Contour Cutting

Contour Cutting

What Is Contour Cutting?

Contour cutting is the process of cutting printed vinyl, rigid substrates, or cardboard to a custom silhouette rather than leaving the print as a rectangle. In practice it means running a cut path on a CNC plotter or digital cutter that follows the outline of the printed image. A logo-shaped decal, a die-cut sticker, a CNC-routed acrylic letter, or a custom-shape standee all require contour cutting. We run contour jobs on a daily basis for Chicago clients including fleet decal programs and custom-shape standees for School of Rock Naperville.

Composite material pink and white letters on wooden pallet display.
Furniture set with table and chairs enhancing interior design

Contour Cutting for Chicago Retail and Event Programs

Most large-format jobs include contour cutting somewhere in the process. Fleet decals are cut to the logo outline, standees are cut to a human silhouette, dimensional letters are CNC-routed on acrylic or Max Metal. The quality of the cut edge determines whether the finished piece looks premium or amateur.

Kiss-cut vs die-cut. Kiss-cut leaves the vinyl on the carrier sheet with the backing intact, good for sticker sheets and easy weeding. Die-cut cuts through the carrier too, giving you individual decals ready to apply. We spec cut type on every job.

How much does contour cutting add to a print job?

For standard 2D contour cuts on printed vinyl, the cut is typically included in the per-unit decal price. Complex CNC routing on rigid substrates (acrylic, Dibond, Max Metal) adds $25 to $150 per piece depending on shape complexity and substrate thickness.

What can you contour cut?

Printed vinyl decals, rigid substrates from 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch thick (acrylic, PVC, Dibond ACM, Max Metal, coroplast), foamcore standees, corrugated cardboard, and most printable textiles.

Where we deliver it. Typical Chicago-area contour-cut production serves fleet decal programs across DuPage County, custom-shape standees for retail and events in downtown Naperville and the Magnificent Mile, CNC-routed dimensional letters for office lobbies in Oak Brook and Schaumburg, and die-cut sticker sheets for brand activations at McCormick Place trade shows.

Related Production Services

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MAKE A STATEMENT WITH LARGE FORMAT PRINTING

Any plan to build brand recognition and awareness of a business or event should include large format printing. The size, artistry and spectacular colors of indoor and outdoor signage, vehicle wraps, environmental graphics and banners will get you noticed and distinguish you from competitors.

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We are located in DuPage County and serve our local clients in LaGrange, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Oak Brook, Naperville, Aurora, Schaumburg, Chicago, and the South Suburbs.

Come visit our studio, We are conveniently located in Downers Grove at 2600 Warrenville Road, off Finley.

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    SpeedPro Windy City

    Studio Owner

    Kevin Chowaniec

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