Elbraith

Import image but I can't cut it

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Hello everyone,  I just got an vinyl specialist cutter,  I set everything up, I can actually cut letters or images from the program itself BUT... when I import my image (jpge, png, psd) from my folder I can't sent any image to the cutter, I can see it on my document but when I press CUT, appears a note saying NOTHING TO CUT,  by the way I use photoshop cs5 to design my images. Help please!!! Thank you in advance!

 

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Your plotter will only cut vector images, the ones you are importing are Raster and would need traced into vector format.

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What program are you using for cutting? Vinyl Master? Vinyl Master has a really good vector program. VM can be used to create images, although I have not done much in that realm. I got started using Inkscape to create images and have not transitioned to VM.

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Your kinda stuck with that software  From Vinyl Specialist Q&A    "this cutter uses its own proprietary driver that comes built into the SignMaster software. Please note, this cutter cannot be used with another design/cut software if you are planning to send the job from another software."

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Bummer, that kind of sucks. Does look like it can import images though, so if the design capability is lacking you can design in something else and then import to do the cutting.

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Error: Nothing to Cut?

If you receive this message it will be because you are attempting to cut out an image (photo or bitmap).

Images cannot be cut out because they are made up of very small colored squares (pixels) that form a picture when viewed from a distance. These pixels cannot be cut out because there are no vector paths for the blade to follow.

As such, images must be Vectorized (traced) so the resultant vectors can be cut out with a vinyl cutter.

Solution
To do this is easy by selecting the image within the software and clicking the Vectorize button from the second row of tools or from the Images (menu) and using this specialist module to convert an image into cuttable vectors.

If you do not have the Vectorizer you may need to upgrade your software to a higher-level of the software.

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7 hours ago, Elbraith said:

Thank you all very much!!!

You are using Photoshop CS5 do you have the whole suite including Adobe Illustrator? Illustrator is specifically a vector design program and your best option if you have it. I use CS5 myself but only use the Illustrator portion.

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27 minutes ago, Wildgoose said:

You are using Photoshop CS5 do you have the whole suite including Adobe Illustrator? Illustrator is specifically a vector design program and your best option if you have it. I use CS5 myself but only use the Illustrator portion.

good point 

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And a word of warning, working with vectors can be extremely frustrating to start if you're coming from the raster world. They're great once you get use to them, but can take some time to wrap your head around. Don't get frustrated and ask as many questions as you need.

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If you DO have Illustrator in your program line-up I have posted a tutorial in the Adobe Illustrator section of the forum that has some helpful set-up information that may make life a little easier for you too. 

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I only have photoshop cs5 but I will have Illustrator sometime soon. That contour option also vectorize the image, I kind of worked with that but it doesn't do the job with all the images. Also now when I try to cut fonts using the program, whatever I use always end up cutting the same type of font, meaning if I use Arial, Impact, etc always it cuts it with some type of font that I don't even know, ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!

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Are you designing in VM at all, or are you doing all your work in PS then trying to bring it over?

Something for you to consider - Inkscape. It's a freeware/opensource program that you can design in as well. One of the best features of Inkscape is it can vectorize raster images (provided that's a simple black and white (or close to it) kind of the thing). When I'm in a rush to get something out the door, but the customer wants chooses an OTF font, I will do the layout in PS, save it as a png, then import it into inkscape and vectorize, then save it as an .eps to be cut.

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7 hours ago, Elbraith said:

Thank you, I will try the VM program first then inkscape, let see how it goes, and yes I design on PS cs5. 

So anything you design in PS, text or graphic, will only be raster - which will not work for cutting. You can import the image into your cutting software, but all you can do with that is to look at, it is not cuttable.There have been many times where i've had import a raster image so I could overlay the cutting design over it, for size and/or proportion purposes.

Any text you need into cut, typing directly into your cutting software it always the best method. Vectorizing text that was originally designed in PS or in any graphic will never be as clean cutting, or minimal nodes like typing it directly. Admittedly some graphics have custom fonts, but many don't. A great tool to help you identify what font is possibly being used, you can check out whatthefont.com or fontsquirrel.com. We do have a bulletin board on this forum that you can request for help to identify the font, but it is highly encouraged that you expend the effort to identify the font on your own and then come he if you really can't find it.

Good luck, keep us posted on your progress, and come back if you have any questions.

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Your Basic version of VM is going to be limited in what it will let you do would be my guess. The upper levels of the program have more of the good stuff I'm afraid. That's pretty common with most design programs. The Inkscape option is a good starting point due to the zero cost. I don't like it much but that's partly because my brain is wired for Illustrator which from what I understand is sort of like learning a reverse polish calculator. I CAN tell you the trace engine in Inkscape does a pretty good job once you learn how to use it. Like haumana said, when making text always find the font and type it natively within whatever program you are using. There is basically no program that will effectively auto trace text and have it look good. I don't auto trace much of anything including complex designs just because they never come out clean enough for my OCD tendencies and I want my stuff to look crisp and clean. You are on the learning end of things so you'll struggle some at the first but it will come easier as you keep practicing and gaining experience. 

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I've used Inkspace last night and already traced my design and works great!!! Also fixed the problem with my fonts, the offset was too high and I fixed thanks to this forum too, Illustrator is definitely in my mind and/or upgrading the PRO version of my current software,  I'm 100% ready, made some decals already and now waiting for my easyweed vinyl to print shirts, I learn fast and I never quit thank god, but if anybody with no experience is reading this post just keep trying, working, asking around and take notes of ur progress. Thank you all for your help, now is time to have fun!!!!!

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Glad you got it up and running. Great advice for other newbies too... it takes some patience and diligence at first. 

You will have a great time with t-shirts. Just remember to mirror your work because you are actually cutting on the adhesive side of the vinyl. I have gotten in the habit of saving my files reversed so I don't forget to do it. 

Doh.jpg

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2 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

Glad you got it up and running. Great advice for other newbies too... it takes some patience and diligence at first. 

You will have a great time with t-shirts. Just remember to mirror your work because you are actually cutting on the adhesive side of the vinyl. I have gotten in the habit of saving my files reversed so I don't forget to do it. 

Doh.jpg

and you will forget - then some months later forget again - we all forget that one sometimes

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13 hours ago, Dakotagrafx said:

and you will forget - then some months later forget again - we all forget that one sometimes

I do that now, forget ... time and time again when I'm laser engraving acrylic ... unfortunately, those results are a bit more permanent and costly than vinyl :o

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