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Klic-N-Kut User Manual - Digital Die Cutting With Sandy McCauley

Contents

1. ve ooo oo Entire path is deleted 64 7 6 Using the Ginsu Knife Tools The Ginsu Knife tools bottom icon on the Tools toolbar can be used to break apart images There are two options As an example let s start with a simple shape a star Select the star and click on the Ginsu Knife Tools icon and select the first icon Open Path Click on the left side of the title and again on the right side to draw a straight line through the star Make sure the start and end points of this line are clearly outside the borders of the image Click on Apply at the top of the screen The entire image will be selected Click outside the image area to un select and then click on the bottom portion of the star You will see that just the bottom portion is now selected Drag the center box to move the lower portion of the star away from the upper The two portions of the star LA are unclosed paths Return to the original star Instead of selecting the first Ginsu knife icon select the second Close Path icon and repeat the process of clicking on either side of the star and then clicking on Apply Drag one of the parts away from the other SNS The two portions of the star A are closed paths Note that if you hold down the Ctrl key before clicking a second time when drawing the cut line the line will be perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical if you click above the first mark instead of to the right You are not limited to jus
2. 3 Lift the levers in the back Slide the mat into the cutter aligning it along the right side or left side of the machine Typically the right side makes more sense as you could possible go out of your maximum cutting range by having the blade holder travel too far to the left 4 Move the pinch wheels so they are under the white rectangles This positions the wheels over a grit shaft and will prevent any slippage during the cut If you are only using two wheels move either of the outside wheels to the far outside and do not lower the lever on that wheel Lower the levers on the wheels you are USING 5 Select the tool to use in the cutter If using the blade make sure the length is equal to or just a tiny bit longer than the material you are cutting Note to new owners this Is far less than you think 6 Loosen the screw on the blade holder seat and insert the tool Make sure the blade is slightly above the cutting surface Tighten the screw Note that with thicker materials the blade holder needs to be even slightly higher in the blade holder seat This adds more impact when the blade drops down to cut the material 19 CG te 7 Turn on the cutter Use the and buttons to set the pressure and speed appropriate for your project refer to Section 4 2 Settings for Your Materials and Images Also refer to Section 1 4 Keypad Panel for more details on the display panel CG te 8 Set the origin by going off l
3. Pan screen based on mouse position Copy to Windows Clipboard Copy to Windows Clipboard Open a new sign blank Open an existing ACS file Print Save the file Cut to Windows clipboard Cut to Windows clipboard Paste from Windows clipboard Paste from Windows clipboard Redo last action Undo last action Undo last action Redo last action Repeat last action performed Toggle instant replay window Toggle showing bitmap outlines Toggle showing line style Toggle the ruler guides Toggle the fill Use guides Refresh the workspace redraw Refresh the workspace redraw Snap to the grid Open Edit Guides window Open default increment setting for that particular parameter A popup menu appears with commonly used functions Edit gt Copy Edit gt Copy File gt New also 1st icon from left on System toolbar File gt Open also 2nd icon from left on System toolbar File gt Print File gt Save also 3rd icon from left on System toolbar Edit gt Cut Edit gt Cut Edit gt Paste Edit gt Paste Edit gt Redo also 2nd icon from right on System toolbar Edit gt Undo also 3rd icon from right on System toolbar Edit gt Undo also 3rd icon from right on System toolbar Edit gt Repeat View gt Show Instant Replay View gt Show Bitmap Outlines View gt Show Line Style also 1st icon from right on Workspace toolbar View gt Show Rulers View gt Show Fill also 2nd icon from right on Workspace toolbar Options gt Guides gt Use Guides
4. Selecting The top icon on the Tools toolbar is the Select Tool Clicking this icon will always close other tool windows and place the 9 small bounding boxes on the current object In all modes but text pressing the spacebar will also invoke the select mode To select an object click on any of the trace lines Hold down the Shift key to select additional objects Alternatively drag the left mouse button to marquis select one or more objects If you wish to select all the objects on the screen use Ctrl A When an object is selected each press of the Tab key will move to another object cycling through all objects on the screen Also if you right click on any of the 9 bounding boxes a pop up menu appears for easy access to frequently used functions When selecting objects the top left corner of the Smart Bar will provide information on the type and number of objects selected Several examples would be o Star 1 a star is selected and it is the first object that was placed into this file o Paragraph 4 a text object is selected and it is the fourth object that was placed into this file o Bitmap 7 a raster image is selected and it is the seventh object that was placed into this file o Circle 2 a total of two circles are selected 22 o Objects 5 a total of five different objects are selected e To select all objects of a particular color double click that color on the Job Palette To select objects of a second color ho
5. Y Group each badge V Replacement data file C kKlic N Kut Studio N ames List txt Browse Comma v Total number of pages 1 g oK Cancel Highlight the Al field names Check this box Select separator used in the text file Browse to find txt file with list of names Using the diagram above enter the total number of badges margins spacing and layout style Highlight the field names in the Replaceable items window by clicking on one and holding the shift key while clicking on others Check the Compress text equally over copies option and the Use Compression of Original Copy will open Check that box also This will compress longer names to fit into the boundaries of your original word Check the box next to Replacement data file select which separator was used in the text file to separate the fields and then click on Browse to locate the txt file created Then click on OK The Text Substitution window will open showing the text data Select one column and hold the Shift button to select the other so that both are highlighted 48 Text Substitution Edit text Helen Highlight all columns of data to be imported into the badges Click on column heading to enable Serialization Hint Press F2 to Copy Selected Cells F3 to Paste F4 to Cut F5 to Delete 10 Click on OK and the txt file will open Changes can be made to the data if nec
