TDoc

How do I cut this?

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I have the SC2.  I'm a total beginner here.  I have Vinyl Master Cut V4.2.  I'm working on a logo for a friends business.  He sent me the file.  I vectorized it.  My problem is that its a 2 color logo that we are making into 1.  So where there are some overlaps its hard to distinguish lines.  Is there any way to get said lines to stick out?  If that makes sense?  I've attached a picture of what we are trying to do.

I switched both parts to black but I'm trying to figure out how to make a definitive line between the tree and the flag.  Can anyone guide me?

help.jpg

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I just noticed you have VM Cut, not sure if it has the ability to do this. I'd suggest downloading Inkscape, it's a very powerful free vector editing program. You can easily add an outline and get the desired result.

To make it cut ready you would need to duplicate the black part of the design, add a stroke to the duplicated part, convert the stroke to a path, then subtract the new path from the grey. Union everything together and you'll be ready to cut. Save the file as an EPS, import it into VM Cut and cut away.

note: you can also do a copy and paste directly from Inkscape to VM however the size will not be correct and you'll need to adjust the scale to the size you want.

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You could invert it in a pixel editor (Photoshop or Gimp) and drop out the white.

Make adjustments to the 'overlap'  areas and vector the result.

Here's a crude proof to get the picture.

 

 

 

 

help.jpg.339b196b0639c634d9e2ed0a2a585136.png

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Ok.  I appreciate your help guys!  Is there anywhere you recommend I can read up to learn how to do this.  I'm getting really frustrated with this project tonight.  I was sent a new PDF of the same image that gave the trees an outline but it came with a whole different set of issues.  I'm feeling quite overwhelmed and like I bit off more than I can chew. 

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20 minutes ago, TDoc said:

Ok.  I appreciate your help guys!  Is there anywhere you recommend I can read up to learn how to do this.  I'm getting really frustrated with this project tonight.  I was sent a new PDF of the same image that gave the trees an outline but it came with a whole different set of issues.  I'm feeling quite overwhelmed and like I bit off more than I can chew. 

Patience. The graphics side of things can be daunting at first but once you get it figured out it isn't that hard. It's more learning to grasp the basic process and then learning your specific programs tool set and how they function. There is something called a wire frame view which is just the lines and curves that constitute a "vector" design. That is all your cutter sees. You are basically manipulating lines and curves. The objects have colors assigned to them that you can see in normal view mode and the cutter interface within your VinylMaster program segregate those lines that are assigned various colors into groups so as you load your vinyl you choose the color and it cuts those lines. On a single color project like you are attempting you utilize the garment (or substrate) as one of the colors by removing parts of the solid objects to create a hole, often called "knocking out" and you typically use another object to perform this operation. The tree for instance to knock out it's shape from the flag. You can also just create an outline to show separation from the tree and the flag and leave both. Many options. Vinyl master has tutorials and there are other programs that also do this vector design work (some are free open source programs like Inkscape). Just know that it will take some time to master these tools but if you are patient and studious you will look back later and wonder why it seemed so overwhelming. I use a different program (Adobe Illustrator) and can tell you from my limited exposure to Vinyl Master that it is a very well through out program and you will figure it out pretty quickly. Some "tools" may not be available in the version you own. Inkscape for many is a free alternative to do the work and then just cut it out in VM Cut. I am not able to offer very specific help to you but other may. Good luck and don't give up!

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12 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

Patience. The graphics side of things can be daunting at first but once you get it figured out it isn't that hard. It's more learning to grasp the basic process and then learning your specific programs tool set and how they function. There is something called a wire frame view which is just the lines and curves that constitute a "vector" design. That is all your cutter sees. You are basically manipulating lines and curves. The objects have colors assigned to them that you can see in normal view mode and the cutter interface within your VinylMaster program segregate those lines that are assigned various colors into groups so as you load your vinyl you choose the color and it cuts those lines. On a single color project like you are attempting you utilize the garment (or substrate) as one of the colors by removing parts of the solid objects to create a hole, often called "knocking out" and you typically use another object to perform this operation. The tree for instance to knock out it's shape from the flag. You can also just create an outline to show separation from the tree and the flag and leave both. Many options. Vinyl master has tutorials and there are other programs that also do this vector design work (some are free open source programs like Inkscape). Just know that it will take some time to master these tools but if you are patient and studious you will look back later and wonder why it seemed so overwhelming. I use a different program (Adobe Illustrator) and can tell you from my limited exposure to Vinyl Master that it is a very well through out program and you will figure it out pretty quickly. Some "tools" may not be available in the version you own. Inkscape for many is a free alternative to do the work and then just cut it out in VM Cut. I am not able to offer very specific help to you but other may. Good luck and don't give up!

