I need more details for using Signcut

[pianomom 0]

I read this part of a post and it has helped a lot. I just had a few more questions.

1. Open InkScape, Click The Select and Edit Text box on the left toolbar (Has letter A as an Icon)

2. Enter desired text.

3. Adjust size of text if applicable by dragging corners.

4. Select the current Text and copy it to clipboard (Edit on toolbar, then copy)

5. Paste the text. (Edit on toolbar, then paste) This will be your Background Layer.

6. Select the Background layer, either one... then goto path on the toolbar, and click outset, (you can do this a few times to get the desired thickness of the background letters)

7.  Select either layer, and adjust colors.

8. Select both layers, then goto Object on the tool bar, then align and distribute.  Center on both axis, horizontal and vertical.

9. Save the image as an EPS file.

10. Open this file now in SignCut.

11. On the left hand toolbar, there is a icon that looks like a bullseye, this is your registration mark tool...

12. Once that is selected, on the bottom, highlight the icon that looks like a plain diamond (Registration Mark, No Snap.)

13.  Place Registration marks on image above the lettering.

14. Left hand side is where you can toggle the diffrent color layers.

15. Cut Out each layer seperately, then layer them...

Done!

My question is about the registration marks. I click on the plain diamond and then click the letters and then get nothing. Is there something more I need to be doing? The project the I am trying to do has only lettering so do I need not worry about this?

If I am just doing basic text is it better designing in Inkscape and then exporting to Signcut or just designing in Signcut? This is all so new to me I feel a bit lost.

I really appreciate your help in advance.

Thanks

pianomom

[TaterNuts 3]

Your alot better off designing the text in InkScape... The registration marks are completly optional... Have you seen my video for layering graphics?

Anyways, when placing the registration marks in sign cut, you need not click right on the letters, but above them.

This will give you a general idea on how to use the registration marks, I use circles in a box, but the diamond in sign cut will work fine for you also... Just lay the diamonds on top of each other

video here http://uscutter.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=2&topic=191.0

[wg_kjell 0]

Hi,

thanks folks for excellent support!

Regarding the registration marks in Signcut-X2. If you implement them as long as all colors still are activated/shown, the registration marks that are clicked out will become active in each separate colour layer or for each combination of colours. If just a single color is excluded, the registration marks will be shown as deactivated in all colors or combination of colors; except for the colour layer they were implemented.

To activate a deactivated registration mark, illustrated with a dashed contour line, just click the contour line by clicking the right mouse button. If you repeat right mouse button clicks the status for that registration mark will toggle between active and deactivated. To take it away, also hold down the Ctrl-key.

The idea behind that behaviour is that when you create registration marks that are aimed for alignment of color layers, then you normally want to have them active in all colors, but when you use snapping registration marks in order to assemble tiles of the same color, such registration marks should normally be specific for a single color. Therefore they are automatically deactivated for all other colors or combination of colors as soon as a color separation is done.

Notice that the feature "Adapted area", which automatically reduces the use of vinyl by just adapting to the objects in each color or combination of colors, that feature is also including active registration marks. So in order to exclude such registration marks that expands the vinyl area and which may not be needed for the alignment when assembling the sign, such registration marks is what you easily excludes by just a right mouse button click.

On the other hand, you may need a registration marks that already is excluded and can't be seen, because it is outside the adapted area. In order to make it available, click the icon at the top of the color separation bar named "Whole/Adapted area", thereafter click that registration mark with the right mouse button and then choose the "Adapted area" feature again.

Among the sub-tools for registration marks you have a tool for resizing the registration marks. This button is illustrated with a measurement tool.

If the registration mark does not fit, inside that adapted area, you are able to expand it on top by choosing the none snapping sub-tool and click it out outside that area and it will expand in order to also include that active registration mark.

Further, the snapping registration marks snaps to the surrounding frame and dividing tiling lines. When such a snapping registration mark is placed along the peripheral bounding box that surrounds the complete image, then the registration mark will be clipped and divided into half, plus the distance for the weeding frame distance or the tiling overlap.

Tip for mounting!

When you are about to mount a multi color sign you could use a combination of vinyl-registration marks and whole-registration marks. To make this possible takes registration marks with the kind of shape as SignCut-X2 offers.

