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Post by uptrainfan89 on Feb 18, 2015 14:26:15 GMT -9
I'm finally (after many years of hand cutting) looking in to a automated cutter. I've seen a lot of guys on here really like them and they really do look like they make things easier But I thaught I'd see what people prefer? Also how do they work, like what holds the paper wile it's being cut? Also for blades being used on 110lb card stock, how long do they last or is it worth investing in a good amount of replacement blades? Lol as you can tell I'm a bit new to the cutters lol!
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Post by squirmydad on Feb 19, 2015 16:11:30 GMT -9
Welcome to the world of automated cutters! The two main types on the market are the Cameo (huge, really made for scrapbookers), and the Portrait (smaller, made for us). I own a Portrait, bought it a year ago to replace my Silhouette SD, haven't needed to replace the blade and I've run several hundred pages through it. On my old Silhouette I got about five years of use out of the blade it came with. I primarily cut, 80lb, 110lb, and 67lb stock with my machines, never had any problems with those flavors. The machines come with a plastic cutting mat that is pre-coated with a tacky adhesive to hold the print down while it's being cut. You may find that it is too tacky when you first try to use it and you might need to wash it with warm soapy water to knock down the tackiness level, YMMV. I rarely use my mat, it's usually more convenient for me to take a piece of scrap 110lb, hit it with krylon removable spray adhesive (or use an Elmer's repositionable glue stick if I don't want to go outside) and use that as my backing in lieu of a cutter mat. Elmer's spray glue that says it is repositionable is some of the worst stuff on Earth, don't buy it. Things to watch out for; -Make sure the prints are not being re-scaled. The registration marks need to be where the program thinks they are or it won't work. -The new machines and program say they will read older style registration marks, the ones with just an "L" in the lower left corner instead of a solid block, that isn't always true. It's an easy fix if you have a black sharpy though as I just fill in the "L" if the Portrait isn't reading the registration marks and then everything cuts great. Look for sales on Amazon to purchase.
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Feb 19, 2015 18:42:23 GMT -9
Lol wow thats a lot of good info, thanks! I've been on the edge lately about looking into getting one since I finally got the hobby going again. I really like hand cutting but I can see were one of these would be nice for some models with smaller finer cuts and also to turn out a few more models quicker lol. I think I might have to keep an eye out on the deals!
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Post by 8rad on Feb 21, 2015 1:15:57 GMT -9
+1 on the Portrait, never owned any other and was lucky enough to go with that first time. Easy to use, light and small does the job for minis great. I used mine for minis ranging from 10mm to 28mm gives a nice even border every time. As above the bundled mat is far to sticky (a few brave warriors died on mine). But as squirmydad say easy to wash it down or buy a low tack mat.
8r
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Post by Christopher Roe on Feb 22, 2015 20:16:43 GMT -9
My Craft Robo II isn't long for this world the last time I checked it, so I'm keeping an eye out for recommendations myself.
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 19, 2016 12:49:33 GMT -9
Kinda reviving an old thread but after a year of debating I think I'm finally going to get one, I've been looking at the Silhouette at our local Walmart (can't for the life of me remember which one it is, probably the newest model) but anyone have any opinions on it? Also probably a dumb question but are all cutter files the same? I see some files that say .gsd and .studio in the minis? (Also take Mel's newest Crotale model for example, there are 3 other files other than hand cut, which do you know to use?)
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 20, 2016 7:12:11 GMT -9
Also was wandering, has anyone made cutter files for any of Topos models and Mel's that didn't have any?
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Post by klachowski on Apr 20, 2016 7:21:59 GMT -9
Kinda reviving an old thread but after a year of debating I think I'm finally going to get one, I've been looking at the Silhouette at our local Walmart (can't for the life of me remember which one it is, probably the newest model) but anyone have any opinions on it? Also probably a dumb question but are all cutter files the same? I see some files that say .gsd and .studio in the minis? (Also take Mel's newest Crotale model for example, there are 3 other files other than hand cut, which do you know to use?) This is an informative thread, and I am interested in the responses to this.
