[Mike Sebastien]

Originally Posted by mmarion

Hello everyone ..just got my New Silhouette Cameo .. Question: How do you set-up in the Studio SW so that you define a Monokote TrimSheet 5inches x 36inches as the cutting Material?

Thanks

I am using Ver 3.3.34 of the software which came out just recently. Works very well.

When you open the program the first thing you will see in a "new page" and on the right side of the screen is the page setting, just adjust as required. See screenshot

One of the problems you will have when using trim sheets is that it isn't wide enough to go under both rollers. Consequently it will pull through the cutter crooked. You can try guiding it by hand (which I had terrible luck at that) or load it on the cutting mat. When you put it on the cutting mat though it becomes so thick that the cutter has a difficult time. I buy all my vinyl at a local sign shop here in Moncton for a 36" by 12" sheet is $5 no tax and they throw in a foot or more because I bring them a Timmies.

[Mike Sebastien]

Originally Posted by Midair

Hello Gord:

You should be able to import almost any graphic or photo into the Silhouette program. On the Silhouette program main working page, go to the upper left hand corner and "click" the open folder. That selection will open a new window entitled "Graphics." Go to the bottom right side of that page and from the "Files of Type" box click the drop down menu. At the bottom of that drop down list you can select "All Files (".")" At that point you should be able to look for and select the particular graphic that you want to import in to your main working page. Hope that this works for you. BTW, I'm still using the original Silhouette program that came with my cutter from 1 1/2 years ago; I haven't upgraded to the latest version as I heard that it was a bit buggy.

Cheers,

Peter

Well that was the easy part. Now you have to convert the Graphic so the program can do something with it. I am using Ver 3.3.34 of the software which works really well.

When you import a graphic it will go into " My Library" and in a folder called "my own designs".

Double click on your Graphic and it will go into the new page. For the first time I suggest you use something simple such as a maple leaf. There are Plenty that can be downloaded for free.

Now the fun begins.

Open the "trace command" it is the 6th icon from the right on the menu bar

It will open a side window and open "Select Trace area"

Drag a square around the area of your graphic with the mouse. It should kinda turn yellow.

Just below the "Select Trace area" there is a "Trace" command. When you push that that Graphic should show red lines that become visible. Those are the lines the program will recognize where to cut. You can click on the original graphic, drag it away and delete, all the that is left is a outline of your graphic in red lines. The original graphic will still be in your library if needed later. Remember save often.

My great wife made a Turkey supper and I can't late. Tomorrow I will explain how to clean up the Trace as it isn't usable right now.

[Lash]

Is it tomorrow yet ?

[Singleminded]

Originally Posted by Mike Sebastien

Well that was the easy part. Now you have to convert the Graphic so the program can do something with it. I am using Ver 3.3.34 of the software which works really well.

When you import a graphic it will go into " My Library" and in a folder called "my own designs".

Double click on your Graphic and it will go into the new page. For the first time I suggest you use something simple such as a maple leaf. There are Plenty that can be downloaded for free.

Now the fun begins.

Open the "trace command" it is the 6th icon from the right on the menu bar

It will open a side window and open "Select Trace area"

Drag a square around the area of your graphic with the mouse. It should kinda turn yellow.

Just below the "Select Trace area" there is a "Trace" command. When you push that that Graphic should show red lines that become visible. Those are the lines the program will recognize where to cut. You can click on the original graphic, drag it away and delete, all the that is left is a outline of your graphic in red lines. The original graphic will still be in your library if needed later. Remember save often.

My great wife made a Turkey supper and I can't late. Tomorrow I will explain how to clean up the Trace as it isn't usable right now.

Mike, I need your expertise to complete the tutorial....when I load the graphics onto the sheet, a red outline surrounds the objects after pressing thr outline button.....what's next? I'm lost here and would really appreciate learning how to use imported graphics!
Thanks, Gord

[Midair]

Gord:

I recommend that you do a Google search for Silhouette You Tube tutorials. That's what I did when I first started using the system. There are probably dozens (if not hundreds?) of tutorials available; some are useless, but many are quite appropriate to the kind of work we want to do. I've included a You Tube link to one tutorial where the author imports a graphic and outlines it in prep for cutting. She's using a Mac and the process might no be exactly what you're looking for, but it will provide more insight.

Peter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gveGaeCLMk

[Midair]

...here are some more tutorials that may help you . BTW, I just found out that the second and third link, Tracing Without Tears, Part 1 and Part 2 are part of a multi series tutorial, 7 or 8 (?) of them, that go into great detail about the subject.

Good luck,

Peter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNyn5CNSn5A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttldRQaBdEU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucaeL0VGsTs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdsavEyw9Mc

[Carlisler]

I second the Tracing without Tears vids!!

watched them all! learned a ton!

And I have found that the software does almost anything I need, reference editing the file for a cleaner cut.

love it!

Good Luck

[Midair]

That's great Scott. Once you become familiar with all of the Silhouette features, your options become almost limitless. You can take the most complicated graphic and remove those details and elements that clutter or will make the graphic too difficult to trace and cut. Depending on the level of graphic detail, the process can be quite time consuming, but in the end you have exactly what you need.

Peter

[Lash]

I am trying to cut some registration letters and when I select the text icon and type in my letters, I get a blue wiggly line in with the text. Can't get it to go away and when I cut it is cut as a line. What is this and how do I get rid of it?

[Carlisler]

Lash, do you have a pic or screenshot that we can see exactly what you are getting?

I found that if I had an issue 'selecting' a certain item (after the compound path is broken) I had to zoom in quite a bit to select the proper line/item with selecting anything else.

if you send a pic, maybe someone here has seen what you are talking about.

Cheers,

Scott