Cutting letters within an image

[thesnowgod 0]

Hello everyone.  Thanks to the advice here, I bought and have been using a US Cutter SC series cutter. So far, I love it!!!  You guys are great.

 

My question:

 

I have the #48 ready to be cut into my vinyl.  Within the #4 of the 48 I was hoping across the horizontal part of the 4 to have the person's name cut.  It's a black # going on over a white racing plate.  How do I do this?  I've searched here and youtube, but I can't seem to find the answer based on how I'm wording it I guess.

[thesnowgod 0]

Never mind.   I got it.  Sorry folks.  I guess I was making it harder than it really was.

[pshawny 410]

Never mind.   I got it.  Sorry folks.  I guess I was making it harder than it really was.

 

I know how to do this, but you really should say how you did it for the sake of future noobs

[fustratedinhawaii 71]

I know how to do this, but you really should say how you did it for the sake of future noobs

x2 and pictures also !!!

[Sue2 920]

In CorelDraw X4 , X5  & X7  it's as easy as:

 

create & size  the "4" in black

create & size the "NAME" in white

position the "NAME" over the "4" where you want it

check letter spacing and alter NOW if necessary

select both

go to ARRANGE >> Shaping >> Back minus Front

      (in X7 it's OBJECT >> Shaping >> Back minus Front)

 

Voila...you have a 4 with the NAME punched out & ready to cut

 

You cannot change letters as this is now a vector.

Once you find the perfect lettering sizes, SAVE and

work on copies so you can easily repeat with other

numbers & names.

 

This will also work on other vector shapes: stars, boxes, circles, etc.

 

Sue2

[jaybyrd 3,770]

In corel do like Sue said except you can normally do arrange -- combine to achieve the same effect.

[Sue2 920]

In corel do like Sue said except you can normally do arrange -- combine to achieve the same effect.

 

Combine is quirky for me sometimes...

so I use the back minus front.

 

Hope one of the AI specialists will add the Illustrator steps.

 

Sue2

[pshawny 410]

In AI it can be done very similar to CorelDraw.

 

create & size  the "4" in black

create & size the "NAME" in white

position the "NAME" over the "4" where you want it

check letter spacing and alter NOW if necessary

select the "NAME" >> right click >> arrange >> send to back

open the pathfinder window - window >> pathfinder

select both "4" and "NAME"

select "minus back" from the pathfinder window

 

In SignBlazer it is even easier.

 

select both "4" and "NAME"

Arrange >> Weld >> Punch Through

[darcshadow 1,626]

You could also just cut both colors, in the above examples, black and white, at the same time and not actually modify the 4 vector.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

darcshadow make a good point which I have done on several occasions.

 

In AI you do have to watch that the text has been converted from live text to outlines. I also have noticed minor variations in workflow between different versions of AI.  Also in some situations you need to select all the elements in a multiple-piece object and create a compound path in order for some functions to work on the whole group of letters. If you find things going awry try that. 

 

 I don't bother with sending to back I just use the subtract from front so I don't know why you would take that extra step psshawny. It's also not necessary to change the color to white but does help you see what the final result will look like. 

[pshawny 410]

I don't bother with sending to back I just use the subtract from front so I don't know why you would take that extra step pshawny.

 

I have CS2. Maybe subtract from front isn't in there or I overlooked it.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

I have CS2. Maybe subtract from front isn't in there or I overlooked it.

Second one from the left on the top row. You have to also push the Alt key to expand in one shot. That's a weird little quirk that was later changes in newer versions. 

 

<edit> Actually not always necessary to use the Alt key but you end up with a compound shape rather than a compound path. Minor distinction and may not be a problem to cut in the instance of just knocking out some text from another object but for most (cut ready) work a compound path is what you are looking for. To illustrate this draw two circles that overlap and select them both and perform the function without the Alt key and you will have a compound shape (In CS2) which actually still has both circles in outline view. So in some instances it won't matter which you end up with but there is a definite difference that may be noticed in a cut job depending on the design. Using the Alt key just immediately adds a step of expanding the appearance of the compound shape which you can also do by going through the Object>Expand Appearance route. 

[pshawny 410]

Second one from the left on the top row. You have to also push the Alt key to expand in one shot. That's a weird little quirk that was later changes in newer versions. 

 

<edit> Actually not always necessary to use the Alt key but you end up with a compound shape rather than a compound path. Minor distinction and may not be a problem to cut in the instance of just knocking out some text from another object but for most (cut ready) work a compound path is what you are looking for. To illustrate this draw two circles that overlap and select them both and perform the function without the Alt key and you will have a compound shape (In CS2) which actually still has both circles in outline view. So in some instances it won't matter which you end up with but there is a definite difference that may be noticed in a cut job depending on the design. Using the Alt key just immediately adds a step of expanding the appearance of the compound shape which you can also do by going through the Object>Expand Appearance route. 

 

It's called "Subtract from shape area". I gave it a try like you said and it worked great! I tried that before, but was not holding down the alt key and the result was not the same. I always like learning a new way to do things.

[30-284 86]

Even easier in scalp, Object>MERGE, and that's it.