Amateur

Tracing shape by hand and transferring

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Hi everyone,

Sorry in advance for this question I am a complete novice, but I want to figure out what cutter and what software I need to accomplish the below.  

I want to apply vinyl to very unique shapes that I am not able to draw within software.  I basically wrap paper around the piece I need to install vinyl on and cut it to the shape I need.  However, I would like to save the shape within software for future use.  Ultimately, I want to be able to cut the shapes on one piece of vinyl.  Is there a way to transfer a shape created by hand to a vinyl cutter or to software and then to the cutter?


can anyone help to let me know what type of software and cutter would be able to do this?  I think I would like to put it all on a 30” sheet.  
 

thanks for your help!!

 

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Scan your cut out paper and you can then trace your shape in most vector programs (best done by hand in manual mode). You might want to measure the length of same easy to check part so you make sure to get the scale just right. My home scanner scans exactly to scale which may be a miracle but it works out good for me. 

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If the design is too big for your scanner, a photo can work as well. You have to make sure you get a good straight on/flat shot but it can work quite well.

As for cutter/software. A cutter that can handle 24" rolls of vinyl is pretty common. You can get bigger but often times designs can be broken down so they'll fit on a smaller machine. Get the best cutter for your budget, you really do get what you pay for in the world of cutters. If you're trying to go as cheap as possible, you might be tempted by the price of the MH, but if you can afford it, step up to the next level and get an SC. The MH will work, but it takes a lot of patience and persistence to get it working well. On the plus side, it will teach you a lot about setting up cutters though. :)

Software wise, that's pretty much user preference unless you're on a Mac, then you're kind of limited. The cutter will come with something that will probably be good enough to get you going. You can also download Inkscape. It is a free vector design program that is extremely powerful and reasonably intuitive.

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11 hours ago, darcshadow said:

 

Software wise, that's pretty much user preference unless you're on a Mac, then you're kind of limited. 

Limited to using top of the line Adobe Illustrator and SignCut Pro, ha ha! 

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Hi wildgoose, haumana, and darcshadow.

thank you all so much for the help.  This will really get me going in the right direction.  I am hoping in the next few weeks to get going with a cutter and vector program.  I will keep you posted.  Thanks again!!!

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Amateur, if you grab the LP3 in 34" size, you'll be fine.  ($800 + shipping)

 or, if you're struggling with a lower budget, SC2 is $520.

The included VinylMaster program will easily import your scanned .jpg files and convert to vectors for cutting.

Keep in mind that this statement causes me some concerns -- "I want to apply vinyl to very unique shapes..." --  it's not so simple to lay vinyl on multiple-dimensional surfaces (due to the app tape).

Can you show an example of the surface/object you're working with?

 

 

 

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Wasn't thinking about that statement, If you're doing shapes with compound curves you'll want to use cast vinyl, which is a bit more expensive but conforms to shapes much easier. Oracal 751 or 951 will be what you'll want to use. Calendared vinyl is ok for flat surfaces, and it's cheap so it's also good to learn your cutter with but you'll become annoyed with it very quickly when you start trying to put it on curved surfaces.

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