 

Ok...so if I were to get an editing software to make the outlines of the trees and such.  What would you recommend?  Or should we upgrade our version of Vinyl Cutter?  I was thought that Vinyl Cutter program did it all.  But I'm starting to see that I should have a decent editing software as well? Vinyl Cutter is more for the cuts themselves.  My goal with this damn tree thing is just to have a nice outline around it cut.  Just to give it a break from the flag.  The thought seemed so simple.  Hahaha

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I suggest Inkscape. It's a great free editor. Working with vectors does take a while to wrap your head around but once you get the hang of it I think Inkscape is pretty intuitive. The other big design programs are Adobe Illustrator, and Coral Draw. Both are extremely powerful but also rather pricey. You can also upgrade VM, a bit cheaper and it is a pretty good design program as well although it does things different enough from Inkscape that I still struggle at times trying to do what I think should be really simple. Not that VM can't do it, it just does it in a different way from what I'm use to.

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Is this what you're after? The trace is really ruff, but i did it all in Inkscape in about a minute.

image.thumb.png.67c5c09d4a336fd5cc97d3c377fd7cbe.png

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On 1/7/2021 at 7:39 AM, TDoc said:

 

Ok...so if I were to get an editing software to make the outlines of the trees and such.  What would you recommend?  Or should we upgrade our version of Vinyl Cutter?  I was thought that Vinyl Cutter program did it all.  But I'm starting to see that I should have a decent editing software as well? Vinyl Cutter is more for the cuts themselves.  My goal with this damn tree thing is just to have a nice outline around it cut.  Just to give it a break from the flag.  The thought seemed so simple.  Hahaha

Start with Inkscape. It's free. Once you get your feet under you you can make more educated choices. Vinyl Master has several levels of ability and the Cut Level version is mostly a cutter interface to communicate with the cutter, the next step up Letter Level is more advanced and has more sign builders tools. There is a comparison chart on their website.  If you stay with them (great choice if you are a windows computer user) I would suggest the Pro Level if you don't expect to need the printing options in the Expert Level. 

I am a mac user and have experience with Adobe so I stick with that but it's expensive and a major learning curve to figure it out. I use a different cutter utility that is mac compatible to actually cut. Mac's are great for graphics but they are picky what they will run and I don't get into the parallels or loading a windows OS into mine. For me the point was to evade the windows instability. 

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3 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

.. Mac's are great for graphics but they are picky what they will run and I don't get into the parallels or loading a windows OS into mine. For me the point was to evade the windows instability. 

Same here, but I did need to Parallel my Macs to run the version of Quicken that I required, because Intuit was never very friendly with Mac. Anyway, I have to say that the most stable Windows I've ever had, was run through Parallels on my Macs. I've been able to keep it running with very, very minimal hiccups. Now my Windows PC's and laptops, those are a completely different story :P

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Thanks guys!  I ended up getting them done.  Once I calmed down and read all your guys advice it wasn't so terrible.  I got a bit overwhelmed no lie.  I learned a few things from just this run.  Now I can try to challenge myself on a multiple color decal?  hahaha.  I'm scared thinking about it.  This logo was originally a 2 color logo.  But we turned it into 1 color for the stickers.  Stickers or decals?  Everyone seems to call them something different.  Anyways I thought about trying to tackle it as a 2 color like it was intended just as a learning experience for me.  

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Typically stickers are printed and are peel and apply, decals are cut. The world in general doesn't know the difference, the term decals work for both wheras "stickers" will get vinyl cutter guys to correct you. 

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Perfect!  Thanks for clarifying for me.  I learn something new everyday!  I do really enjoy doing these.  Hopefully I can get more to do!

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