I'm having some trouble creating SVG files with AI. I am making a baby onsie shaped card and found a shape on the web for it - in jpg format. I used live trace to outline the shape and copied it to a new layer. I then clicked on Expend to make it a path. From here I hide the other layer and saved it as an SVG file with the default settings.
Alls good - or so I think. When I export it into SCAL - I do see the shape of the card template. But in the preview - I see the card shape with a red rectangle across it. It also cut the red lines, and NOT the card shape?
Can anyone help? I'm making invites for my sisters baby shower and really wanted to get it done this weekend.
I don't have space on my PC to download Inkscape - as I've seen recommended in some other forums
That sounds like what an embedded bitmap would do, but you said you converted it to a path so I'm stumped. Does the outline view in illustrator look right? I always check that before I export. I also found out that I have to uncheck the box that says "keep file editable in illustrator" during the export process.
Ok forgive my lack of knowledge but I am wondering why a person can't just design in Illustrator? It creates svg's right? Why would a person need to go to another software system to resize or save? With that being said, I have been creating in Illustrator and cutting from my Silhouette Design Pro software for a while but have been having lots of issues. I was under the belief that I was just doing something wrong but am starting to wonder if I'm trying to do the impossible and need another software package.
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Please keep in mind that the posts you just read above are dated 2009.
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Cut it up,
As GJ1 mentioned, the rest of this thread from 2009 can be ignored as it is outdated. Now, let me address your questions. You don't say what kind of cutter you have but I will assume it is a Silhouette Cameo since you mention Silhouette software and are new. You can design in AI and you don't need another program. Not sure why you are on the SCAL board, some machines need it to cut, but not the Silhouettes as they have their own cutting software. You can even cut directly from AI with a program called Cut Wizard out of Germany. I only have an SD so I haven't tried it, but I have successfully cut directly from Illustrator with a piece of software that unfortunately did not carry over to the Cameo or past AI CS4.
As far as preparing SVGs for cutting in AI, there are only a couple of things I know that you need to remember. Nothing should be clipped and everything should be converted to outlines. Save the SVGs with the keep editable in AI checkbox unchecked. If there are problems when you get to SS, ungroup everything in AI and try again and see if that helps. Once you get into SS, you will need to set all lines widths to zero or they will double cut. There may be a way around that by designing with stroke and no fill, or fill and no stroke (can't remember which, if either, works). SS is programmed to use AI SVGs so they should open at the correct size. Might want to try the 1 inch square trick a couple of times just to verify that.
Hi Gimp is a good program for making svgs which is free from sourceforge and Coreldrawplus you have to pay for which I have there is a really good program called Vector Magic which is brilliant but it is so expensive $200 but there is a trial you can download the formats which can be saved are Svg, Ai,Emf,Dxf,Pdf and Eps its so easy to use give it a try
