Cutout Design Software - AI Tools, Auto Bleed & Mail Merge

Automatic Bleed Calculation

Bleed is the extra image area that wraps around the edge of your cutout. Get it wrong, and you'll see white edges or cut off important parts of your design. Get it right, and your cutouts look professionally made.

Cutout Designer calculates the exact bleed for every cutout size automatically. We use a proportional 5% bleed (with sensible min/max limits) so your cutouts always look perfect, whether you're making 1.25" trading pins or 3" statement pieces.

The bleed ring is visualized in real-time as you position your image. You'll see exactly what will print and what will wrap around the edge. No guessing, no wasted prints.

In Photoshop: Calculate bleed manually for each size. Create guides. Hope your math is right. Repeat for every cutout size you offer.

In Canva: No bleed support at all. Export and hope for the best.

Cutout size selection interface showing standard circle and square sizes

All Standard Cutout Sizes

We support the sizes that actually matter: 1.25", 1.5", 2.25", and 3" circles, 1" to 2" squares, 3.5" and 4" coasters, 2" to 4" cookie toppers, die-cut sticker rounds and rectangles, and a 2.25" heart for Valentine's and weddings. These aren't arbitrary numbers; they match real crafting equipment. Browse all 22 templates.

Each size has its sweet spot. 1.25" cutouts are perfect for collecting and trading. 2.25" is the versatile all-rounder. 3" cutouts make a statement at events and rallies. We've sized the interface and templates to match what makers actually use.

Need a non-standard size or shape? Paid plans let you create custom templates for any dimension your equipment supports. Browse all template sizes.

In Photoshop: Create a new document for each size. Remember the exact dimensions. Set up bleed guides from scratch every time.

In Canva: No button-specific sizes. You're on your own figuring out the math.

A design showing the red cut line and dashed bleed line ready for printing

Print-Ready Exports

Download PDFs that are ready to print and cut — no additional processing needed. Cut lines are precisely positioned so your Cricut, Silhouette, or circle cutter knows exactly where to cut.

Our free cutout templates include high-quality PDF exports that work with any printer.

Every export includes proper margins for your paper size. We support letter (8.5x11"), tabloid (11x17"), A4, and more — choose your paper size and we handle the rest.

In Photoshop: Export, import to cutting software, align cut paths manually, hope the scale is correct.

In Canva: Export as image, figure out cut lines yourself, manually position in cutting software.

The design canvas with safe and bleed guides beside the zoom and rotate controls

Intuitive Positioning Controls

Drag your image to position it. Scroll or pinch to zoom. Rotate with simple controls. The interface feels natural whether you're on a desktop with a mouse or a tablet with touch.

Visual guides show you the safe zone (what's guaranteed to be visible) and the bleed zone (what might wrap or get cut). Position your key content in the safe zone, let backgrounds extend into the bleed.

The zoom slider lets you precisely control how much of your image fills the cutout. Too zoomed out? You'll see empty space. Too zoomed in? Important details might get cut. The guides help you find the sweet spot every time.

In Photoshop: Transform tool, snap to guides (if you set them up), mental math for what's safe vs. bleed.

In Canva: No concept of bleed or safe zone. Position and hope it works out.

A text prompt on the left and the design AI generated from it on the right

Generate Images from Text

Describe what you want in plain English: "Retro microphone with colorful sound waves" or "Cute cartoon bee on honeycomb background." Our AI creates print-ready artwork in seconds.

The generated images are already sized and formatted for cutouts, no need to crop, resize, or adjust. They're designed to work with circular and square formats, with important elements centered in the safe zone.

Don't like the first result? Generate variations until you get exactly what you need. Each generation costs 1 AI credit.

In Photoshop: Either design from scratch (hours of work) or use a separate AI tool, then import and resize.

In Canva: AI generation exists but produces generic images not optimized for cutout layouts.

A washed-out photo before AI enhancement and the same photo after, with restored colour

Enhance Quality & Remove Backgrounds

Got a blurry logo from a client? A low-res image from Google? AI enhancement sharpens and upscales images so they look crisp when printed — not pixelated and amateur.

Background removal is one click. Upload a photo with a busy background, and AI extracts just the subject with clean edges. Perfect for turning any image into print-ready art.

Both tools cost 1 AI credit per use. The enhancement is smart enough to know what to sharpen and what to leave smooth — faces, text, and edges get special attention.

In Photoshop: Background removal is manual and tedious. Enhancement requires knowing the right filters and settings.

In Canva: Background removal exists but quality varies. No enhancement tools.

A sunflower photo before style transfer and the same image redrawn as a watercolour

Style Transfer & Modification

Transform photos into artwork: watercolor effects, pop art styles, vintage filters, comic book looks. Upload a regular photo, choose a style, and AI recreates it with that aesthetic.

You can also modify existing images with text prompts: "Add a rainbow in the background" or "Make the colors more vibrant." The AI understands context and makes intelligent edits.

These tools unlock creative possibilities that would take hours in traditional software. Great for turning customer photos into unique designs.

In Photoshop: Style effects require plugins or hours of manual filter work. Modifications mean starting over.

In Canva: Limited style options. No intelligent modification capabilities.

