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Digital Die Cutter


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Has anyone used a digital die cutter to make designs for surface decoration on pots?  I recently purchased one but am doubting if offers much to the already various ways of creating surface patterns with stamps, fabric, etc.  I would be grateful if you would share your experience with me or send me to your website to see how you have used it in your work.  Thank You!

 

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Are you talking about something like a Cricut or Silhouette Cameo?  I have a Cameo that I absolutely love.  I never got into scrapbooking so never purchased the machines with the individual dies but love to stencil.  The Cameo has software that allows you to do all sorts of manipulation with images ... all kinds of formats like jpgs or scanned in from a scanner or create them yourself line by line in the software.  Then you can send the image to the Cameo which acts like a printer (usb connection to your computer) and cuts the image out in however much detail you like.  I use transparency film (like you would use with an overhead projector) and cut the stencil from that.  It has just enough stiffness to allow you to trace the stencil.  I used them in a majolica class to transfer my design instead of pouncing or freehanding the design.

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I've just started using a Silhouette for pots. Its pretty sweet. So far I've just been stencilling slip at the leatherhard stage, tried a bunch of different media, right know I happiest with plain paper or non-adhesive vinyl. An invaluable trick I learned from a graphic design tutorial is to first stencil with your base media, then stencil the colour. It fills all those annoying gaps first, so there is all most no cleanup. 

There are a bunch of example pots in the below link, under June 2015 first and 2nd firings;

https://www.flickr.com/photos/expatat/albums

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I recently bought a KNK Zing Air. It will cut thin plywood to thin mylar. I have begun developing my stencils in Corel Draw, and moving them into Make the Cut. This software controls the die cutter, but is a pretty full fledged imaging program also.  It will also import almost any type of image to be used for cuts. SVG(Scalable Vector Graphic) files are pretty easy to find if you do not wish to design your own. My reason for this machine was the ease of being able to use any source as a starting point.  I still have to use one of the cut stencils, but have cut some pretty complicated bare tree stencils for work on patens, mugs, and bowls. Hoping to use these on some of the pots in the next load.

 

best,

Pres

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pres, would you like to take on a new job?  i have been looking for someone to cut my drawings, simple, kids coloring book stuff.  i want them from craft foam, the very thin sheets that are sold in lots of shapes in " art supply" stores.  the kind you give kids so they can make "art" with the same shapes as the other 5 million kids who have them.

 

have not found anyone with a crickut or silhouette who knows how or if the material is too thick.

 

is it easy to use drawings or must they be computer drawn images?  how do you convert drawn images to computer stuff that is acceptable? probably easy for you.

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I have not tried cutting the craft foam yet, but the documentation says it will do it. This thing has 3 different weight of blades for different materials, will cut in a single pass, or multiple passes, will emboss, and draw. Crazy getting used to it. Try emailing me an image, and I'll see if I have any luck with it. I can not guarantee anything, just that I'll try.

 

Any Draw program will allow you to convert a jpeg, or a gif to a vector graphic image. However when you do this, often you have to tweek it as there are several rough edges, or even a few missing lines. It is all in getting the parameters of the trace set right to make it work well. Once in a draw program, it can be converted to any number of formats. Joel is correct in saying that it is an equation based image, that is why no matter how big or small you make it, it keeps resolution unlike a pixel based image like a jpeg. A scalable image is mad up of a series of points with a path connecting the points.

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Not sure about Corel Draw but Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator have the option to convert an image into a vector image. A vector image is defined by equations instead of pixels. Drawing your own vectors takes a little practice but with a few hours work they are pretty easy to produce.

 

For Vector Images, CorelDraw is streets ahead of Photoshop.  I flit between the two for different tasks.  Not used Illustrator so can't comment.

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Illustrator is just as powerful with vectors as Corel Draw. However, years ago when I started work with the two, I found that I preferred Draw for its real world measuring tool. The program allowed you to set a scale, use a measuring tool on all distances and angles. This allows me to build anything I design from furniture to pots exactly the way I image them.

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Pres, I'm jealous. I didn't think about thicker materials when I bought my Silhouette. I now have a burning desire to cut craft foam as I think it would make great stencil material (not to mention other non clay sculpture projects...), but have not yet managed to cut anything thicker than heavy cardstock. If anyone knows how to make it work, I would love to hear about it. 

As to the software, I use illustrator. It has a steep learning curve (ie not very intuitive until you get used to it), but quite powerful for this type of thing. It's tracing functions are very good (ie converting a jpeg/photo etc to "vector" art), not sure I would recommend it to start with though as (like all adobe stuff) it is pretty overpriced..imo...

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One of the others reasons I am sticking to Corel Draw. I have taught courses years ago in Photoshop, Illustrator, Draw, and Gimp. In the long run I found that most folks using the products were about 3 version levels behind on the Adobe products because they could not afford the recent packages. Why do you think they have come out with the Elements versions of Photoshop and Premiere(video editing).

 

As to the cutter, I researched every one out there that I figured I could afford. The Zing is definetly pricey, but in the long run it is built like a tank, and does a good job. The Make a cut sofware is quite powerful also. There are also 1000's of projects unlocked with registering the Zing in the Make a Cut.

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For those of you who do not really understand what this strand is about. I have included an image that it took me and hr to create in a draw program and exported as an SVG file to Make the Cut. This image was then cut in 8 minutes. I can not even imagine trying to cut this by hand using either an exacto, or a stencil burner knife. I have used both, and . . . not fun. This image is a test run of one I want to do in craft foam to roll slabs on. However, this image cut from card stock would work well as a stencil for glaze, especially after I use it a few times with some spray paint to stiffen it up.

post-894-0-59465400-1439758511_thumb.jpg

post-894-0-59465400-1439758511_thumb.jpg

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Pres, I'm jealous. I didn't think about thicker materials when I bought my Silhouette. I now have a burning desire to cut craft foam as I think it would make great stencil material (not to mention other non clay sculpture projects...), but have not yet managed to cut anything thicker than heavy cardstock. If anyone knows how to make it work, I would love to hear about it. 

As to the software, I use illustrator. It has a steep learning curve (ie not very intuitive until you get used to it), but quite powerful for this type of thing. It's tracing functions are very good (ie converting a jpeg/photo etc to "vector" art), not sure I would recommend it to start with though as (like all adobe stuff) it is pretty overpriced..imo...

I have not cut craft foam with mine but I have cut stencils using transparency film which is a stiff clear mylar.  You must use the adhesive mat to cut the stencil or else the material will move.  It will cut fabric with the fabric blade so I don't see why it wouldn't cut the craft foam.  You might try searching the silhouette site for projects and see if anyone else has cut craft foam.

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I have a silhouette portrait.  If you buy the thin craft foam from the dollar store they are thin enough to cut on the machine. I have used that to make templates and simple stamps, it didn't work well with complicated shapes.  I use paper stencils, paint a base coat, lay stencil, put contrasting color over.  Lots of fun.  There is a ceramic die cut group on facebook, not very active but has some tips.

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Ah, I think that might be the answer. I don't have the fabric blade and more importantly I can't find the thin craft foam here. The only craft foam I've found in these parts is fairly thick, ie barely fits under the rollers on the Silhouette.....

I should probably shelve the foam idea for the time being. I tend to have that problem, I focus on what I can't do, rather than working with what I can do. Still lots of cool stuff to do with paper and vinyl anyway.

As to the Illustrator vs Draw, I only use AI because it's what I'm used to, having started with it back in the 90's. Either will still get the job done. Personally I preferred Deneba's Canvas, but you can't get it anymore...

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Actually, if you check out the following link:

 

http://www.canvasx.com/en/products/canvas-15

 

Canvas is out there, personally I can not pay the gold for the program, but lots of great programs seem to disappear, only to be found on the internet anymore. Preferences are what drives things. I came to Draw while teaching a lot of other programs for images from pixel based to vector. I always had problems with Adobe price point as compared to so many great programs that did not have the rep.

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wow, I see what you mean about the price... I wonder if it's Deneba's code under the hood. Seems to happen a bit, I noticed that they were selling ACDsee as well, which used to be a good free app....A friend was showing me Corel Painter the other day, it's almost exactly identical to the old Fractal design Painter, just rebranded...

In the day, Canvas was an affordable competitor to AI, with the same level of performance. Times, they are a changin....

I agree with your opinion about adobes price point too. I have about as much respect for them as I for heroine dealers. Given that it takes months/years to learn these programs properly, once you're hooked, they know they have you. 

Sorry, off on a rant.... Spent quite a while on the bleeding edge with digital art.....just gets me going. Sorry

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I have not tried cutting the craft foam yet, but the documentation says it will do it. This thing has 3 different weight of blades for different materials, will cut in a single pass, or multiple passes, will emboss, and draw. Crazy getting used to it. Try emailing me an image, and I'll see if I have any luck with it. I can not guarantee anything, just that I'll try.

 

Any Draw program will allow you to convert a jpeg, or a gif to a vector graphic image. However when you do this, often you have to tweek it as there are several rough edges, or even a few missing lines. It is all in getting the parameters of the trace set right to make it work well. Once in a draw program, it can be converted to any number of formats. Joel is correct in saying that it is an equation based image, that is why no matter how big or small you make it, it keeps resolution unlike a pixel based image like a jpeg. A scalable image is mad up of a series of points with a path connecting the points.

Have you experimented with the resolution and contrast of the image your transferring.  I had used the old photoshop programs and initially saw the same fuzzyness when converting colored images to hard black and white images.  But If I kicked the resolution up to the max on the colored image before converting it to B and W the fuzziness decreased.  Then on the B and W image I would drop the resolution down to the 120 range and the lines would be very smooth but still very sharp as each pixel is either black or white.  I had not converted these to vector images but doubt that it would be a problem from this point.  

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Actually, if you check out the following link:

 

http://www.canvasx.com/en/products/canvas-15

 

Canvas is out there, personally I can not pay the gold for the program, but lots of great programs seem to disappear, only to be found on the internet anymore. Preferences are what drives things. I came to Draw while teaching a lot of other programs for images from pixel based to vector. I always had problems with Adobe price point as compared to so many great programs that did not have the rep.

My problem with this it the price of these programs.  The program your linking to is basicly $600.00.  The present Photoshop package I would recommend is $19.00 per month which includes the constant updates to keep it the latest.  With the price difference your getting about 30 months to break even price wise.  But what is the possibility that the operating system will change in 3 months which will make the $600 program unusable.   This is what happened to me after purchasing a $2,000 software package when XP was the latest operating system.  I got 4 years out of it and then it would not run with my new operating system.

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Has anyone used a digital die cutter to make designs for surface decoration on pots?  I recently purchased one but am doubting if offers much to the already various ways of creating surface patterns with stamps, fabric, etc.  I would be grateful if you would share your experience with me or send me to your website to see how you have used it in your work.  Thank You!

http://lindaarbuckle.com/arbuckle-new-tools-cm.pdf

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That article was one of the things that prompted me to get the KNK. I am still in the beginning stages, and am cutting much more complicated stencils than the ones shown in the article. However, I am trying to ramp up to cutting dies that I can roll slabs over to create multi layered surfaces I can use in slab pieces with additions of more added on clay and modelling.

 

 

My problem with traced images is the way a software program creates the black and white vector not the resolution of the jpeg converted from.  In the traced images, there are several layers of black and white that seem to confuse the cutter. So I have to ungroup the layers, and rebuild them so that all is in one layer or one object. Check it out on your own vector tracings.

 

 

best,

Pres

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That article was one of the things that prompted me to get the KNK. I am still in the beginning stages, and am cutting much more complicated stencils than the ones shown in the article. However, I am trying to ramp up to cutting dies that I can roll slabs over to create multi layered surfaces I can use in slab pieces with additions of more added on clay and modelling.

 

 

My problem with traced images is the way a software program creates the black and white vector not the resolution of the jpeg converted from.  In the traced images, there are several layers of black and white that seem to confuse the cutter. So I have to ungroup the layers, and rebuild them so that all is in one layer or one object. Check it out on your own vector tracings.

 

 

best,

Pres

Not sure as we're using different software, but I've found that if you increase your contrast (or even convert to a bitmap) in your image editor first, the tracing works much better. You're right, various shades of gray confuse the tracing programs, there is more control if you define what is black and white yourself. Not sure if that was the trouble, hope it helps.

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WOW! I am adding one of these to my studio wish list!

 

Pres.- thank you for including the link and the images. I can see how valuable this machine would be. I can see making up stencils or friskets of common elements I use a lot then adding the hand painted parts, it would speed things up immensely meaning a higher profit margin or lower selling price would be possible.

 

Has anyone here ever heard of a Thermofax Machine?

 

T

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