Wildgoose

I concur with the others. File size and the cutter are a big factor. That is probably most of what was giving you fits. As far as illustrator goes, I have observed on more than one occasion that the program tends to build larger files. Have no clue why. If I place an image (import) it will make a file be well over 1mb even after I have later deleted the original pic. In some cases where I wanted to post these I have had to actually copy and past the final into a new file and then save it and it will be significantly smaller so there is some sort of latent info that Ai must store in there. I have been impressed with the file size on the svg's and may start saving to that format from now on if for no other reason than to save on storage space.

Huh. I pulled that pdf directly from their current site.

Here is the pdf for 751 and it says 4.1 so I think you got some mis-information http://www.orafol.com/tl_files/content/downloads/technicaldatasheets/americas/en/oracal/oracal-751.pdf

That's news to me too.

I do use inkjet but I use pigment inks from Cobra ink systems with a tank system (CISS) I second the JPSS for light colors, Super soft feel that you almost don't even know it's there, and I don't like any of the transfers for darks but the 3G Opaque seems to hold color good. (They all feel stiff to me.)

If you are in question I would write to them and get permission.

I have a smaller Epson that only does the 8.5 x 11 sheets and I have found that while a lot of the transfers that I do are about that size you will need more space around them if you plan to contour cut so you probably will be better served with the larger sized sheets if your printer can handle them. Once you print registration marks and leave a little off the back it seriously reduces the usable space on the sheet.

Ya I was noticing that and you may have converted me to svg Skare. They are WAY smaller. I tried the thumbnail viewer on my mac and they are visible and that was one hang up that I didn't like about eps. For some reason I though the svg were the same but not so. Hmmm. Learn something new every day! Why is yours popping up to view on the thread and mine aren't? edit >Answered my own question I see a png along with the other files.

Once you get dialed in you will cut in a very similar pressure from one to another. Sometimes even the same vinyl make will take a bit more or less pressure depending on temperature and maybe if it's getting a little older etc... so you will basically develop your own set of parameters. I would take notes at first and then it will become second nature. I test cut pretty regular to be sure I am getting the correct cut.

I think Skarekrows will cut better but here is a trace from Illustrator. Pretty rough but a good start also. Bon B.eps Bon B.svg

Catwoma1960 I hope you can get through the heartache of loosing loved ones. Especially when they are so young. Here is the Jets. It may not be exact but it's pretty close. The pic is on a skew so I had to improvise a little. The main jets vector was out there in the free world SOJets.eps SOJets.svg

Nice looking work

Anything that is off the mat in SCALP will not be cut. You might have some other object that is on the far left that is causing the design to shift over, could be an unfilled path. See if you do a select all if anything shows up or rotate the whole thing and see if it still won't let you drag it back into place.

This thread started 26 hours ago and already has 60 posts. I'm not even going to put my .02 cents in cause the last hot topic drove everyone else nuts. LOL I only have one question. If you do decide to buy and embellish the shirts are you going to put the F bomb on there? Ha ha! I'm done. Just messin with you GC, your a thought provoking fella.

Obviously crooked but awesome navy emblem! You have any heat tape? Looks like you could use some to hold things in place.

Couldn't agree more. I have only been around for a few of those years but what I have learned has helped springboard me into a successful side business and I'm very appreciative of all the help I have received.

The trial version may have a size limitation. If you draw a line there (box like sphawny said) even if it doesn't have any color or the same color as the rest it should show up and expand your cut area.

Good looking roses Mercer

I am surprised that it wouldn't work just as a regular .ai file. You might try downsaving to illustrator 8. This is the file format that seems to be perfect for SignCut Pro. Another pen tool tip. Don't get too worried about the initial placement because you can go back and manipulate things until you are happy with the results. This is true for live trace items too. Use the white selection arrow and you can select individual nodes to fix. If you push the + key it will change your pen tool to add a node if you need another in a certain area and the - key will remove a node. If you push <shift+C> it will give you a pen attachment that looks just like > and you can change any of your nodes functions from a corner to a smoothing etc...(all these additional pen functions are available from the tool pallet too. AI is challenging to learn but about 75% of the stuff in the program is for print and web design so once you pick through it and figure out the stuff that applies to simple vectors it's not that hard.

