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HI
I have made some templates and saved them as GSD files (when I was using the robo master software) but now i am using illustrator and want to cut these files through illustrator rather than from robo master. I know I can't directly open GSD files in Illustrator, but is there any way round this?
Thanks
Kathie
I had the same problem, sorry to say so far I have not found a way. I now don't export the files as GSD, I just do everything from Illustrator, it cuts a lot faster than the CR software any way.
Thanks Lucille for your reply, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear lol!
I have been using Illustrator for the past week or so, and it cuts so much smoother and quicker than the robo master software does. Unfortunately I made quite a few templates in robo master before I started using Illustrator, guess I am either gonna have to put up with cutting them in robo master or redo them :(
Kathie
You know what they say practice makes perfect :lol: It also makes a lot faster believe me.
Shot in the dark but can't you make them into pdfs, open in Illustrator ad cut that way?:huh:
Have got the CS2 as a demo and do admit that all you Illustrator peeps are right - I did some welded words and it whizzed round them indecently fast!! Will have to start saving now for CS2 unless XARA decide to make a bridge like Illustrator:mellow:
Susibi
Just tried to make a pdf file from a GSD file, but I think I must be doing something wrong. I open my GSD file, change my printer settings to Adobe Acrobat, then select print - it asks me to save the file (which I do) then it opens a PDF file, but it is just blank. Anyone know how to do this?
Thanks
Kathie
i did the same thing yesterday, you have to go into the tab that says print settings and tick the box that says print cut lines then click ok
Thank You Stressed, you are an angel. I had been messing around with all the settings and was getting nowhere. Really appreciate your help.:D
Kathie
Help me out here, my brain is :wacko: addled at the moment, does this convert GSD to PDF files or not.
I took a .gsd file converted it to a .pdf then opened in Illustrator no prob. Lucille how do you cut from Illustrator when there are cut and fold lines - ie two colours ?
Susibi
OMG! for me with great difficulty, there are settings somewhere that I played with one evening, but I gave up in the end. From what I remember I think I managed it once, but could not remember what I had done and could not recreate it, now if I want that I just export as GSD.
Hiya SusibiQuote:
Originally Posted by susibi
Not sure if this is the easiest way to do it, but what I do is I create seperate layers for each colour (or line cut type) then when you go to the robo settings, it gives you the option to change the settings for each layer. You can choose between cut line, 3 different fold lines (which you can customize) or no cut.
Kathie
OK thanks Kathie - never thought of that!:rolleyes: am absolutely not an illustrator person and if I get anywhere it's usually by a fluke ( apart from welded words which thanks to Tim's ( musicreative)video tutorial- from his craft robo pro site - I managed straight away). When i do do something i have to write it down otherwise I forget after 5 secs!
Susibi
Another thing I have found useful to do is - if I am creating a template that has various sections all cut from different coloured card - I have one layer that has all the different bits together (see left hand pic in shot) and then I make a seperate layer for each bit that is to be cut in a different colour and place them very close together (i.e the right hand side of the pic shows the hat, feet, gloves and buttons all placed closely together) this is cos I want them all cut from black card and this way I can cut them with minimal wastage. So I would select these layers to cut, then I would cut the hat band, the scarf and nose layers from red card (again placed closely together) and then finally select the body layer just to cut from white card.
I have found it useful to place each component on a seperate layer, that way if I decide to cut the gloves in a different colour from the hat etc, I can easily select just the glove layer without having to delete or move around the other sections.
Attachment 47478
Hope that makes sense.
Kathie
Hi Kathie
When cutting directly from Illustrator do you have problems in placing the designs exactly where you want it to cut. Even if I have something in the middle of the page in landscape it cuts bottom left - really close to edge and I sometime want it away from the edge, particularly away from the rollers. I am probably doing something wrong!
Thanks for any help you can give.
Hi NinaQuote:
Originally Posted by nina1931
No I don't think you are doing anything wrong, cos mine cuts the same too (unless we're both doing it wrong lol!) I don't think there is any way you can change this. I think the only thing you can do is to manually position the cutting - when you select the craft robo to cut, use the arrow keys to move it to where you want it to start cutting on your page, then press the "set origin" button. It will then cut where you want it to, rather than at the bottom left edge. I use this a lot, sometimes just to move it slightly away from the rollers, othertimes I use it when I am using up scraps of card.
Kathie
You can use the 'Set Origin' option to choose where you want it to cut, there is a small tutorial to learn how it works and what you can do with it, perhaps this will solve your problem.
Do you always create registarion marks even if you are not going to use them ? if you do this first then it will always cut where it appears on screenQuote:
Originally Posted by nina1931
I just love this forum, I am finding out something new everyday. I didn't know that, mind you I haven't even used registration marks at all yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sting
Kathie
You only need registration marks if you want to do a print and cut.
If you put them on in Illustrator and then do not search for them when you go to cut it will still work but where it appears on screen is exaclty where it will cut out on the paperQuote:
Originally Posted by Lucille
Ooh lots of luverly tips - thank you so much- have kept a note of everything!
Susibi:D
Hi
When you cut from Illustrator with the cutting master , there are four tabs - the first tab is set out so you can first select the size of your media, usually A4. Second set of controls lets you scale the image to fit media or otherwise and the next set of controls you come to moving down the page has a Position setting for moving the image you're cutting - click the up and down arrows to move it or drag - you'll see the image move in the display panel on the right. This lets you see where the image will cut on the paper and you can change the orientation by clicking on the icon of the little man - there is a drop-down list with different options.
