New and confused! :D

[bullcrew]

Hi my name is bullcrew and yes I too am a vinyl addict.

Got some or alot of issues going on, need a little direction.
Bought a summa d60 with summacut and had software already (photoshop cs2, illustrator cs2, corel x3, freehand.
I can do graphics for cmyk/print pretty well and as well as do layouts for a variety of logo's etc.. I generally send directly to print in a compressed folder so output aside of a proof isn't my forte.

I cannot seem to convert graphics to cut, I scan and try to outline and save but they dissapear in summacut.
I am not in any way familiar with vector format and sending to the cutter.

I need help!
example I want to take a ? mark and transform it then cut it.
What would be the basics to alter it to freeform and save it as vector then to plotter.

 

[bullcrew]

If not these for software then what?

 

[Bobby H]

Sounds like a bitmap versus vector thing to me.

If you're creating artwork from scratch you really need to do it in vector format using CorelDRAW or Illustrator. Anyone who designs logos using Photoshop is shooting himself in the foot. It's always easier to create a logo in vector format and then export it to Photoshop than do the reverse.

If you're dealing with artwork provided by others that you have to scan, or it's just a crummy low rez bitmap from some silly web page, then you have to use various approaches to get it converted into vector format. There is no magic one-button click to make it that way. Often it involves tedious re-working of the art by hand. It is a valuable skill to develop, one that can actually help improve your graphics skills. But sometimes you can be best served by outsourcing the job to someone like Vector Doctor.

On the hardware/software front, you'll need to make sure your vinyl cutter is properly configured with your software. Often people will use a plug-in program like CoCut (which can work with CorelDRAW or Illustrator). Sometimes you can get by through simply rigging up the right print driver.

 

[Jackpine]

new/vinyl addict

Contact your dealer about the basic file formats and procedure you should be using. It is to their advantage to give you the tech help you need to get up and running. You are a customer. Read the manuals that came with your equiptment. Cutting is usually in vector form. Print and cut are usually sent as EPS files.

 

[learned the hard way]

I cannot seem to convert graphics to cut, I scan and try to outline and save but they dissapear in summacut.
I am not in any way familiar with vector format and sending to the cutter.

I need help!
example I want to take a ? mark and transform it then cut it.
What would be the basics to alter it to freeform and save it as vector then to plotter.

If you are scanning graphics, then it goes without saying they are bitmaps. Bitmaps won't cut on a plotter... it can't "see" the pixels that bitmaps are made up of. It can only see lines and curves...which are what we call vector objects. The only way to cut a bitmap is to trace it in a tracing program like Coreltrace in order to turn it into a cuttable vector object. That's going to be a pretty tough starting point for a newbie to vinyl cutting. My suggestion is to try drawing a few basic shapes and type some text in Corel X3, which is a vector-based drawing program. You should be able to just copy and paste into Summacut and send to the cutter, assuming everything is installed and configured correctly. See if you can get something simple to cut and you will begin to see what the cutter needs from you. You can get into tracing bitmaps after you've learned the basics of vinyl cutting.

 

[Bigdawg]

You can get into tracing bitmaps after you've learned the basics of vinyl cutting.

Vector Doctor is a good resource while you're learning...

 

[ENTDesign]

Remember also that your vector art needs to be two dimensional (think wire frame). If you make a line in illustrator, it will be 1 dimensional unless you draw it as a rectangle. Using stroke in illustrator can manipulate line thickness visually, but it won't cut as anything except a 1 dimensional line unless you perform an outline operation on the object.

 

[bullcrew]

Thanks for the help It has been great!
I am doing some signs for a major chain, not concerend just have some questions.
I'll be posting real short and I appreciate the help all.

 

[Cadmn]

Thanks for the help It has been great!
I am doing some signs for a major chain, not concerend just have some questions.
I'll be posting real short and I appreciate the help all.

Bull crew How'd you get Major chain work before you ever cut anything ??????

 

[The Big Squeegee]

welcome Bullcrew

:Welcome: TO :signs101:
From Arkansas

Corel draw is both a vector and raster program. It is quite possible to create vectors and save them as bitmaps. Be sure to change to curves and save as an eps file.

 

[Git-R-Done]

Hello & welcome!

 

[sandblast_dude]

:Welcome: to :signs101: