Questions about SCAL 4 and Illustrator files

[bkyap1305]

Hi all,
I'm new to my SB13 + SCAL4.0.
Sadly, my cuts aren't coming out as expected.

I'm on Windows 8, running Illustrator CS6.
I also installed the SCAL4 script for Illustrator.
The blade settings are all set according to requirements.

Here are the issues I'm facing.
Any help is much appreciated!

1) When I try to export my customer's designs into SCAL4, I see a whole lot of PNG files before the SVG file is generated.
Certain designs do appear in SCAL4.
Certain designs don't.

2) When I try to export simple text that are outlined from Illustrator to SCAL4, certain paths go haywire, e.g. the lower-cap "e".

3) I also tried designing directly in SCAL4, designs + cut lines.
I will do a print+cut.
I will also calibrate the laser before aligning the three corners.
Yet, the cuts are shifted 2mm toward the rear of the SB13.

I hope someone is able to help!
Much thanks in advance!

[MeFlick]

bkyap1305 - Welcome to the SB and the Forum. You have posted your new inquiry onto the back of a fairly old thread that I think is not necessarily "on topic" for your issue(s). (It is more than 7 months old now and the topic was not problems cutting with SCAL 4 via the Illustrator script.) This is not an uncommon occurrence for newbies to the forum, but sometimes inquires get "lost" when that occurs.

I would suggest that you start a new thread with your concerns/issues and someone can probably be of more help. In your title, be sure to note that you are trying to work with SCAL 4 and the Illustrator script for cutting and having issues. I cannot be of specific help because I don't use SCAL or the Illustrator script for cutting.

[Gigi]

Thanks Mel. New topic started and posts moved ........ DONE!!

As for the issues, I suggest, since you purchased your machine from Jo and are trying to do some really complicated things as a new user, that you reach out to her for support. We highly recommend that you get to know the machine well first before you tackle print and cut and other things that you are trying to do as there is a steep learning curve. You have not even had your machine for a month. Take it slow.....

That being said, we would need a lot more information to help. Seeing the files would help and a lot of us don't use ai, but you could upload them as svg (export as svg) so we can at least see what you are talking about more clearly.

1. You don't say what you have done in Illustrator. Have you created the cut file in Illustrator? It may be the way you are creating that in Illustrator. The other option is to take the png file and import into SCAL and then trace the image and you will have your cut file. Again, I cannot see what you are talking about so flying a bit blind here!

2. Text does not have to be outlined - Fonts are vector files and are ready to cut as is. That being said, not all fonts cut cleanly and they may need to be cleaned up. If you are trying to create a shadow outline for the text, just use Effects>ShadowLayer. Again, if you just open the text in SCAL you may save yourself unnecessary work. Not "seeing" what you are trying to do makes it harder.

3. Hard to tell what you are doing with the print and cut without photos. Again, you may be tackling too much without understanding the machine first. Are you setting your origin to the the right and below the bottom registration mark (#3) Is it placed in the machine with the correct orientation. It could be as simple as your calibration being off (see notes in the Learning Center on how to refine that). I suggest creating a simple square or rectangle and see if that cut if off. If so it will easily show you whether you need to adjust the x or y and you can follow the instructions to get it perfect. It is rarely off that much, so I am guessing you missed a step in calibrating or in the print and cut itself. Again. really understanding the basics of the machine will be beneficial before taking on too much.

You can upload svg files (as many of us do not have/use Illustrator) or you can upload screen shots to help us help you better. Just be sure (I know I am saying this a lot but it's important!) that you have a good understanding of the machine and SCAL before tackling more complicating things. It will save you a lot of unnecessary frustration. And having a deadline for a customer while you are learning the machine is never a great idea. We recommend that you use what you know if you have an order that is putting pressure on you and learn the machine when you are not in a time constraint situation.

Hope some of this helps. Additional information welcome.

[mrsefs]

Hi,

I don't know if I can be of any help, but I use SCAL 4 Pro and Illustrator CS6 on a MAC, with the Illustrator script installed.

I'm not really sure what you mean in #1 when you say that you see a lot of png files before the svg file is generated. How are you actually exporting to SCAL? Within Illustrator I open the File menu, then select Scripts, then Send to SCAL4Pro. The computer then switches to SCAL and places the file from Illustrator (shows me no png or svg file generation in Illustrator).

In regard to the text outlines, I don't see multiple outlines when sending text from Illustrator that has been stroked. However, in Illustrator if I convert the text to outlines and then add an offset to the path then send it to SCAL I then have both cutting lines of the original text and the offset path.

I tried to make my Illustrator program not send all the items of a design to SCAL. I always get all the design elements to SCAL unless I turned off the visibility of a layer in Illustrator. In my test, the layer I turned off the visibility to was on top. When I turned it back on all items were sent to SCAL as you would expect. If I turned off the visibility of an item within a layer it works fine.

I prefer to do all my design work in Illustrator before sending it to SCAL so that once there I just need to worry about verifying the size of my design, flipping it if necessary and then setting the cut settings for the cutter. That said, I have learned the following things to do in Illustrator before sending a design to SCAL that maybe of help to you:
1) If the design includes any text that needs to be welded prior to cutting, do it in Illustrator first by creating outlines of the text then weld them via the Pathfinder window.
2) If the design is the result of a Tracing, be sure to eliminate all the excess pieces the tracing functions creates (e.g., when an "O" is traced, you simply want the outer ring, not the center hole), otherwise SCAL will see the outer ring and the hole and cut both, which results in two cutting passes on the inside of the O).
3) Simplifying your design in Illustrator doesn't give consistent results. Even if you simplify in Illustrator, do it again in SCAL via the Path menu.

I have used Illustrator for years so when I got my cutter and started using the Illustrator/SCAL/SB trio I didn't get the results I expected. I can say that 90% of the errors were in the design from Illustrator. Now that I do the things I listed above I am getting consistently good results.

Lastly, in regard to the Print n Cut, did you calibrate the laser by following the online prompts (moving the laser to each mark and confirming) or did you set it manually? I first did the online prompt way and my cut was off. So I went to the learning center and found a video about calibrating the laser which included what to do manually. I followed those instructions and my cut was then as hoped for.

I hope something I've said may trigger something that might be helpful.

Kathy