6. 5 Select both the circle and the heart image and go to Transform gt Fit Object to Path The Nodes and Distance option should be checked Then set the spacing equal to the size of the rhinestone plus the spacing desired For example if you want the rhinestones to be 2 mm apart in the design then enter 5 3 mm Click on Close Object placement Enter the diameter of the circle eo a 6 plus spacing desired Thus if you O aa me want 2 mm between each and the circles are 3 3 mm in diameter then enter 5 3 mm C Number C Nodes Nodes and Distance Check this option Object rotation Rotate degree ua Follow Contour Cancel 6 The circles will now be distributed around the image In most instances some tweaking of the circles will be required Just select a circle and move it with your mouse or the arrow keys on your keyboard You can also now delete or drag away the original path line and the original circle as there will be no need to cut them OGO A aa abaa l T ett 4 o OOS Sa ed oy ge Sy amp ei o e Q pi o copot 4 gt 4 i 2 p o o Q After closing Fit Object After removing original After re coloring to red and to Path window path line and circle turning on Show Fill 7 You may want to manually add some circles or delete excess circles as well The fastest way to add a circle is to hold down the Alt key and drag one of the existing circles The selected
7. Edit gt Redraw Edit gt Redraw Options gt Grid gt Snap to Grid also 3rd icon from left on Workspace toolbar Options gt Guides gt Edit Guides 95 Ctrl D or Alt click center Duplicates object Keystroke Function Menu or Screen Location Manipulating Images Ctrl A or F3 Select all objects Edit gt Select All Shift F3 Unselect all objects Edit gt Select None Alt F3 Inverse select objects Edit gt Inverse Select Edit gt Duplicate Ctrl B Send object to back Arrange gt Order gt To Back Ctrl F Send object to front Arrange gt Order gt To Front Ctrl L Send backward Arrange gt Order gt Backward Ctrl U Send forward Arrange gt Order gt Forward Ctrl M Reverse positions of objects Arrange gt Order gt Reverse Ctrl move object Force move vertically or horizontally Alt move object A copy of the object is moved Shift use arrow keys Object moves 5 pixels at a time Ctrl drag corner Object doubles in size Right click on selected Layout menu pops up object Delete Delete clear object Edit gt Clear Layout ShortCuts Ctrl G Group objects selected Layout gt Group Alt G Ungroup objects selected Layout gt Ungroup Ctrl K Align Layout gt Arrange and Distribute gt Align Alt K Alignment Layout gt gt Alignment Align to Last Object B T Alight to last object bottom top Layout gt gt Align to Last Object C Align to last object centers vertically Layout gt gt Align to Last Object E Align to last object centers horizontally Layo
8. 40 Stroke and Fill 25 40 Stroke and Fill Tools 83 84 Super Size 51 Tangent Node 61 Target Layers 84 Templates 93 Test 10 31 Test Cut 30 Testing Pen Holder 9 Text Compose 41 50 Text Substitution 48 Text to Graphics 43 46 47 61 78 91 Text Underlining 42 Thick Line 25 40 Time Sign 94 Tolerance 107 Toolbars 14 19 Tools 27 Tools toolbar 20 Tools Toolbar 20 Trace Setup 53 Trailing Blade 15 Transform 71 Transformation 45 Transporting 5 Traveled Distance 94 Troubleshooting 17 Truncate Endpoints 107 Undo Navigator 26 Ungroup 26 Uninstall Fonts 41 Units 14 USB 13 Vectorization 57 Vectorize Wizard 51 VEF 41 Vinyl 86 Weed 87 Weed Border 27 Welding 71 WEN 41 Word Art 46 Workspace 15 Workspace Colors 20 XOR Weld 71 77 Zooming 22 109
9. If the gaps fail to close try a higher value even 1 0 Close Graphics Arrange gt Close Graphics is similar to Connect Path except the two nodes to connect must be on the same contiguous path A straight line will be drawn to bridge the gap such as in this example Open rectangle Apply Arrange gt Close Graphic Converting a Closed Path to a Perfect Circle Auto tracing often yields poor results when circles are involved Rather than deleting the nodes for a poorly traced circle one can select a single node in the path and press the letter O on the keyboard A perfect circle will replace the existing path UY eo Auto traced circle Double click to Select any node Press O on the Click on Apply bring up nodes keyboard 66 7 8 Making Paths or Grouping When you have completed the editing of an image select the entire image by using Ctrl A or dragging a large box around the image to select all parts Select Arrange gt Make Path or Ctrl H This will now recolor the entire image to one color and the image will be treated as a single object If you have used individual colors within the image and wish to retain those colors then instead of using Make Path just group the image using Layout gt Group or Ctrl G This isn t a necessary step but it does prevent individual paths from being separated from others Also the Make Path step can be used to subtract one path from another For example with the following tag shap
10. Note the first icon is No Line Then a color can be selected for the Line Style as well as a thickness if you selected Thick Line Several other parameters in the Smart Bar allow customization of how the Line Style appears Arranging Under Layout gt Arrange and Distribute you have several options for aligning objects 1 Based on the last object created 2 Based on the Sign Blank or 3 Based on whichever object is furthest already in the direction you choose If you go to Layout gt Arrange and Distribute gt Alignment the Smart Bar will provide all of the above options along with alignment to grid These settings will be saved and when you then select other objects and go to Layout gt Arrange and Distribute gt Align or use Ctrl K these same settings will be applied Under Arrange gt Order objects can be placed in front of or behind other objects When fill is turned on the relative order can make paper piecing projects look better and also keep smaller objects from being hidden by larger ones The Sheet Layer Palette can also be used to arrange objects onto separate layers Turn on this palette by going to View gt Palettes gt Show Sheet Layer Palette Then use the following steps to move objects to other layers and hide them 1 Double click on Layer 1 on the Sheet Layer Palette and a window will open Type in a new name for the Layer and click on Add Repeat to create as many layers as needed 2 Click on any of the layers to ma
11. Pinch Wheel Lever Total of 3 4 on 24 Bolt On Back Table Back 1 4 Keypad Panel 9 Go through the various modes on the following pages to experiment with the 4 settings and understand each 5 mode 10 6 11 1 LCD Display 7 Offline Mode moves carriage to the left 2 Test Cuts a small test shape when cutter is in Online Mode increases cutting force Offline mode 8 Offline Mode moves mat to the back Online 3 Online Offline Toggle Mode increases cutting speed 4 Menu 9 Offline Mode moves carriage to the right 5 Repeat repeats last cut when cutter is in Offline Online Mode decreases cutting force mode 10 Sets the Origin 6 Pause Will pause cutter in the middle of a cut press 11 Offline Mode moves mat forward again to resume cutting Step 1 Turn on the ACS A welcome message will flash for a few seconds when cutter is first turned on Then the cutter will come to rest in the Online Mode Experiment with and buttons as shown ce tk Step 2 Press the Online button This will change to Offline mode Experiment with TEST and Origin buttons as shown Press the Test button for a small shape to cut at the origin Note the cutter will then be in Online Mode Online Mode decreases cutting speed Online Mode Display v cutting velocity mm sec f cutting force scaled from 1 to 160 Increase Decrease Velocity Speed Increase Decrease Cutting Forc