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Apr 20, 2016 7:24:05 GMT -9
Silhouette Portrait is good enough for most needs. It'll cut Letter and A4 sized paper just fine, I believe. The Silhouette Cameo has a wider cutting area. The Silhouette Curio can do cutting as well as embossing. The former two devices 'score' by perforating the page. The latter can do that too, but you can also use the embossing feature to really score the lines. .gsd files are OLD format, and while you can load them into the Silhouette Studio software, I personally wouldn't trust them as-is. I'd personally want to double-check that the registration marks and cutlines really line up with the image I'm cutting. To do that, though, you'd need to pull images out of the PDF you're printing and bring the images into the cutfiles to see how they line up. I use GIMP to do that. Some folks may chime in and say ".gsd files should work fine" but it's not going to convince me to not double-check them first .studio files are old as well. The current format is .studio3, but all formats are read in by Silhouette Studio. I trust .studio files a little more than .gsd files, but not that much more. :-P I guess I'm just not a trusting guy when it comes to Silhouette properly maintaining compatibility with older formats. Many files that don't yet have cutfiles are because the pages aren't laid out in a way that fits in the 'safe cutting area'. It doesn't mean you can't make it work - it's just more effort to do so, and the end result isn't the best experience for sharing. What I've done for some models is this: 1) get images out of the PDF for each page. 2) create a new cutfile for each page and import the image into the cutfile 3) lay out the cut and score lines, ignoring the safe cutting region 4) if I can't slide everything around to fit on one page, then carve up the image in Silhouette Studio and slide the bits of image along with their cutlines 5) You might end up turning a single page into multiple cutfiles. Some single pieces won't fit in the safe cutting area. For those, either cut as much as you can, or get creative and cut it into two pieces and cut each one out separately. What
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Apr 20, 2016 12:09:47 GMT -9
If you're in the US - keep an eye on Amazon's lightning deals, too. They often have Silhouette bundles on sale!
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Post by chiefasaur on Apr 20, 2016 14:05:17 GMT -9
I'm pretty green to the world of paper-miniatures. I'm finding this info super-helpful. I'm very tempted to get a cutter now...
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Post by squirmydad on Apr 20, 2016 14:51:19 GMT -9
I highly recommend it. Even if you are not designing minis or creating cut-files there are a wealth of kits out there that already have cut-files, such as all of the Forum Hordes. Here is an example of my Silhouette Portrait cutting out a piece from FDG;
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 20, 2016 15:25:59 GMT -9
Wow a lot of good info lol! I know I'm really wanting one to help me cut a few more Scifi models quicker and better, like the Hybrids, also I've always wanted to build Mel's Drop Ship and his New bigger one but hand cutting it all kinda made my wrist ach at the thought hahaha! Also debating how hard it would be to make cut files for Mel's models that didn't have them and Topos? (Tho I don't mind hand cutting either if some models don't have cutter files lol, part of the fun too.) Also do the blades seem to last a long time if your cutting 110lb Cardstock, that's all I really use lol? Edit: Watching the Video makes me want one even more lol! Also how well do the cutting mats hold up for it?
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Apr 21, 2016 2:16:20 GMT -9
When set to the right blade depth (3) they last a long time for me. When set to the wrong blade depth (I used to cut at 5) then no...
I have only used two cutting mats - the two that came with my original Silhouette SD (an older model). When they loose their tackiness I hit them with some 3M Spray Mount (NOT Super77 Spray Glue!) and away I go. If the buildup gets too, er, built up then I wash with warm water, dish soap and an old scrubber sponge. Let it dry and its sticky again!
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Apr 21, 2016 2:17:13 GMT -9
Oh but beware. The mats they sell start off toooooo sticky. Tragically sticky. A ton of people give up on them and make their own carrier sheets.
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 21, 2016 2:33:22 GMT -9
That's good to hear, least the blades have the potential to last quite a while! Would be kinda nice if they sold a less tacky mat lol, I've seen mention a few times that people say the one it comes with is too tacky so they either wash it down a bit or make there own, might have to look into the 3M Spray Mount you mentioned.
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Post by andrax2000 on Apr 21, 2016 8:41:35 GMT -9
I use a cameo and am happy with it. When the blades start getting dull, they'll still cut long lines, but small corner details might not get cut well. You can use the old blades for big easy shapes like square tiles, and use a newer blade for small details. My blade lasted about 100 sheets of cardstock before dulling to the point where I had to replace it. They also sell a premium blade that is supposed to last 3x as long. I just put that one in, so I can't verify the claim. I use the 2 original carrier sheets and at over 50 prints each, they are still tacky enough. I'm careful to cover them with their original packing film between uses.
Curling is an issue when you peel pieces off the carrier. I've found that putting the carrier face down and holding the sheet while peeling the carrier helps eliminate this. So instead of peeling the paper from the carrier, I peel the carrier from the paper.
Sometimes cut files aren't right. The most common thing I've seen is that the registration marks in the cut file are spaced differently than they are in the pdf. mproteau's tips help with this. In the software, you can adjust the registration marks until they line up.
On my machine, the line for inserting the carrier seems to be a bit wrong. I had a lot of trouble with the Cameo complaining that it couldn't find the registration marks. It's like it gave up before even moving the optical scanner all the way across the paper. I started loading the carrier slightly to the left of the line and now it always finds the marks. Cat hair is a real issue too. It can get in there and mess up the scanner.
I bought mine on woot.com. They have them about once a month or so.
Tips:
- If you are cutting the same shape over and over again (like WWG tiles), the cameo has a "repeat job" button so you don't have to keep hitting "send to cutter" on your computer. - The USB cord it comes with is not very long. The cutter needs clear space both in front of and behind it to feed the carrier through. Keep these in mind while planning where to put it. - The trace feature in Studio is pretty rubbish. Like it sometimes won't even trace a rectangle without chopping off the corners. If you are making a test file or just don't care about your edge detail very much, it's fine. Otherwise, prepare for some manual tracing. - If you are designing your own stuff, and you have Illustrator, use it. Design your outlines as a vector in Illustrator and export them to DXF (1 in = 1 unit). Studio will open these, and quite frequently the lines will be somewhere off the page, but they will be the right size and you just have to move them to where they should go.
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 21, 2016 12:11:37 GMT -9
Definitely some great tips to think about, also thanks for the amount of detail, it definitely helps. I know mostly I just plan on it being used for cutting The Scifi Minis from here, Genet Models, and WWG Titan and Hinterland sets. Would allow me to get some extra models built in between hand cutting models too lol. Funny enough I actually have Adobe CS5.5 on disk from college a couple years back (student version), I just never really seem to use it anymore hahaha!
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Post by uptrainfan89 on May 12, 2016 12:04:11 GMT -9
Oh but beware. The mats they sell start off toooooo sticky. Tragically sticky. A ton of people give up on them and make their own carrier sheets. I seen for the Portrait they sell a light hold cutting mat on there web site, I wander if it would be better than the more tacky one it comes with?
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 18, 2017 11:08:24 GMT -9
I finally after a couple years of debating it, dove in and picked up the Cameo 3, Walmart had an awesome starter kit bundle on sale! I also picked up 4 more replacement blades and another light tack cutting Mat. Excited to give it a go and join the fellow robo cutters here lol. Also a big thing that pushed me was I really want a lot of Hybrids and they have a lot of fun cuts that makes it take a wile to make even a handful lol.
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Post by sunraven01 on Apr 19, 2017 1:36:40 GMT -9
I also recently picked up a Cameo 3, and it has spoiled me, quite frankly. I had a stack of old minis and terrain printed out but not assembled that I used as busy work for those nights when I wanted to sit at the computer but have something to keep my hands busy, and now that's all in the trash. I have whipped up basic shapes in Photoshop (like, circles and rectangles), looked at them, and thought, "Am I really going to be so basic as to use the Cameo for this? Yes. Yes I am."