Live trace is tricky with Illustrator especially if it's a color image. You can dial down the color count sometimes and get what your looking for but it will do some weird stuff sometimes and you have to go in there and root around and clean it up a lot. I didn't see your original file but if the jpg images are reasonably simple then why not hand trace the thing? That's real basic stuff that you have already spent more time back and forth on here than it would take to just draw. Load your original jpg image into AI, reduce the opacity to about 50% and lock it so you won't accidentally grab it while working then use the pen tool and start around the outside and trace it by hand. You will get a cleaner image and learn a new skill at the same time. The parts that have inner openings you can trace after the outer then select them both and use the "unite" or the "subtract the top object" option in the pathfinder menu and it will create a compound shape. You can also just select both and hit <Command+8> and it will make it a compound shape that way too. There are about 8 ways to get to the same place and all of them are ok. I don't use any fill or outline color when I trace, I fill it after I get done. I also hide the bounding box in the view menu so that annoying thing isn't around there all the time. You might also go into your preferences and set the selection setting to select object by path only so that you aren't selecting things by mistake.

The laserpoint is prone to both USB connection issues and static electricity. They may even be tied to each other somehow. The serial cable or keyspan adapter has helped many get past the connection issues that lock the things up. I never had to use either one and I'm not sure anyone using the keyspan on here has a mac. My old cutter was a P-Cut which I think is the same thing without the laser pointer. I had a few instances of lock-up triggered by static build-up. The other times I had problems were when I sent too much info to the cutter and locked it up, not sure the file sizes in SCALP but maybe they are a bit too big. I think there are mother board upgrades for the cutter but that's really just throwing money at a value cutter that may or may not even fix the problem. I use SignCut Pro which is mac compatible and do my designs elsewhere and have had success without using the USB keyspan adapter. You can get a free 7 day trial of the cutting program and see if it effects any changes on that end of things.

At least you are up and running so you have the rest of the weekend to get dialed. The pen tool is worth using for a while until you can figure out the main functions. You should be able to insert you paper and then manually move the cutting head so the pen is over in the lower right side just inside the pinch roller and with about 1/2" out past the pen. THen there should be a button to zero the coordinates on the on the cutter manually so it is still where you just placed it. Once you get it to where you can input something and have it draw it out then you might try rotating and mirroring etc. Next step is to get the pen out and the blade in and get your blade depth set and then your pressure. Blade depth so you can barely see it at all and run it by hand over a piece of loose vinyl to see if it will cut all the way through the vinyl but not the paper backing. Some say the holder should touch the vinyl, I don't think it should personally but you don't want any more blade out than you need and most vinyl is only 2 or 3 mil thick. For pressure, set it light to start with and work into things until you figure out enough to cut the vinyl and just scratch the carrier sheet.

Welcome from Idaho! With the servo motors that should serve you well, pardon the pun.

You will want to dial back the pressure a bit with the good stuff. You may find yourself converted. 751 is real nice stuff. I would say it is superior in just about every way to 651. Not knocking 651 cause I use it about half the time too. 751 is probably easier to remove because it will stretch if you grab hold and pull rather than tear. Weeding is fine too and a little less picky because the cut is easier. You may notice after using the 751 that the 651 will feel stiff and sometimes almost tears away from the weed. Hard to explain except that 651 is sort of leaning toward chrome vinyl, in the middle between 751 and the mirrored chrome sits 651 although it is closer to 751 than to the chrome. That probably didn't make any sense but the 751 is smooth. Have never used the 951. I think the reason they will warranty the 751 for so much longer is the cast vinyl will stretch and give with the substrate so much better that the whole thing stays on there better.

You're getting wound up and probably need to breathe deep 10 times. LOL relax....I know you got a new toy and it's like Christmas when dad bought a foosball table that wasn't assembled. You happened to pick the newest model that just came out so unfortunately you may be a guinea pig to some extent. If you have not found a driver for it yet you might try a generic driver to at least get it moving. There should be some basic drivers that will be named generic HPGL and may even be several generic options. Most all the plotters use the same essential language with minor tweaks for individual machines. I'm not savvy enough to have a clue other than just the basic concept. If you made it through the instructions on assembling the stand (Chipperi called it chinglish I call it Engrish) then you are half way through the tough stuff ha ha. Like Dakota said you are probably the very first to hook up to a mac. Look at the bright side, you will soon be the resident expert on mac to Titan drivers on the forum! I'm flipping you some crap but I feel your pain. It would come on a weekend when you probably can't get any tech help either, other than us yahoo's who really don't know what the heck to tell you. Sorry.