12. f cutting force scaled from 1 to 160 As shown above use the and buttons to change the cutting velocity or cutting force and press Pause again to resume the cut OR Turn off the cutter to abort the cut Press the Pause button during the cut and the cutter will immediate stop cutting At the end of a cut the Repeat button can be pressed in Offline Mode to activate the same cut again 1 5 Blades and Accessories Testing Pen Holder e The testing pen should be used until you are comfortable with the operation of the ACS and know with certainty where images will cut To assemble this testing pen remove the top cap slip the spring over the top half of the pen insert and then drop the pen insert into the bottom half of the pen holder Slide the cap over the pen insert allowing the pen insert to fit through the hole at the top of the cap Screw into place a p Blades Included With ACS Purchase e There are two kinds of blades included The 45 degree red capped blades are suited for cutting thinner materials such as paper and vinyl The 60 degree white capped blades are much longer blades and are well suited for cutting thicker materials such as stencil board tackle twill and motif template rubber Blade Installation The blade must be carefully inserted into the blade holder Do this over a soft surface e g over a hand towel Its important to protect the fragile blade Blade holder Sh
13. or Cut by Color brings up a window in which the desired color can be selected to cut After the cut is complete another color will appear and the user may choose it yet another color or cancel the cutting process Cut gt Plotting Defaults or Cut Toolbox window Filter by Color Flip is similar to the Mirror command except that the line of reflection can be adjusted Layout gt Size Move gt Flip Frame Text Choosing Frame Text Compose will automatically set the text frame equal in size to the sign blank Tools Compose Toolbar gt Text Tools The Free Edit tool is used to create vector paths by free movement of the mouse on the screen Tools Toolbar gt Graphics Edit Tools Ginsu Knife The Ginsu Knife Tools are used to subdivide a selected closed object The separated parts can be either open or closed paths The dividing lines can be straight or free hand drawn curves Tools Toolbar gt Ginsu Knife Tools Free Edit Use Group to combine two or more objects so they are treated as one when resizing re coloring moving etc Layout gt Group Double clicking a grouped set of images will open the Group Viewer window which displays information about each image cuidas Guides are reference lines used for placing objects These may be placed at any location and at any angle Options gt Guides gt Edit Guides or right click on the workspace Inlines Refer to Outlines InstantReplay is used for editing and reusing operations ap
14. the letters to overlap by dragging any of the boxes in between the letters All letters to the right of that box will move together OR click ONCE on any of the boxes below a letter and then use the left right arrow keys on the keyboard to move the letters in smaller increments which is recommended when trying to be precise Winter 42 11 If you inadvertently exit the Text window after typing your title you can also access the Kerning function under Text Tools on the Tools Toolbar When you are satisfied with the overlap click on the Select Tool icon on the Tools toolbar to select the entire title You may also wish to press Alt S to go to outline mode to see the actual overlap of the letters Click on the Weld Tools on the Tools toolbar and select the first icon on the left Basic Weld The overlap will vanish You have now converted the title to a vector image If you wish to modify the overlap the font the spelling etc then use the Edit gt Undo function or Ctrl Z to back up to the text mode Then double clicking a title that is still in a text format will bring up the Text Smart Bar for revisions To make a mat after welding your title select the image and go to Transform gt Contour Object On the Smart Bar the first two icons allow you to select whether or not you want the interiors of the letters to be matted Under Corner Styles click on each to see which best fits the style of your title Next click
15. this may not Contrast and o a appear visible to you Brightness were pan due to the printing of this manual Refer to tested to check the al co the paf version effect on the image 13 Click on OK The colors will now be mapped as in the previous example Note that when you have variations in shading such as the yellow in the centers of the two flowers you can choose to map multiple changes in the shade or just choose one middle color and have the lighter and darker shades automatically mapped to it This is how yellow was handled in this example Also note that blue was substituted for black as Color 1 since there is no black in this image Because there is no black in this image a different color was aa clicked for Color 1 e ee Only one shade of yellow was mapped although more could e Be La have been chosen for separately tracing different shades co MN jo y i There are specks of darker red from the flower pot being picked up in the border to the flower This can be eliminated by increasing the tolerance on the flower border color The lighter green has an outline of the darker green This may be what the user wants If not then the tolerance on RETRAG the lighter green will be increased 14 Increase the tolerance on the light green to fill in the leaves with that color Increase the red to remove speckles Tolerance is increased until dark red specks vanish n Tolerance is
16. 103 The cuts are not lining up properly The mat is slipping during the cut Make sure the rollers are on the mat and also over the gridded part of the shaft beneath Use the white rectangles as alignment guides Also align the mat along the right edge of the cutter When attempt to cut intricate shapes the machine tears the material wherever there are sharp inner corners A Make sure the blade is not extended further than needed and the material is firmly pressed to a clean sticky mat B Try reducing the Overcut and Trailing Blade settings to 5 and 10 or even 5 and 5 if the image is small C Try reducing the number of nodes refer to Section 7 3 Reducing Nodes D Change the direction of the cutting line by going into the Node Edit mode locating the node with the cut direction small arrow right click and select the left middle icon Also one can change the starting point for a cut by selecting the desired node right clicking and selecting the right middle icon My pen lines and pounce lines are not lining up properly with the cut A Make sure you are using Sign Blank mode and not Page mode B Ifthe pens are a different diameter from the blade holder then they are positioned differently relative to the Sign Blank It s important to make a mark where the Origin is set so that it can be the same when using pen and the blade When drawing with the pen it leaves lines on the page Raise the pen holder in the blade holder
