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Post by thoughtcontagion on Dec 31, 2014 3:19:00 GMT -9
Hello! I have a Silhouette Cameo cutter and I download many things to print and cut. For example, I download tuck boxes for cards in board games from Board Game Geek. I also create my own.
My current process has been to print the PDF, use the PixScan capability and then do the cut lines. It works great but if I have to make the same tuck box multiple times then I have to do the same exact process multiple times.
Is there a way to add the registration marks to a PDF and also create cut files to take advantage of them?
Thanks.
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Dec 31, 2014 3:59:23 GMT -9
Around here we make cutfiles for lots of PDFs that don't come with registration marks. The basic process is to extract the images from the PDF and then merge them into the cutfile in Silhouette Studio. If you don't have Silhouette Studio, it's a free download for the basic version.
Since I use GIMP for lots of things, that's how I get my PDFs turned into images. My process is like this:
1) If it's a multi-layer PDF, I get the PDF the way I want it, and I print it using CutePDF to make a single-layer PDF. 2) Open the single-layer PDF in GIMP, typically at 300 dpi. 3) Export each page to a PNG or JPG file. 4) Open Silhouette Studio. 5) I drag the image from Windows Explorer into Silhouette Studio, select the Move tool, and set the image's position to 0, 0. If I've done things right, the image should fill the page completely. 6) Use Silhouette Studio to add reg marks and cut/score lines.
Print from Silhouette Studio, and it will print with the registration marks. You can save the cutfile with the graphics in them to make your life easier, but if you're doing this to share stuff, you typically don't want to include the graphics inside the cutfile.
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Post by thoughtcontagion on Dec 31, 2014 8:24:14 GMT -9
Thanks! That works great and it is a lot easier than I thought.
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Post by flockofthese on Jan 5, 2015 10:56:13 GMT -9
Not saying they are superior methods, but PDF-XChange Viewer can export pages to images files. It also supports layers, so you can set those before export if you need to. Im pretty sure I can mention this next bit, but sorry if I cant. There may be times you need to do this but the PDF is encrypted. PDFill PDF Tools allows you to decrypt them. I prefer using Paint.net over Gimp, so I have little experience with importing PDFs to gimp. It might allow you to directly import encrypted PDFs and bypass the hassle.
Please, personal use only!
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Post by oldschooldm on Jan 5, 2015 13:15:55 GMT -9
Some PDF rippers do not produce pixel-perfect images, which can lead to problems. (It was bad when Adobe Pro had a bug about this.) When cutting with pre-generated cutfiles this can be an issue. Always load the bitmap into Studio and the merge with the cutfile to make sure everything's aligned properly.
Unlocked PDF files are for-sure pixel-perfectly exported/imported by the latest versions Acrobat Pro and Photoshop and GIMP.
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Post by flockofthese on Jan 5, 2015 16:49:47 GMT -9
Some PDF rippers do not produce pixel-perfect images, which can lead to problems. (It was bad when Adobe Pro had a bug about this.) When cutting with pre-generated cutfiles this can be an issue. Always load the bitmap into Studio and the merge with the cutfile to make sure everything's aligned properly. Unlocked PDF files are for-sure pixel-perfectly exported/imported by the latest versions Acrobat Pro and Photoshop and GIMP. So that's what has been going on with me? Darn... All this time. All right people! Don't use PDF-Xchange Viewer!
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Post by Zephalo on Jan 5, 2015 21:36:59 GMT -9
Some PDF rippers do not produce pixel-perfect images, which can lead to problems. (It was bad when Adobe Pro had a bug about this.) When cutting with pre-generated cutfiles this can be an issue. Always load the bitmap into Studio and the merge with the cutfile to make sure everything's aligned properly. Unlocked PDF files are for-sure pixel-perfectly exported/imported by the latest versions Acrobat Pro and Photoshop and GIMP. So that's what has been going on with me? Darn... All this time. All right people! Don't use PDF-Xchange Viewer! Could you explain further, what you do mean exactly? I'm using PDF-Xchange Viewer for years now and never noticed any problems... Thanks, Zephalo
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Post by flockofthese on Jan 5, 2015 23:47:33 GMT -9
When I print things off of PDF-Xchange and put them in my silhouette portrait the cuts aren't right. Its like either the image or the cut file is slightly stretched. Its minor enough to ignore, but I'm assuming that's what oldschooldm is referring to.
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Post by flockofthese on Jan 11, 2015 1:44:39 GMT -9
I have the same issue with Adobe Reader it seems. I guess it doesn't matter what you use as a viewer. Exporting, then merging into Studio is the way to go.
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