This is how to do.

1. For the first color, keep the registration marks on the sign surface. Before cutting consider where to keep active registration marks for this first layer in order to become guides for most other colors on top of that.

2. For the following colors you may just need two registration marks in each tile. But before you mount them and if you have a mounting paper that is not transparent, then cut out those two registration marks with a knife, right through the back-paper. Cut precisely along the contours of those registration marks.

3. Now you will be able to look through the backpaper when you aligns that color upon those already mounted.

Another support for mounting, especially suitable for huge signs, it is to print out a job-information. For instance, if you have a huge multiple color sign where each color also are divided into tiles, then you should print out such a job-information for each color layer. As a result you will get all measurements needed for the mounting. That information is automatically generated.

Actually there is also a real advance option for huge sign mounting information support.

If you use CorelDRAW and if you illustrate the metal sheets that the sign is built up of with dashed rectangles and if you import those to SignCut-X2 together with the image to be cut (eventually multi color) and if the ?Sign-module?-concept is activated, then you will experience real magic.

Because you will see those borders between the metal-sheets as dashed lines and the tiling is done according to these borders. You do not have to measure at all by yourself, it is so convenient.

The most spectacular outcome from this is the use of so called ?Reference registration marks?. Because if you have a special mounting table with a built in measurement system according to that in SignCut-X2, then you will be able to mount any size of a sign that is built of metal-sheets, sheet by sheet. You will be able to mount all colors for each metal sheet.

When you are ready with mounting the vinyl on all metal sheets, without doing a single measurement, no matte how big it was, you will find that when you put those sheets in the correct order, you will get an image with absolutely perfect match between them.

That is the worlds most advanced and easiest why to build up a huge signs made by vinyl cutting.

With the help of the job-information the whole thing becomes a piece of a cake.

So there is a lot of power hided under the surface of this software. Power of a kind that you can?t find anywhere else!

I happened to have some time over and this was the result 

[kenimes 42]

So, what are the blue line boxes that just appear out of nowhere in SignCut? Are they tiles? Are they reg marks? Weeding lines? I cannot seem to get rid of them. The only way so far is by uninstalling and reinstalling SignCut. They then go away. Then they come back and I cant get rid of them. So when I cut it only cuts sections of my project. Please explain and help me with a solution to get rid of the blue lines. I have had several customers call about this.

Thank you,

Ken

[TaterNuts 3]

I think maybe its not registered???  I seen on another post where they limit you to like a 3 inch square on unregistered versions

[kenimes 42]

Nope- got it registered for the 1 year PE

[TaterNuts 3]

Sometimes if signcut doesnt access the internet, it will resort back to test mode.  At the top, when you open sign cut, it states SignCut-X2 PE not SignCut-X2 Test Mode...

I got pe, and i get none of what you are reffering to...

[kenimes 42]

Yea- mine says PE as well up top. I think it had something to do with the tile settings. They were a pain to try and correct, but it seems to be the answer. Just wish there was a button to click on that made them go away.

[pianomom 0]

I think it has something to do with the tile settings also. I have finally been able to import from one program into Signcut but I only get a small snippet of the text because of this arbitrary blue box on the screen. If I could just click on the line and extent the size of it I would be able to see the whole text. I'm hoping that someone out there has discovered the key to unlocking this.  Let us know. :glasses2:

[wg_kjell 0]

Hi,

the blue squares that you has been not able to get rid off, it is what is named the "Distance frame". You will find that option in the tiles dialog. It is a kind of automatic registration marks with two purposes. Both for huge signs.

1. You can print out automatic measurement job-information for tiles. Those measurement is relative to those corner registration makrs.

2. If you have a sign divided into tiles and the border where four tiles meet is covered of an object. Therefore you can't put regular registration marks there because they should cut through the object and make wholes into it.

This is registration marks that do not cut through any objects, but they appears in corners like the described outside the actual tile in the space for tiles overlap. So by putting the inner-corners of those registration marks towards each other you becomes are able to mount with perfect precision also in a case like the described.

When you get results that you do not understand you are able to reset most parameters to default. That option is found under settings and it is named "Normal sign < 3m".