17. 19 e To further customize the screen check out the following items o Options gt Guides gt Edit Guides or right click on the screen adds guidelines to the screen Refer to Section 8 1 Adding Guidelines to the Sign Blank Options gt Grid gt Snap to Grid or select from the Workspace toolbar Options gt Workspace Colors changes the colors of the grid guides background or Sign Blank Options gt Ruler Positions moves the rulers to the opposite sides O O O O The Page Control function allows for multiple pages within a single file Refer to Section 9 11 Features for Professionals for instructions on using this O Options gt ACS Setup gt Display Units change the number of decimal points displayed o For settings on the Smart Bar throughout the program right click on any up down arrow and the default increment for each click of the arrow for that particular setting can be changed e There are over one hundred hot keys in ACS Studio with the ability to create your own Refer to Appendix A Keyboard Shortcuts Experimenting with these hot keys can also help you become familiar with various functions in the software 3 2 Tools Toolbar where the good stuff resides e The Tools toolbar contains the most common tools for image creation editing and cutting Below is a screen shot with a description of the functions of each tool dica Drag to move the toolbar Select Tool highlight images Cut Tool enter the cutti
18. A new window will open and it will appear that your image has moved However it s the entire Sign Blank that has been rotated 90 clockwise Because you are in Sign Blank mode versus Page mode your object is still in the same location on the Sign Blank as in the main screen 16 12 When you are ready to draw click on the scissors icon in the long thin Cut Toolbox window Cut Toolbox Click on this icon to start the cut 13 You should now experiment with moving your shape to different locations on the screen and confirming it is drawn where expected Also try turning Axis Swap off under Cut gt Plotting Defaults and verify that the page orientation is now rotated 90 degrees Turn your paper on your mat as necessary BUT also note that you still always set the origin at the front right corner of your paper Also try switching from Sign Blank to Page which will then always cut the image at the origin your set versus where you have the image on the screen Understand the effect of these settings Refer to Section 4 1 Cutting Defaults 14 If the shape is not successfully drawn please use the following troubleshooting tips a You receive a Port Not Available message Verify that the COM Port assignment under Device Manager is the same as what has been assigned in ACS Studio Review steps in Section 2 1 Installation of the ACS and Software ii Reboot windows This could be a random occurrence iii USB cable may be ba
19. Baud Rate is set to 57600 Refer to Section 1 4 Step 4 B Serial Connection Turn off the cutter and connect the RS232 cord to the right side of the cutter and into the serial port on your computer Turn on your cutter If your computer is running Windows XP or Windows Vista the hardware manager will identify the serial cable connection On the Control Panel press the Menu button and change the Baud Rate to 9600 Refer to Section 1 4 Step 4 Port Setup communication between your computer and the cutter 1 To verify the COM port select File gt Control Panel and switch to Classic View if necessary 2 In Windows Vista click on Device Manager In Windows XP or earlier select System from the list then select the Hardware tab and click on Device Manager 3 Locate Ports and open If using USB look for a USB labeled COMX where X is the number you need to match as your port location If using a direct serial connection look for Communications Port COMY where Y is the number you need to match as your port location Your wording may vary slightly from what s shown in this diagram 13 USB Connection Serial Connection HEF Network adapters 1 10 Portable Devices j E Network adapters 1 10 Portable Devices Look for COM port 5 1 Ports COM amp LPT assignment under Ports 2 17 Ports COM amp LPT kd T USB SERIAL CH340 COM7 lt _ On the left COM 7 was 7 MosChip PCI Serial Port COMBS oe Hora
20. C nvening toa PP alee nas a onesies nate nent atmo uote see ae ene tas 93 9 11 FEATURES FOR PROFESSIONAL ovina atada 93 dc AA e EAE N EA EATE A A e PT O O cas eae 93 JO MAC A o Na ad 93 ESUMAUNG GUE DISENTE 0 esla 94 MODI COST INOUE S acc oases a cae ae Gale aes ere lag a eee a ieee Calas aa eat ai cla eee ae ater cic tela ee ene ia acne cnaicgeatiat 94 NA e 94 Notepad Galculator TIME SIN salas 94 POC CO A A a esa ates aa att 94 APPENDIX A KEY BOARD SHORTCUTS iii 95 APPENDIX B TERMINOLOGY pisa E EE a E 98 APPENDIX C TROUBLESHOOTING ata ns 102 APPENDIX D SETTINGS FOR AUTO TRACING aaa 106 INDEC AAA A AAA A AS 108 1 1 Items to Note PLEASE READ 1 Introduction to the ACS Power Supply The ACS s power supply is 90V 230V If your supply is different from this please use a power converter Remove the power cable if the cutter will not be in operation for a significant length of time Connecting to Your Computer You have the option of connecting via the RS232 serial port OR via the USB port Your shipment contains both a USB cable and a serial cable although your computer may not have a serial port installed Blades The blades used by cutters are extremely fragile Do not drop or even bump the blade onto any hard surface as they can chip easily When not in use retract the blade into the blade holder or remove and cover the sharp end with the soft plastic cap Transporting When transporting the cutter move the pinch wheel
21. Corner Curve and Tangent o A Corner Node appears as a cross and indicates that the two lines leaving that node are straight o A Curve Node appears as a circle and indicates that the two lines leaving that node are curved o A Tangent Node appears as a triangle and indicates that one line leaving that node is straight and the other is curved Once in the editing node mode the cursor on the screen will turn into a pencil Double click anywhere along a path to add a node As you move the pencil cursor towards a node it will turn into cross You can now hold down the left mouse button to drag that point as needed Right click on the path or a node and a menu of icons will pop up Each of those little icons performs a different function While this menu is showing simply drag the mouse towards any icon and the action will be executed 61 00 Oo Y t A Corner Node Change the currently selected node into a Corner node Tool or specify that new nodes must be Corner type 47 Join Tool Join two selected nodes or join the endpoints of a selected contour O Curve Node Change the currently selected node into a Curve node or Tool specify that new nodes must be Curve type Toggle Toggle the direction of the selected contour between Rotation Tool Clockwise and Counter Clockwise A Set Start Set the start point at which routing or engraving this Point Tool contour will begin fil Trash Can Delete the selected nodes Tool Brea
22. Edit Tools lt O O D 99 Open Path in an object means the path is not complete These objects cannot be shown with a fill and will appear with a dotted line instead A vector image tracing is made up of individual Nodes connecting straight or curved lines On a ACS the front right corner of the material is manually set as the Origin before each cut Outlines and Inlines are objects that are drawn to follow the contour of another object An Outline such as a mat on a title will typically be outside the base object and an Inline will be inside the object Transform gt Outline Overcut is the amount the blade will go past the start point in order to complete the cut This is necessary for angled cut blades Cut gt Tool Options O O IOIO Z lt oO o D e 2 jQ O 5 5 gt 0 ld U a Page from Checking Page will automatically move images to the bottom right corner relative to the ACS when sent to the cut window Cut gt Plotting Defaults The Page Control icon in the bottom right corner allows the user to set up multiple pages within a single file Page Control identical images can be present on every page or not A Parametric object is created using the shapes tools When selected these objects have specialized editing Parametric handles that are used to adjust the object properties To edit the nodes these objects need to be converted using Arrange gt Convert to Curves T
23. Fill properties window Carefully watch the image in the Preview window before and after making these changes to see if the image moves If you observe this happening simply click again on Banner Fill to turn it off and the image will revert to the original position Then click on Banner Fill again to indent and the image should stay in the same position It is only when making changes to the actual Banner Fill settings that the image will move In the diagram below are the settings used with a gel pen on paper These settings provide a guideline for initial testing The pen diameter is in inches If you are using metric change to 0 50 5 Fill Control Pen diameter p o200 OK Cancel Fill style S Sweep v Set to a low number 5 10 for striped lettering Set to a high number for filled lettering gt 75 Fill overlap 0 0020 10 Hx Fill angle 45 a When you click on OK you will observe that your images in the cut window are filled or partially filled with black indicating how much fill you can expect For striped lettering set the Fill overlap to a low number For filled lettering set a much higher number But always experiment with a single image such as a circle first The percent overlap to achieve a certain look will depend on the pen you are using in the cutter and the size of the lettering If you switched to the Pen setting under Cut gt Plotting Defaults reme
24. Holding down the left mouse button a curve is drawn by hand and the letters are typed using the steps described in Section 5 2 Text Basics Select both objects and go to Transform gt Fit Text to Path Pick any of the available options for a variety of looks To specifically set the starting point of the text along a path click on the double headed arrows icon S and then click on any particular point along the path loketon to then move the text to that position Click on Close when the desired look is achieved Delete the hand drawn path 5 8 Other Text Transformations Shaping a title into variations formations is also available by going to Transform gt Transformation Twenty icons appear on the Smart Bar providing a vast assortment of shapes for the text Additionally a different look will be achieved depending on which of the nodes surrounding the title is selected to drag Further holding down the Ctrl key or the Shift key will also change how the text is transformed whether the bottom moves in the opposite direction or with the top 45 52 ME a Drag center top al Ctrl drag center top a Shift drag center top When the desired look is achieved click outside the text area to close the Smart Bar for the transformation mode Again there are MANY combinations within this window to create some customized looks to your titles Here are a few examples L MINE A SENG For more text transformations opt
25. If you have too few or too many you can just use Edit gt Undo to back up a step and then repeat using a different 84 number Proceed with Arrange gt Make Path Then select your circle and the image and proceed to use the same Transform gt Fit Object to Path to place the circles along the lines of the pattern se e so ae B 2 ae ots a gt ote te vb 20 8 O naa sos eee aga ee teh eaere att e e o La etta 2 e e s C r e ee ea eto eee avs a age et 9 0 e oe AE TRA YAA e ton 8 0 8 Fo e ee a oto ae 20 stilo 3 gt 340 0 1 EI eee 0 0 eta Fe ae Ot ee on ot a a eaten Pto a a Metamorphosis Hatch Fill 9 2 Cutting Motif Template Rubber and Setting Rhinestones 1 2 3 10 N Open the rhinestone pattern and resize accordingly so that the circles are sized to fit the rhinestones you plan to use You may wish to test cut your image from scrap paper or cardstock to make sure you are satisfied with the overall look and the holes are appropriately sized Adjust the blade length to match the thickness of the motif template rubber or whatever material you are using to cut your rhinestone pattern If the material doesn t have a backing sheet such as stencil board then you will need to place it on a sticky mat for cutting Insert the rubber into the cutter either alone or on the mat Lower the pinch wheels Note that you will probably want to position yo
26. Note that Contour Cutting is very similar to creating an outline from Transform gt Outline or Transform gt Contour Object refer to Sections 5 4 and 5 5 but the contour will be shown as a dashed line Otherwise the cutting will be the same you can choose to turn on off the contour cut color in the Cut window e A geometric contour cut e g any polygon oval star gear can also be applied by going to Cut gt Die Cut In the Smart Bar one selects the desired shape color size and angle a i a ae j eet OO Ps SoS i MAS EAN Fa i gt A a s ek ere a Ss ae 40 5 Working with Text 5 1 Installing Uninstalling Fonts e Unlike most other Windows applications new fonts must be installed separately into ACS Studio 1 Y S Sa 8 Install new fonts into Windows using your usual method Note that you can simply copy fonts into the C Windows Fonts folder to automatically install For temporary installation you can locate a font using My Computer or Explorer double click the file name to open a preview window and that font will be installed until you close it But once closed it will no longer be installed in ACS Studio either In ACS Studio go to File gt Install gt Fonts To only install fonts installed in Windows check the Locate True Type Open Type fonts box and skip to Step 5 If you are installing the fonts from the 1100 Font CD which came with your ACS first copy paste the fonts from the CD
27. Only set if image is not horizontally cojea 157 bees 4 or vertically straight Small shape accuracy 6 x T Overlay MIA Set according to ratio between smallest and largest objects Select to produce simpler tracings with no overlap Click on OK to close the Trace Setup window then click on the Vectorization icon The image will be traced Then click on Close Drag one image away from the other Turn off Fill if needed to reveal the results shown in the left image after Step 10 In our first pass this image was not traced very well as shown below However based on using the guidelines in Appendix D the following changes to the settings were made Tolerance reduced to 3 Corners reduced to 4 Small Shape Accuracy turned off and Overlay selected The new image was greatly improved and is ready to cut Note that you can use Arrange gt Break Path to break the image into individual segments if you wish to delete the exterior rectangular border First pass Second pass For a second example let s pick an image with a need to differentiate between two similar colors 53 12 Select image and again go to Image gt Prepare to Vectorize Wizard Enter 2 for the Super Size value and click on OK Now in the next window the Contrast is increased to make the two greens more distinguishable from one another The increased contrast made the two greens OIE Para more distinguishable esa from one another tl Note
