THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!

[firstcut]

Just wondering if anyone has tried this technique using the SCAL2 autotrace instead of Inkscape and if it works or not. Would be even simpler still.

[Sweetness4713]

If I want to cut an image out I basically do what was described in this thread.. But what I do before I start cutting is to tape the edge of the paper down that I'm going to cut the oulined shape from so as to avoid the paper moving when I place the image underneath,to cut.

Thanks for the info and your bird looks great~~~~!!!!

[Rebecca McConnell]

"Turn the graphic black and save. Make sure you note the size of the graphic IE Height and Width You can resize it if you want to, Just make sure you save a copy of the new resized image as well as the blacked out image. "

I'm not sure how you did this in PSE. Did you start with a svg, a bmp, a png or what. If it had a white background, how did you use just the graphic? TIA,Rebecca

[firstcut]

In step 1 he says its a png or a jpg.
To do this in pse or any photo editing program, just use the magic wand or equivelent to select the white or transparent background, then invert the selection so that only the image is selected, then fill it with black.
You don't have to do this step, it just simplifies the process of getting a cuttable outline once you get to Inkscape. If the graphic has a well defined outer edge you can just trace it in Inkscape as is and then select everything and do a path>union to eliminate the interior detail. (You can leave interior details and hope blackout works in SCAL but that's not always reliable.)
-Kay

[Rebecca McConnell]

Kay, thanks for the answer. Rebecca

[firstcut]

I have posted some pics of my hinge technique on a new thread.
http://forums.surecutsalot.com/viewtopi ... =18&t=7732

Also still would like to know if you have to do anything to the size if you just autotrace in SCAL2 instead of Inkscape. Anyone?

[Sweetness4713]

If you use autotrace in scal then you would have to have some way of removing the extra inner pieces so they don't cut.. I'm figuring if you use the Shadow option it would make the shadow a bit bigger than the actual image when you cut.

[firstcut]

Sweetness,
Austin blacks out his image first in PS since he is printing from there anyway. In that case you are scanning a black silhouette so there is no inner detail.
If you did not want to do this step you could use blackout in SCAL. It does not add an outset like shadow does, but it is not always that reliable either.

[crotnem]

Okay, I was trying to cut a stamped image and had a horrid time with trying to get it black! I don't have PS, so I'm not sure how to do it. I tried Photo Studio for Canon, and I had
to use a bucket that was very difficult too. It went over the lines and just a mess. Can someone help me out? I even put it into scal2 and tried the blackout and it didn't blk all
the way, so I tried shadow blkout and that came out sooo big! Seems it is bigger in scal than the actual stamp?? How come?
Stressed for Sure!
Cheryl

[firstcut]

Cheryl,
The problem is that your stamped image probably does not have a solid or well defined outline. If there are breaks in the outline of the image, you will get the issues you describe.
This might be easier if you import the image into Inkscape, draw an arbitrary rectangle around it to bound it, then click the paint bucket tool inside the rectangle but outside the image and keep playing with the settings until you get an outline that you like. It has a setting that will close small, medium or large gaps, for instance. When you get the outline how you like it, do path>break apart and delete the rectangle and the original bitmap.
This post has some info on using the Paint Bucket tool in inkscape if you are not familiar with it.
http://cleversomeday.wordpress.com/2009 ... -tutorial/
-Kay