This is all from the first tab, btw, it just has these different sets of controls.
Hope this helps
Helen x
Which version of Cutting Master would I need for Illustrator? I downloaded one before from the Crafty club website but when I installed it I couldn't get it to work on Illustrator 10 or CS. The version I have is Cutting Master2 for Craft robo version 120. I have the newer robo and Windows XP.
Just been and tried to download the version for XP but unable to - not sure if it's because of the work going on on th site or if it's no longer available - even though it's still on there and clickable.
Jan
Hi Jan,
I use Cutting Master 2, version 1.30 available from graphtecamerica.com
(I'd send you the url but the system won't let me post a URL until I've been a member of this forum for 30 days - bit odd cos I joined last October! Remember to put the ww... at the front of the graphtec address... ) which works with Illustrator 10 to CS3 - you have CS which is version 11 so should be compatible.
It's a free download - I hope this sorts your problem out and you can get cutting!
Hel x
it's the number of posts you have made that is connected to whether or not you can post URL's
It's to try and stop people who are spammers from coming here and posting loads of links and then disappeargin
Just click and drag the graphic where you want it to cut. There's also a button which will show you exactly where you will cut by having the cutting head "draw" a rectangle around the cutting area. It is a red rectangle with a pencil and is the second from the left under the vertical position box.
Is that tutorial for cutting in Illustrator? could someone please point me to it!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucille
I thought I had an easy solution to converting the GSD files. I am new to this and have been playing around with different file types and downloaded a .GSD file which I couldn't open. I opened it in Microsoft Picture editor which gave the option to save as a .jpg which I did and then it opened perfectly in Inkscape (I don't have Illustrator). I then saved it as a .svg for using with Sure Cuts a Lot software but then although I could open the file I couldn't view it!
Sheila
Quote:
Originally Posted by anaderoux
No this tutorial is for the CR software.
I have MS Picture editor but am not able to open any GSD files with it - are there different versions of the software does anyone knowQuote:
Originally Posted by SheilaG
Robo templates are vector files, a series of lines and curves that make up your shape. Ordinary images (e.g.photos) are bitmaps and are made up of coloured dots (pixels). Some software can only handle one type and not the other - so a paint type program will not necessarily know how to handle or display a vector image. It's sadly not just a matter of using any graphics software to open and save the different types of files.
Rosemary
I am using Adobe Illustrator also (I am a graphic designer who has used Illustrator before -- I have to admit that the reason why I bought the robo was because I found out it had an Illustrator plug-in -- the possibilities are truly amazing and almost limitless!) and, I too, have found very little in the documentation on how to use Illustrator with the Robo.
I have been gleaning tips from the web, but this particular thread has been very helpful for me -- thanks to all who have contributed so far!
To begin to store the nuggets of information in a more permanent location, I have started a wiki. The section about Illustrator is here: craftrobocutter.wetpaint.com/page/Using+Illustrator (just copy/paste this url into your browser address bar -- there is no "www"). I REALLY hope that you all will want to visit to look at the information so far and, more importantly, to contribute! The wiki does not take the place of this forum, for us to chat with each other, but it does provide a place for us to store the information that we have gleaned in a more structured, permanent place.
If you need help with Illustrator, in particular, I can probably assist you -- I'm a lot more familiar with this program than I am with the robo. A wonderful place to get help in learning how to use this incredibly powerful tool is the Adobe website -- there are some great video tutorials, select Illustrator from this list: adobe.com/de/designcenter/video_workshop/ (to get around the url restriction, I am not putting in the "www" part of the url...)
Good luck!
Do you not need to outline for cutting when using Illustrator?:blink:
Mollylee thanx for the link, I found what I needed immediately, I'm also a graphic designer working with illustrator so I need I might be using your help!Quote:
Originally Posted by mollylee
Thank you so much Molly! There is so little info for Illustrator users. I have had a look at the link and will register on Wetpaint when I have a few mins. I too was a graphic designer in a former life. Can I ask, do any of you use a Mac?
Jenny
Tim did some some Illustrator tutorials a while back, if they're not (all) in our tutorials section they'll be on his website. They were written for the Pro but AFAIK they'll work with both models.
Rosemary
GREAT! I'm so glad that it is proving useful already! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions -- I don't promise to have the answers, but I bet that it will be a lot less frustrating having two people try to figure things out than having just the one tearing her hair out (like me on many a late and horribly frustrating night!)!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennywren47
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennywren47
Jenny, I'm on a PC, but I think that the interface is the same for Illustrator (isn't it?) -- the only difference is that you can't use the proprietary software to design with, but if you have Illustrator, you likely will never need to -- it's a lot more powerful....
Actually, you still have to specify lines that you want to cut, but generally, I'm designing the piece in Illustrator anyway, so it is very simple to simply select the right line I've used in the design of my project and make a copy of it so that the robo will cut on that line.Quote:
Originally Posted by elwoodsusanm
Illustrator also has a very wonderful Livetrace feature that you can use to trace photos or whatnot.... it's an absolutely amazing piece of software, but it does require some dedication to learn initially....
Please do pm me if you have any questions (anyone, I mean).... I LOVE that there is a community out there of people to help each other!