professional look and is forgiving on alignment. For bleed cuts (no white border), use a small negative offset like -0.02 inches on designs with solid background shapes.

Laminate your stickers before cutting for waterproof, scratch-resistant results. Apply the laminate after printing but before cutting.

Order a few different vinyl brands and test them. Some are easier to weed, some have stronger adhesive, and some work better with specific Roland models.