28. Ratio is the width of an image relative to its length Refer to Proportional Scaling Checking the Axis Swap box changes the orientation of the cut by 90 degrees Cut gt Plotting Defaults Badges The Badges feature is used to create duplicates of a design where a list from a txt file can be substituted for each badge For example badges may be used to create nameplates id cards or labels Layout gt Badges The Banner Fill feature is used with pens or the engraving tool to fill a shape or title Cut Toolbox window or Cut gt Plotting Defaults The Basic Weld tool is used to merge selected objects into one combined object such as when creating welded letter titles or welding images to words Tools Toolbar gt Weld Tools Bitmap Images aka Raster Images are made up of pixels arranged in a grid pattern in which each dot includes information about its color and its position Common bitmap file formats are jpg omp tif The Block Nesting feature rearranges objects on the cutting material with the purpose of minimizing wasted material Arrange gt Block Nesting or Cut gt Plot gt Cut Toolbox Use Break Path to revert a combined path of objects into individual paths for each object This is required in order to delete paths and edit nodes in a traced design Arrange gt Break Path Refer to Mat When an object is selected nine small boxes appear The middle box is the Center Nub Holding the left mouse over this nub and drag
29. Re Coloring To recolor the interior Fill and or exterior line color Stroke of an image first make sure the Shop Palette is visible at the bottom of the screen If not then go to View gt Palettes gt Show Shop Palettes Click any of the colors on the Shop Palette to change the Fill color Right click on any of the colors to change the Stroke color Note that the first two colors on the left of the Shop Palette allow you to make an image clear or make an image invisible Use these with caution If you have the Job Palette turned on only the specific colors you ve used for your images will appear in that palette When creating additional images of the same color it is often easier to pick the same colors from this palette rather than from the Shop Palette A quick way to change all images of a particular color to another drag and drop a new color from the Shop Palette onto the color to be replaced on the Job Palette To create a custom color click on the Context Menu icon looks like 3 little dots on the Shop Palette select Find and Edit Color and enter the precise color parameters you wish to use Go to View gt Show Line Style and check this item With this option turned on objects can have a separate outline color IF they have either Hair Line or Thick Line set To make these settings click on the Stroke and Fill icon on the Tools toolbar and select the Line Style icon In the Smart Bar click on either the Hair Line or Thick Line icon
30. Swap Checked Sign Blank Checked Image as it appears in the ee Sane on Axis Swap checked Sign PAGEN Blank checked The image will cut in the same location as you see it in the Sign Blank gt Front of Cutter Axis Swap Unchecked Sign Blank Checked Axis Swap Checked Page Checked Axis Swap Unchecked Page Checked Front of Cutter Front of Cutter Front of Cutter Axis Swap unchecked Sign Blank Axis Swap checked Page is Axis Swap unchecked Page checked Image is rotated 90 but checked Image is moved to the checked Image is moved to the image is still in position relative to the origin for cutting Image is still in origin and rotated 90 for cutting Sign Blank same orientation as in the Sign Blank e lf you want the cutter to automatically send every image on the screen to be cut then uncheck the box next to Selected Otherwise you must select the images you wish to cut before clicking the Cut Tool icon e Smoothing refers to the number of vectors used during the cutting The Medium setting is recommended for most work Setting the smoothing to Low will speed up the cut but may result in a poorer drawing resolution Setting the smoothing to High will slow down the cut but the cutting will be more accurate e Move allows for an automatic offset of the image from where it would normally cut After using however note that your origin has been reset by the amount of the X move so use with caution e Additional descr
31. T r E fe 0 000 S E le IF 0 000 4 E poo jH ma ray EN Close ne EEE a Cancel J IA po lie ctivate Miter Setting when Outline Number of Activate l apo ys Outlines O mel Inline Number of Inline CURE CPEE Shape In lines shape selected The advantages to using Transform gt Outline over Transform gt Contour Object are o Option to select multiple outlines by entering the number desired o Option to create an inline at the same time as an outline o Option to delete the original image O Option to create a mask or not if several close images are selected the outline will go around all of the images rather than each image having its own outline With Transform gt Contour Object a mask around multiple images will always be formed o Option to change the mitering amount if the chosen shape of the outline or inline is Outline Clipped The advantages to using Transform gt Contour Object over Transform gt Outline are o Option to create customized additional outlines in both size and color o Option to have outlines grouped with original image or not o Option to create inlines by simply entering a negative value for the offset thickness value Note that outline and inline are a handy way to change the thickness of a font If you find you like the style of a font but the ligatures are too thin and the cut lettering tears easily when trying to handle after cutting use either of the outline contour methods to make your letters th
32. a print and cut on an arrow which points from left to right on the screen and the printout then note how the calibration should be modified based on the following results If the red cut line is If the red cut line is If the red cut line is left If the red cut line is right below the black print above the black print of the black print line of the black print line line then decrease the line then increase the then increase the then decrease the value value of X value of X value of Y Note Y is of Y Note Yis a a negative number negative number Red line is 1mm lower Red line is 1mm higher Red line is 1mm left of black Red line is 1mm right of than black line change than black line change line change Y from 27 5 to black line change Y from X from 14 to 13 X from 14 to 15 26 5 an increase toa 27 5 to 28 5 a decrease negative number to a negative number 10 Once satisfied with the accuracy you can switch back from mm to inches if desired by going to Options gt Toggle Units Performing a Print and Cut 1 After tracing your image refer to Chapter 6 Tracing you may wish to use Transform gt Oultline to set an inline so that the cut will be slightly inside the outer edges of your printed image This will help prevent any white from showing due to slight inaccuracies in setting the registration marks Note in the following example an inline of 0 02 has been applied While this figure shows both the original trace lin
