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Post by jamesthegeek on Apr 2, 2013 1:51:48 GMT -9
I've had my Cameo for about 2 years now and love it for modeling and even crafts. However, I have one task that should be super easy, but doesn't seem to be - cutting out playing cards.
I get cards for games all the time. Savage Worlds Adventure Decks. Doctor Who Gadget and NPC cards, etc.
It should be simple enough, since all the cards are laid out exactly alike, yet the process I am currently using is tedious and I think there might be a better way.
Currently I try to achieve this the following way:
Convert the PDF (usually many pages), to PNG format. Reduce the size to be acceptable to Silhouette (under 4096 x 4096). Open the resulting PNG files in Silhouette. Create my cut lines for each page using the print and cut method.
I would think there is a much simpler way to do this that I am missing. This results in a great deal of time and an individual Studio file for each page! Also, I've found that it's very difficult to get a consistent, quality result. There are simply too many opportunities for failure or inconsistency. Also, many times the cards have a front and back that need to be printed and getting that all to work inside Studio is just nearly impossible.
Ideally I would simply like to print the PDFs, double-sided, as intended by the publisher and then open a single Studio file that has the correct cut lines. However, this would mean there are no registration marks on the printed pages.
Any guidance you could give would be great.
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Post by hobbeskind on Apr 2, 2013 6:50:56 GMT -9
Would this work? Did not try it myself but: A:Decide on a standard size for all cards and in Photoshop make one base page. B: In Studio construct the cutlines. C: Save the Cutfile D: Print the page once, with registration marks through print and cut. Just don't cut. E: Scan the printed page and keep i as template.
Now for every card you ever need you just add to the template and use the cut file.
Harry
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Post by pblade on Apr 2, 2013 7:04:45 GMT -9
I'm not sure exactly how much time I can save you, but I can tell you a couple of ways to get the registration marks on your PDFs.
First, you need a way to create PDFs. There are a lot of free 'PDF printer' programs out there. They create a PDF instead of physically printing. Once you have your 'PDF printer' of choice, you're ready to go. Just open up Studio, merge your graphics with your cut file, then print to the 'PDF printer.' Now you have a PDF with the cut files on them.
If you have a way to add layers to an existing PDF - like through Acrobat - you can print a blank page with the registration marks showing and add it to the files you want. This method can have problems with the 'no print zones' though, so the first method is frequently the better one.
As for the actual cut lines, I would think that frequent use of the Duplicate menu would be your friend. If you're making each card's path by hand, *definitely* check out those options.
Hope this helps.
- Pb
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Post by oldschooldm on Apr 2, 2013 9:37:35 GMT -9
I print cards all the time - so I have a bit of a pipeline. I make a reference cutfile for the card-sheets I want to cut [attached is one I use all the time...] Export the PDF pages to bitmap format (PNG) using either Acrobat, Photoshop, or (if the PDF is locked) GIMP. In studio, load the blank cutfile, Merge the PNG page, Send to Back the cards bitmap, position and/resize to fit the cuts - print from Studio and cut. If there are more pages, just remove the cards bitmap, Merge again and repeat. If I have a lot of PNG pages, I'll delete them from my drive as I go as a way to be sure I haven't printed any duplicates, but that's just me. - Export Cards from PDF (one per page)
- Create Template Cutfile (only do this once)
- In Studio: Merge, Print, Cut, repeat.
[If you can keep this straight, it's very efficient as you are printing the next page while the last page cuts...] Attachments:
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Post by jamesthegeek on Apr 2, 2013 15:30:16 GMT -9
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. This is pretty close to what I do now. So, I guess I'm on the right track! I print cards all the time - so I have a bit of a pipeline. I make a reference cutfile for the card-sheets I want to cut [attached is one I use all the time...] Export the PDF pages to bitmap format (PNG) using either Acrobat, Photoshop, or (if the PDF is locked) GIMP. In studio, load the blank cutfile, Merge the PNG page, Send to Back the cards bitmap, position and/resize to fit the cuts - print from Studio and cut. If there are more pages, just remove the cards bitmap, Merge again and repeat. If I have a lot of PNG pages, I'll delete them from my drive as I go as a way to be sure I haven't printed any duplicates, but that's just me. - Export Cards from PDF (one per page)
- Create Template Cutfile (only do this once)
- In Studio: Merge, Print, Cut, repeat.
[If you can keep this straight, it's very efficient as you are printing the next page while the last page cuts...]
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