All AI operations use 1 credit. Maker gets 10/month, Producer gets 100/month. Need more? Purchase credit packs that never expire.

Three different designs queued together and arranged on one sheet at twelve per page

Print Queue & Page Layout

Stop printing one design at a time. Add multiple designs to your print queue, set quantities for each, and export everything in one optimized PDF. We arrange cutouts efficiently on the page so you waste less paper.

Mixed sizes? No problem. The layout algorithm handles different cutout sizes on the same page, fitting as many as possible while maintaining proper spacing for cutting.

Queue limits by tier: Tinker (free) can queue 1 design. Maker gets 5. Producer gets 100 — enough for even the largest batch orders.

In Photoshop: Manually duplicate and arrange cutouts on artboards. Calculate spacing yourself. Export each page separately.

In Canva: No batch or queue concept. One design at a time.

Available on: Maker, Producer

Text Layers & Arc Text

Add text directly to your designs. Choose from 12 premium fonts selected specifically for small-format readability. Adjust size, color, and position to get exactly the look you want.

Arc text curves your words to follow the circular edge of your cutout, the classic "VOTE FOR" at top and "PEDRO" at bottom look. You control the curve radius and position.

Text layers are a Producer feature. Producer gets 5 layers per design, enough for complex designs with multiple text elements.

In Photoshop: Arc text requires path tools and text-on-path features. Steep learning curve.

In Canva: Curved text is available but positioning for cutout edges takes trial and error.

Available on: Producer (5 layers)

A design previewing a name merged from an uploaded CSV roster

Mail Merge from CSV

Upload a spreadsheet with names, and Cutout Designer generates a personalized design for each row. Making 50 for a class? 200 for a campaign? This is how you do it without losing your mind.

Design your template once with placeholder text like {NAME} or {TEAM}. Upload your CSV. Click generate. Every variation is created automatically and added to your queue for batch export.

This single feature has saved makers hundreds of hours. What used to take an entire weekend now takes 10 minutes.

In Photoshop: Data-driven graphics exist but require advanced setup. Most users do it manually — one save per name.

In Canva: No mail merge. You'd create 50 separate designs manually.

Producer only

Saved Designs

Save your designs to access later. Come back tomorrow, next week, or next year — your work is waiting. Perfect for seasonal designs you reuse annually or customer favorites you make repeatedly.

Each saved design preserves everything: image positioning, zoom level, text layers, and settings. Load a saved design and you're back exactly where you left off.

Storage limits by tier: Maker stores 25 designs. Producer stores 150 — enough for a full product catalog.

Custom Templates & Shapes

Got a non-standard cutout size? Equipment that uses different dimensions? Create custom templates with your exact specifications, and they'll appear alongside the standard sizes in your interface.

Templates save the cutout size, shape, and bleed settings. Once created, they work just like built-in sizes, with all the same positioning tools and export options.

Template limits by tier: Maker can save 10 custom templates. Producer gets 100, enough for any equipment collection.

Uploading custom shapes for non-circular cutouts like hearts, stars, or rectangles is a Producer feature.

Available on: Maker (10 templates), Producer (100 templates, plus custom shapes)

Supported Sizes

1" circle
1.25" circle
1.5" circle
2" circle
2.25" circle
3" circle
1" square
1.5" square
2" square
2.25" heart
Custom sizes and shapes

Print & Export

Print-ready PDF output
Automatic proportional bleed (5%)
Cut guide marks on every cutout
Letter (8.5×11) page layout
Tabloid (11×17) page layout
Fill Page auto-arrangement
Mixed-size layouts on one page

Design Tools

Upload JPG, PNG, WebP images
Drag, zoom, and rotate
Text layers with custom fonts
Background color picker
Live bleed and cut guide preview
Resolution quality warnings

AI Features

Text-to-image generation
Background removal
Image enhancement
Custom edit prompts
Style transfer
Powered by Google Gemini, OpenAI, PhotoRoom

Batch & Scale

Multiple designs per page
Design queue for multi-design projects
Mail merge with CSV data
Per-design quantity controls
Save designs to reusable library
Custom templates

Compatibility

Works in any modern browser
No software to install
Desktop, tablet, and mobile layouts
Outputs work with any standard craft press
Compatible with manual and digital cutters
Free plan: 5 designs per month, no card required

Task	Cutout Designer	Photoshop	Canva
Create a cutout template	3 minutes	30+ minutes	Not built for this
Calculate bleed correctly	Automatic	Manual math + guides	Not supported
Generate cutout artwork	Built-in AI	External tool required	Generic, not cutout-optimized
Remove background	One click	Manual selection tools	Available, quality varies
Fill page with mixed designs	Automatic layout	Manual arrangement	Not possible
Create 50 personalized designs	Mail merge (10 min)	50 manual exports	50 manual designs
Export with cut lines	Included in PDF	Separate process	Not included
Learning curve	None	Steep (months)	Low (but wrong tool)
Cost	Free – $19.99/mo	$22.99/mo	Free – $12.99/mo

Photoshop is powerful but overkill. Canva is easy but not built for cutouts. Cutout Designer is the tool that does exactly what you need — nothing more, nothing less.

Cutout Design Software for Makers

Core Features