33. a a a a edad oaionntatentil 42 IA CONNECTED LETTER THLE WITHA VA 42 INE NN Nr iia 43 LOFTING TEXT TOUS iii lali 44 AS A dt har abases tcc S tanatbee aaa dada E a aa 45 OO OTHER TETARANSEORMATION Stalin tiadss 45 5 9 INCORPORATING DINGBAT IMAGES IN A TITLE cast ici 46 5 10 WELDING TEXT TO FRAMES semis caca raise 47 A ts taal secust ucattanech a thant cde ar a a a a a 47 12 O TENCIMNCULETTERS wanna aati Stns e at aad E a a a ineale a vndinesiay E ER 49 SO TRE ONT DETECTED daa 50 07 TRACING diante 51 6 1 AUTO TRACING USING THE PREPARE TO VECTORIZE WIZARD cccccccccscssssssscsssssssessssssseecsnesanssenesanesuesusseusseusseusssusseusaeessseeseessenssaeeaas 51 02 CENTER EINE TRA NG aiii 56 O S MANUALE TRACI a alta 57 IMPORTACION S 57 sraigh LDE AAA me PP A EEE T T 57 EN E T E E E E E E TE ne O A OO 59 C mbmed Straight Ling and Curved TACO AA a 60 EN a A OO 61 TAC BREAKING PATHS MAKNG PATA Satori labial ini lidia 61 LOS NODE EDITING aaa ii alo ci 61 l REDUCING NODES atascada 62 7 4 USING SEGMENT EDIT TO SMOOTH CURVED SECTIONS c cccccccsccssssssscsssesssessseesseusseesseusanesaeeseessensseesssusssessseuseeeseesseessersaeesaeeeansvansvanns 63 NO DELETE TOOLS IN POPLYARO EDIT Gaviria tao 64 TO SING Vie INSU TOO to naa 65 EE DDI MO NAT SED ITI TOOLS socancccacs rant caaarane a a padi ecea Gon sae ase cunar a Gok sae ase tana nate eas diato dicos 66 COE cc eee Oe ere eC E A Cee ee o ee ae er ee nC nee 66 A A E
34. a rectangle same expand window Menu Dimensions appear in menu window to auto open Size to menu size as Sign Blank avoid You may want to add the most common sizes you use to the menu under Current Selection such as 12 x 12 8 x 8 etc Note that 8 1 2 x 11 is already listed as Letter Size Click on Create and Add New Blank Size in the upper right portion of this window That portion of the window will change and provide you a field to name your document and then specify the dimensions When finished click on the Add New Blank button Your new choice will be available for selection under the Current Selection menu You can remove choices from the menu by clicking on Remove From List This does not delete those blank sizes unless you then select them in the upper window and click on Delete 2 Below the Add New Blank Size portion you will see a checkbox for Display at Startup Checking this box will always open this particular window upon going to File gt New or launching the software 3 Note three other parameters in this window e Inthe upper left you may wish to set the 0 0 origin of your Sign Blank to be in the lower left corner Note that this has nothing to do with setting the origin on the cutter This simply sets the relative location of objects inside your Sign Blank e Select the Orientation setting of Landscape or Portrait for the Sign Blank Note that this is for screen display only and does not set the
35. all of the rectangles and click on the Basic Weld tool first icon under Weld Tools on the Tools toolbar 49 4 It will appear that nothing has happened But if you now delete the rectangles you will see that you have broken into each of the interior portions and they are connected to the waste Add a rectangle to the exterior to complete your stencil Interior parts are now onnected to the outside material 5 13 The Font Detective The Font Detective can be used to organize your installed fonts within ACS Studio To open either o On the Tools toolbar click on the Text Tools icon and then right click on the first icon on the left Text Compose o Inthe Text mode Smart Bar click on the blue F icon to the left of the Font selection window In the top right of the Font Detective window you can cycle through the entire character set This can be useful when selecting an image from a dingbat font A more important use for the Font Detective is organizing fonts into groups that will then appear in the Font Selection window on the Text mode Smart Bar As an example let s say you want all of your ttf fonts to be assigned to a special group 1 Click on Show Filter to expand window Uncheck all font types and leave True Type checked 2 Click on Filter Then under Group click on Options and select Add Group 3 The Add Group window will open Type in a name for your group and then check the box next
36. be used with any objects but the text mode is chosen for this example in which the individual letters for HAPPY BIRTHDAY are to be cut 1 Using the steps in Section 5 2 Text Basics create the title in Arial font 90 AAA SUR LA 2 Select the title and go to Arrange gt Text to Graphics The letters can now be individually selected and moved E Use Ctrl A to select all the letters and go to Arrange gt Block Nesting 3 Initially accept the default values in the Smart Bar and click on Apply All the letters will be re arranged to take up the least amount of space on the screen and subsequently on the material you are cutting Alternative settings on the Smart Bar will move the letters in different positions on the screen There is also an option to allowing mirroring in cases where the images are not letters and a mirrored version of the objects is acceptable 9 10 File Conversions Converting from Al to ADS and Vice Versa From Al to ADS In Adobe Illustrator when saving the ai file choose the option to save the ai in Version 8 While other versions will import or open in ACS Studio version 8 will provide the best format with which to work Check for invisible white or clear colors on the Job Palette and replace In some cases the image may actually all be the same color and will need the Fill colors changes to match the Line Stroke colors Make sure Line Style is changed to either No Line or Hairline as n
37. circle will remain behind and the copy can be dragged to the location of your choice 8 Remember that once you create your design it cannot be resized without altering the size of the circles and thus the size of rhinestone size that can be used Therefore you may wish to keep the original vector path drag it off to the side rather than delete so that it will be available if you need to produce a different sized pattern or use a different sized rhinestone at a later date 80 Engraving and Rhinestone Fonts e For rhinestone applications engraving fonts are well suited On the Font and Clipart CD that accompanied your ACS cutter you will find over 100 fonts which are classified as engraving fonts and vary in style Several examples are e Note that in the third and fourth examples there are interior lines used to fill in the font during engraving or pen drawing or designing rhinestone patterns e To use these fonts for a rhinestone application type out the text and then draw a single circle sized for the hole needed for the rhinestone plus 0 1 mm Type text in the engraving O font of your choice gt C Y Q C O e Just as shown in the previous tutorial use Transform gt Fit Object to Path to place the circles along the path lines of the title Make modifications as needed to complete the pattern Add circle sized as needed Extra circle a manually added gt gt 322 0G LA_ 9 Se G 0 DOS ero ee a i
38. ctica 28 o A E ER E OE O EE iO E ae cb i ed eae sa AAU UR age aaa eG Aaa HERRERA 29 SS o e e ee EE E AEE E eee ee ee 29 SO e IP o E aon O nan are ain Gan A A ans Maida O A 29 4 3 GUTTING PROCEDURE arscimotanacae dana nando cacas 30 Important Checklist Before MAS 30 Seung Te dron VERY IMPORTANT T inen EE AEE EEE EE 30 aE EE N 2 o O o oq T 30 odo boe fale gee O APA yq y o e 30 Si e oe 30 Cutting Procedure POCA POPOO 5U 6 C0 0 0 E O E05 E AAA 31 AAN COLO rancia 32 Method A SOM and Cut All Colors acia acesso 32 Method B Filer By PP Pe 33 Method E Filtering CA edo 33 4 5 USING THE POUNCE FEATURE TO CUT DASHED LINES cata ara 33 Cut and Founce Im One SeT ennaa a eet o aan adnan ae 33 EU Srana TENC AM O e OOO PO a 34 4 6 CONTROLLING THE ORDER START AND DIRECTION OF CUTS ociiociininoncniciniiiaic kakak Aak Aak AaRAAEAAEAAEANEANEANEANEANEEN EENE ENEE E Enae 34 SCONCE ahs tessa adeno o E E O ta Mitt aasta nina 34 AP A I ee See E RE ee ere En ere A eee 35 Object Stan POE and Pa DNC CHOI iesaneseesiniaranescat sue acintaan E ncn mlagl scedean ada ntuclsnotarusnan ar leanteadteds 35 A PURINA AND C UT anita tacna 35 Geel Tolga glow the Laser Lon o lo dle one EE 35 PONORMING GP Nl and CUE A a nea ad acannon el eames 36 AO CONTOUR CUTTING atea ita lala alla lulics 40 WORKING VDI IES AGE aserto 41 07 INSTALLING UNINSTALLING FONT Sia iaa 41 A O 41 0 3 COPYING TEXT STYLE FROM ONE TITLE TO ANOTHER aivoina na a
