I sew 1/4" from the tip of the pink edge. I view the cut out space as solid and don't think about it. I was told the pink edge is what is on the industrial die cut machines as the pink edge blades are more heavy duty and also gets accurate cuts from many layers. I have seen industrial die cut machines for cutting out fabric for clothes patterns. The fabric is held down with a vacuum seal and then a press is lowered and the fabric is stamped cut. I imagine the fabric die cuts are made about the same way.