Craft Edge

Hello,
I've figured it out... read below...
I've done a bit of designing in the past with Photoshop CS2, I've loved the boxes that I have created and now thought it would be prefect to have my Cricut Expressions cut out the images in stead of by hand.
So my challenge is getting those images to cut correctly.

I've started with a solid image which I thought would be easy.... this is what I've done...
Opened the image in inkscape
Select my image
Clicked on "Path" then "trace bitmap"
With "brightness cutoff" selected I click "update" and get the same solid image that I have, not the outline like was shown in the video.
When I click "edge detection" then click "update" i get the outlines, then click "ok"
I reduced the size then saved it as an SVG file
Then in SCAL I imported the image
When it cuts it does cut slow and cuts the image twice, the outside and the inside of the lines.
I've tried several things in inkscape, but nothing has helped.
I've made sure the image is black as night with no shading on the edges.

Can someone please hlep, I have many items to share if I can just figure this out.

I've figured it out..... Halleluiah!!!

I kept playing and searching.... here is were I found my answer
http://susanbluerobot.blogspot.com/2008 ... o-003.html

Also something else I learned when you have transported a file from inkscape to SCAL and it cuts slowly, take it back to inkscape...
click on "path" then on "simplify" I did this twice and it reduced the nodes so there were not so many.
Thanks for letting me babble

Robin
come check out Robin's Creative Cottage
http://robinscreativecottage.blogspot.com/

well done, it really is a sense of achievement when you figure something out for yourself, its like it just falls in to place,
look forward to seeing your creations
Hugs
Karen

FWIW, I prefer to use GIMP's outlining tool to the one built in to Inkscape. Using GIMP you can change a selection to a path and then export the path to SVG. You can do a similar process with Photoshop and export to Illustrator paths which I'm pretty sure Inkscape can open.

Part of my reason for using GIMP is I don't really understand the settings in Inkscape, so if that works for you, good on ya.

- Jasen.

sigh I am still getting double lines and I tried it the way that the Susan Bluerobot blog suggested. I attached what I am trying to get to cut. If someone is successful in getting this to work without having the double lines (I need it to be the outside line if I could just get rid of the inside line) I would appreciate knowing how they did it. I can adjust the overall size in scal as it has to be exact because if I can get it to work I am going to try to cut fabric for an applique embroidery design. Of course I just got my cricut and need this to work for Christmas presents!

Here you go. This is a case where it's easier to redraw the artwork with pen tool.

so when it cuts it will just cut around the outside edge? If so how did you do that so I can repeat the process for some others I need to do I am kinda computer smart but have never used inscape or scal until today so have to learn I guess...

Yes, this will only cut the outside lines and the voids in the letters. Import the SVG into SCAL and preview the file so you can see what will cut. I redrew this file with the pen tool. Ink has a pen tool, so this is pretty easy to do.

That tool is called the Bezier tool in Inkscape. I like Dan99's tut here for the basics on this tool. http://dan99.blogspot.com/2008/11/video ... tools.html

ok great that worked now I just have to figure out how to get the sizing right as it has to be EXACTLY the right size to make it work in my embroidery program. Anybody out there done that before? I have the dimensions according to my embroidery program but when I make it that size it is a little off any suggestions?