Contour cut and photoshop

[joelthomas]

Ok, based on your work flow I believe it's easier than you think.

In Photoshop, make a selection of the cut path you want. Any way you want to do it.

Once you you have made your selection (you have the "dancing ants"). Go to the Path palette. At the bottom there is an icon that will say "make work path". Click it.

You our now have a path named "Work Path"

Double let click on name. It will default to naming it Path 1. Any name other than "work path" is fine.

Here you can now either edit the path using Photoshop path editing tools or just continue.

Next go go the Path Palette options. Click on Make Clipping Mask and select the path you've just made.

You our can now save as eps (I recommend no compression) I believe selecting Tiff format now works as well, but eps will give you smaller file.

Open or Place file in to Illustrator. I think open will work but you don't need to "Import".

You now have your image file, with a vector clipping mask, in Illustrator. On top of each other and aligned to each other. In a single file.

Select "Release Clipping Mask" it's near the bottom of the second or third drop down menu.

In your Swatches menu - Create a new color. It MUST be a Spot Color, not process. It MUST be named "CutContour" unless you've made unnecessary changes in onyx. The physical color can be anything. Most people pick a bright color that would never normally be in design so that you know it's there.

Select you path and fill or apply to stoke (not both) the cut contour color you made.

It it is important that the path be above everything in the Illustrator file. Either create a new layer and move path to the upper layer, or "bring to front" if you're only using a single layer. Onyx has to see this color first when it starts looking at file.

Save as PDF or EPS.

Open in Onyx Job Editor. In the newer versions of Onyx there is a toggle button in the lower left corner to Display Cut path. You can toggle this on and off to make sure onyx is properly seeing you cut path. If it toggles off your good, if it doesn't, your name is wrong, path isn't on top, or it a process color vs Spot color.

 

[altereddezignz]

Ok, based on your work flow I believe it's easier than you think.

In Photoshop, make a selection of the cut path you want. Any way you want to do it.

Once you you have made your selection (you have the "dancing ants"). Go to the Path palette. At the bottom there is an icon that will say "make work path". Click it.

You our now have a path named "Work Path"

Double let click on name. It will default to naming it Path 1. Any name other than "work path" is fine.

Here you can now either edit the path using Photoshop path editing tools or just continue.

Next go go the Path Palette options. Click on Make Clipping Mask and select the path you've just made.

You our can now save as eps (I recommend no compression) I believe selecting Tiff format now works as well, but eps will give you smaller file.

Open or Place file in to Illustrator. I think open will work but you don't need to "Import".

You now have your image file, with a vector clipping mask, in Illustrator. On top of each other and aligned to each other. In a single file.

Select "Release Clipping Mask" it's near the bottom of the second or third drop down menu.

In your Swatches menu - Create a new color. It MUST be a Spot Color, not process. It MUST be named "CutContour" unless you've made unnecessary changes in onyx. The physical color can be anything. Most people pick a bright color that would never normally be in design so that you know it's there.

Select you path and fill or apply to stoke (not both) the cut contour color you made.

It it is important that the path be above everything in the Illustrator file. Either create a new layer and move path to the upper layer, or "bring to front" if you're only using a single layer. Onyx has to see this color first when it starts looking at file.

Save as PDF or EPS.

Open in Onyx Job Editor. In the newer versions of Onyx there is a toggle button in the lower left corner to Display Cut path. You can toggle this on and off to make sure onyx is properly seeing you cut path. If it toggles off your good, if it doesn't, your name is wrong, path isn't on top, or it a process color vs Spot color.

Tried this step for step but when i try to open the file when saves as an EPS eithe rDocs1 or Docs 2 from PS AI freezes up and will not open the file. Tried in cs6, 2015,2015 and 2017 just to make sure it wasnt something crazy with one version. Tried it with saving it as a pdf and it only has the image not the path i created.

I know how to create work paths from PS but when i export them to AI and then give the path a stroke the lines are not that good and do not match and wouldn't be usable for a cut bath based on when you place the actual print image into AI and align the cut path.

I Have even tried giving the object a fill color in PS and then saving that then opening in AI and using image trace but i still do not get good results.

Its not like the file is very hard either i could actually use the pen tool in AI and create the cut paths but i am trying to automate and simplify for speed purposes for other files i just happen to be using this file.

No shadows or anything like that i am having to deal with bc drow shadows and creating a cut path would be a whole nother issue lol..

 

[altereddezignz]

Tried this step for step but when i try to open the file when saves as an EPS eithe rDocs1 or Docs 2 from PS AI freezes up and will not open the file. Tried in cs6, 2015,2015 and 2017 just to make sure it wasnt something crazy with one version. Tried it with saving it as a pdf and it only has the image not the path i created.

I know how to create work paths from PS but when i export them to AI and then give the path a stroke the lines are not that good and do not match and wouldn't be usable for a cut bath based on when you place the actual print image into AI and align the cut path.