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 19, 2017 4:09:08 GMT -9
Lol I have a feeling it's going to spoil me too. There have been a few projects I've wanted to build for game nights and just didn't due to the amount of time it would take to hand cut before I could even get to building lol. I still plan on hand cutting a bunch too but I think the Cameo 3 will really help with bigger models that have lots of pages and also turning out more minis so I can have hoards rather than little groups lol.
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Post by sunraven01 on Apr 19, 2017 9:03:05 GMT -9
I'm pretty sure the Cameo will be the only reason I can get WWG's The Maiden built for my annual October Halloween game. Even better if I can turn her into a ghost ship.
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 24, 2017 13:44:38 GMT -9
I have a question on printing for my Cameo 3 before I get too carried away printing a lot and find out it's wrong, lol. When printing a PDF (say the Hybrids for example) can Fit or Shrink Oversized Pages be checkmarked? I've noticed if Actual Size is checked some of the text on the bottom gets cut off but wasn't sure if it would throw the cutter off? I seen the cutter instructions said something about turning all page scaling off.
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Post by oldschooldm on Apr 24, 2017 14:18:57 GMT -9
I have a question on printing for my Cameo 3 before I get too carried away printing a lot and find out it's wrong, lol. When printing a PDF (say the Hybrids for example) can Fit or Shrink Oversized Pages be checkmarked? I've noticed if Actual Size is checked some of the text on the bottom gets cut off but wasn't sure if it would throw the cutter off? I seen the cutter instructions said something about turning all page scaling off. No. You want the registration marks to print exactly the correct distance from each other - so no "Fit" or "Shrink" options. All that matters is the registration marks. Print "actual size" always.
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Apr 24, 2017 16:05:41 GMT -9
No. You want the registration marks to print exactly the correct distance from each other - so no "Fit" or "Shrink" options. All that matters is the registration marks. Print "actual size" always. Thanks oldschooldm! Definitely glad I asked first before trying out the cutter lol! I printed a couple things out with the Fit option checked and then stopped and thaught about it for a sec and figured I'd better ask before I got too crazy with the printing lol.
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Post by uptrainfan89 on May 2, 2017 10:41:40 GMT -9
Out of curiosity are there cut files for the bases?
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Post by uptrainfan89 on May 2, 2017 19:18:27 GMT -9
Finally got around to testing out the Cameo 3 and I can say I have a love hate relationship with it already, also Mel's Cameo squares came in handy. After a couple rookie mistakes on my part (forgot to check print Actual size) I had it cut out some Hybrid Slashers and they came out great. Next I tried some tiles and props from WWG Titan Control and I can't for the life of me seem to get it to cut in the right spot, it has the shape right just not the spot on the page right, I also use Mel's squares so it can find the reg mark. Anyone have experience with WWG cut files?
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Post by sunraven01 on May 3, 2017 3:32:21 GMT -9
The thing that tripped me up in the beginning was not paying attention to the settings. Make sure your cutting mat is set to Cameo and not Portrait, make sure the page in the preview window is set up the same way you put the page on the mat, make sure you always put the arrow on the mat in first, etc.
Once I got used to double checking those things, I haven't had a single problem. When possible, convert PDFs to PNG, and then import the PNGs into the Cameo software, erase the old reg marks, and have the Cameo software print the page and new, Cameo reg marks. That clears up nearly every issue.
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Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on May 3, 2017 4:03:47 GMT -9
That latter bit of advice by sunraven01 is really great to keep in mind. Especially stuff that wasn't written in the studio3 format (like all the WWG stuff, right?), I just wouldn't trust the cutfiles... I vaguely recall a thread on the WWG forums about one of the Titan TLX sets that had cutfile issues (like, the PDF page wasn't aligned right for who knows what reason). I can't recall the details, and I wasn't willing to spend more than 2 minutes searching the forums there.
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