[ButchN]

Hello All,

Brand new to the world of cutters and hopefully what I am asking is a simple fix. I have spent hours and hours searching the internet and youtube looking for help. Not sure how, but I luckily found this forum and I am getting a good feeling that someone here will be able to help. (Boy I hope so!)

I have a jpg image that I have traced in Illustrator CS5. After saving file as an eps file and selecting the object, I send it to the DirectCut plugin software. Unfortunately, the decal cuts and look like it has a "Ripped or Torn Paper" Effect on the entire decal.

Please let me know what you need from me to better give me advice. I am sure it's just a "Setting" or a "Step" that I am not doing in Illustrator, but I sure can't figure it out.

Thanks to anyone that would be able to share any information, links or even a phone call!

Best regards,
Butch

 

[splathead]

Can you upload a picture of the cut decal and the jpg?

 

[gorilladiver]

In Illustrator use the jpg file as a template to redraw the image with the pen tool. The auto trace is useful for some images, but most of the time manually recreating the image is required for the best result. If your not familliar with the pen tool just look up some tutorials, it's an important tool to know.

 

[ButchN]

You guys are quick. Let me upload these two and you can see what I am working with. Here is the .jpg file I am using. The logo on the bottom is the one that I am trying to "cut" with the GCC Expert Pro. Going to weed a decal and photo it now. BRB.

 

[royster13]

Why not get a copy from who ever designed the logo?....If you are "authorized" to reproduce the logo you should be able to get the file....

 

[ButchN]

He created it in PhotoShop and does not have an eps version. I do have authority to use it, as it is my boss who has me on this mission.

~B

 

[BrianHahn]

This should vectorize very cleanly and be able to be cut very well. Does the cutter give jagged cuts with a test cut of typed in text only or are the jagged cuts only related to this image that you traced in Illustrator?

 

[ButchN]

Test cuts are perfect. And to be honest I have only tried this. I haven't tried any other logos. I have to cut 1000 by July. Which wouldn't normally sound bad, but I am going on a week and haven't been successful at cutting any. LOL!

In this pic are two decals. The left decal is one produced by a company that I used last fall. The right one is the one I just printed. If you zoom in on the them you can see how extremely different they really are.

 

[royster13]

Send the file out to an art service.....10.00 or 15.00.....It can take years to master re-drawing logos....

 

[ButchN]

Okay. The most frustrating part is I know it can be done. Although, not my forte' I feel like I should have been able to figure it out.

It seems as if their is a "Smoothing" or "Some Feature" that I am not selecting or something that I am not doing. But all the videos online are showing basically clicking "Live Trace" and that's about it.

I will give the Pen Tool a shot to see how that works out for me. If I do figure it out, you all will be the first to know.

~B

 

[royster13]

Good luck.....

 

[BrianHahn]

It appears you have too many private messages and cannot receive any more.
Can you send me the original JPEG? PM me for details.
I am not sure if the vectorization is off or the plug in isn't cutting correctly. We can vectorize this in InkScape and you can download a 1 week trial version of SignCut to send to your cutter.

www.SignCutPro.com

 

[charles95405]

Take Brian's offer.. You can also go to Precision Bitmap To Vector Conversion Online - Vector Magic you can get first two online conversions free

 

[splathead]

honestly, I would just use the commion original font for 'Tactical', draw a new oval, and clean up Angler with the node tool. Should take 5 minutes.

 

[royster13]

honestly, I would just use the commion original font for 'Tactical', draw a new oval, and clean up Angler with the node tool. Should take 5 minutes.

Sure you could do it in 5 minutes....Might take me 15 because I am not as good as you.....But this guy has very little experience....Could take him days to get there....

 

[splathead]

I would think your boss had better things for you to do than to sit and weed 1,000 labels. Labels are dirt cheap to outsource. You're going to come out much, much cheaper (when your labor cost is considered) to have a label company do these for you.

 

[ButchN]

Wow! Well InkScape was a great start. The "TACTICAL" is 100% better as I mentioned before. However the OVAL still needs work. The larger image is my latest and the smaller is the same one I posted earlier.

I am now going to go watch a few YouTubes about InkScape and hopefully it will continue to help clean up this image and get me where I need to be.

But I am going to figure this out as this is not the only logo he has for me to do.

 

[ButchN]

This is something new. We have been paying other people to do it, and I don't mind. It's all about learning something new. I have 2 daughters that if I can figure this out, the skys the limit with what I can do with this machine. LOL!

 

[BrianHahn]

Much better. Seems like a vectorization problem.

 

[ButchN]

It really does. And I didn't use the new cutter software yet, but if it takes that I will. I even have an old windows computer to try if it gets that bad.

I just wonder what I am missing on AI that InkScape is able to do automatically???