I Have even tried giving the object a fill color in PS and then saving that then opening in AI and using image trace but i still do not get good results.

Its not like the file is very hard either i could actually use the pen tool in AI and create the cut paths but i am trying to automate and simplify for speed purposes for other files i just happen to be using this file.

No shadows or anything like that i am having to deal with bc drow shadows and creating a cut path would be a whole nother issue lol..

Ok so here i where i am at.
Opened my template in PS it is a 720 dpi file at a smaller scale. Created my design and saved it as a pdf. I turned off all the downscaling. Then i opened that file in Illustrator by going to File / open.
I created my cut path and did t scale anything. I saved the file as a PDF with no down scaling. My file is now 72 dpi before i scale it up to 1000% to make it full size?

I cannot use EPS as it doesnt embed the color profile so my colors change. I cannot use .ai as onyx doesnt recognise it. I cannot export as a .tiff out of AI b/c onyx doenst see the cut path labeled at cut contour from AI and will not cut the file..

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

your file should be 720dpi out of illustrator if you are still at 10% scale.

 

[altereddezignz]

Tried it again just to make sure and still same outcome.

The file i am opening into AI is 720 dpi but the saved pdf is 72 dpi?

I have tried opening a blank AI file and then placing the file into the new ai file. Same outcome.
I have attached a few files. You will see one shows 720 dpi. Thats the file saved out of PS.
The one that shows 72 is saving out of AI.
I tried placign the file into a new file that was made with 72 dpi and a new file that was made with 300 dpi.
i have also attached images of the pdf settings as well.

 

[altereddezignz]

your file should be 720dpi out of illustrator if you are still at 10% scale.

Still at 10th scale and it saves at 72

 

[altereddezignz]

Illustrator file even shows that its in 720.

 

[altereddezignz]

Also PDF file from Ps is 124mb. Saved file in pdf from AI is 6.62mb

So i tried some different stuff.
My files coming out of PS are not even at 720 dpi. When i save a Tiff or a PSD file out of Ps they show 720. I can open it in onyx job manager and its shows 720 as well. So for some reason my files coming out of Ps in PDF are not staying 720

 

[altereddezignz]

Someone smarter than me take a look. This is a PSD file all created the same way.. The file is 720 dpi.
I need a pdf out of Illustrator but at same scaled size but keeping the same 720 dpi so i can scale up in onyx rip.

 

[altereddezignz]

So everyone ignore everything i have said today i am stupid!!!!!!!

But on a stupid person note. Thats me!!!!!!!

 

[Ssmedia7]

In Onyx you CAN have it make the contour cut automatically for anything with right angles / boxes.

Other items: we might design in photoshop and then open in Illustrator to Apple the cut path. In Illustrator you need to create a new color and name it:
CutContour_Kiss
Spot Color
C 0
M 0
Y 0
K 100

So, the color had to be CMYK and spit color and make sure to give it the name "CutContour_Kiss"

You will use this to create an outline around your image. Then save it as EPA file. You then open in Onxy rip AND cut server. Print in the rip server and cut in cut server. The rip server will send the file to the cut server for you.


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[AnthonyRalano]

I normally save as a .png with transparent background from Photoshop and then open in Flexi and contour. 99.9% of the time it comes out perfect.

 

[altereddezignz]

In Onyx you CAN have it make the contour cut automatically for anything with right angles / boxes.

Other items: we might design in photoshop and then open in Illustrator to Apple the cut path. In Illustrator you need to create a new color and name it:
CutContour_Kiss
Spot Color
C 0
M 0
Y 0
K 100

So, the color had to be CMYK and spit color and make sure to give it the name "CutContour_Kiss"

You will use this to create an outline around your image. Then save it as EPA file. You then open in Onxy rip AND cut server. Print in the rip server and cut in cut server. The rip server will send the file to the cut server for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have been making the cuts my issue was with the quality of the prints at rip. I was trying to determan a quicker way to create the cut path in Illustrator. I think i have found a few ways i am going to try and see hat happens.

 

[altereddezignz]

I normally save as a .png with transparent background from Photoshop and then open in Flexi and contour. 99.9% of the time it comes out perfect.

Not using Flexi.

Flexi was easy when i was using it lol.

 

[altereddezignz]

I have tried this a million times now, full scale and scaled down at 10%. Tried grouping all files to a folder in Ps and using a color overlay. Then saving that over lay as a jpeg, png and so on then using AI to create a vector and still get crappy lines.

Also tied the same ways with work paths and when i create the actual cut path from the " Dancing Ants" My lines move and are not as accurate as the Dancing ants?

 

[dale911]

I have a lazy way of doing it usually. I open the file in file I and use the contour cut filter then save the file as a PDF. When I open on Onyx and print, it has the contour cut file built in and ready to send to the cutter.


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