39. f Y S Y p gt k e eso E 0 220 20 a T 2 es ee re 4 J S 9 A gt amp N my yA Pi pa E bs py D k po es gt 5000 04000 Be d 000 gt 0 o p200 o eooo o e There are also some rhinestone fonts included on the Font and Clipart CD that accompanied your ACS cutter These fonts are already made up of circles such as this example in which DS Point was used 2608 ano 200106 Boa See ote SOs ot 3805 ba PELI 80260 280090 385 280 daa 409 686 EELEE T Di Ganga ene en BGGhS6aa beanbag Gabbana see 00 eas bad cet ob ee 00 ese 68 Quedada aye Gage ease 04 O68 apte 500 eae ta O86 260 abe Sane 609 tde 260 608 2e0n006 209 299 ES ES Bean 209 ene 248 868 2350565 pet O68 Boe EELS ape 09 O68 tpe gt et eos ota 6989 O86 pea one HSeeeaaa GORGES H 260 1400 CE DECE ISE 455 abo bea abs eases Seas bas daa 66 e To resize the typed text to fit a particular rhinestone dimension zoom in on one circle and then click on the Measure Tools icon A on the Tools toolbar and pick the first icon called Measurement Click once at the center top of the circle hold down the Ctrl key and click once at the center bottom of the circle Then on the Smart Bar enter the rhinestone diameter plus 0 1 in the setting called Desired Distance to change all circles to the new diameter t 1 Click top center of circle 3 Distance diameter of circle 4 Click on Apply and all appears here Change this value circles in pat
40. in the cut window This will result in only one color at a time being sent to the cutter allowing the user to change materials or tools between cuts Cut gt Plot gt Cut Toolbox or Cut gt Plotting Defaults Cut Tool Usage tracks job parameters such as estimated time and distance for the cut as well as history of tool changes and jobs completed Cut gt Cut Tool Usage Die Cut To create a geometric contour cut path that is centered on an image use the Die Cut command Cut gt Die Cut Refer to Sort from Plotting Defaults 98 eee se fete e ee le ele Sl Te 2 912 2 25 3 E po an os gt 5 5 5 a O 5 5 D S 3 Mm 5 n O O O D O O D D D D A x Q D Nlo D les 2 E Sa o e O A Y E S g r r Y S S lg lo lo S A eB ase A Aa Z 35 o O U 5 0 O C Q O Cc O D Q O S yw O D O O gt A Q gt bi D o lo S 2 a 2 O O O oO A N The Drag Knife versus the Knife uses a more precise method of cutting and is the better choice for detailed Drag Knife images Cut gt Tool Options The End Point is the final resting position of the tool after drawing or cutting an image normally set to match End Point the origin or set at end of the document area Cut gt Plotting Defaults gt Setup Fillet Round Similar to Round Corner Fillet Round Corner can be applied to individual corners of an object Corner Transform gt Fillet Round Corner Invoking the Filter by Color
41. is no limit Set the Width to 15 or 24 or whatever width matches your cutter s limit If working in metric enter the appropriate equivalents in mm e Multiple Instance Go to Options gt Multiple Instance allows more than one file to be opened at a time e Automatic Save Go to Options gt Automatic Save creates backup files while you are working e Show Grid Go to View gt Show Grid turn on off the grid There is also an icon for this on the Workspace toolbar e Grid Size Go to Options gt ACS Setup gt General Preferences sets distance between grid lines e Duplicates Go to Options gt ACS Setup gt General Preferences When you use Edit gt Duplicate to copy an image this is the offset from the original If you want the duplicate to be directly on top of the original enter O for both values Usually you will want the image offset by some amount so that it s apparent you have a duplicate available e Show Fill Go to View gt Show Fill turns on off the fill With Show Fill turned on closed images will be filled with the color you select from the Shop Palette on the bottom of the screen Open images will appear with dashed lines There is also an icon for this on the Workspace toolbar or you can use Alt S e Overcut and Trailing Blade these settings compensate for the angle of the blade Go to Cut gt Tool Options The Overcut setting ensures that paths are fully closed The Trailing Blade setting enhances the sharpnes
42. normal Lock guides OK z noj 4 offset Add Cancel 4 000 Point 1 Xx 11 5 in y p Delete a Label Font Delete All e You can also add a guideline by right clicking anywhere along either ruler Unless the guidelines have been locked within the Edit Guides window you can drag them to other locations with your mouse To delete a guideline from outside the Edit Guides window hold down the Shift key and right click on the guidelines e Toturn on labeling go to View gt Show Guide Labels Every guideline will now show the location of that guideline relative to the origin To change the size and specific font go to the Edit Guides window and click on Label Font see button in diagram above 4 Diagonal guideline at 45 through X 1 5 Y 4 0 Horizontal guideline at Y 4 0 1 5 __Vertical guideline at X 2500 in 45 000 1 500 in 8 2 Drawing and Modifying Basic Shapes The following features are briefly presented With each feature the before and after results or several examples are shown with instructions for the menu location Note that in most cases there are many more variations that could have been created Use these samples to help you learn the feature but then soar with it 69 Modifying a Rectangle a o Draw a Rectangle Drag top right corner handle Or drag top left corner handle oe Ss He From the Shapes Tools draw a Polyg
43. on the up and down arrows or type in a value for the size of your mat You can RIGHT click on the arrows to open a window for resetting the default increment for each click of the arrows Further to the right click on the colored rectangular box and select a color for your mat If you wish to have a second mat immediately marquis select your title and a new outline will appear You can then change the size of the outline and or the color from the appropriate settings in the Smart Bar To the far right of the Smart Bar you can opt to have the mats and the original title grouped or not Click on the Close button and your welded title and mat s will be ready to cut If you wish to custom arrange the individual letters rather than having them in a straight line then after typing the title click on the Select icon on the Tools toolbar Then go to Arrange gt Text to Graphics Now each letter can be individually selected and arranged as desired Then continue from Step 5 above 5 5 Outline and Inline An alternative method for creating an outline mat for a word or image is under Transform gt Outline In this mode check the Outline box to activate Outline and uncheck Inline The other relevant settings are shown in the following diagram 43 Offset for Offset for more than ld more than Inline Keep a _ Outline Inline ee Ps Create Outline one outline Baio Thickness one inline Color Original Mask a Pi pi
44. or 3 passes to make sure you get a clean cut Try a pressure of around 60 75 for the cut If you plan to cut fabric frequently then it is highly recommended that the fabric blade be purchased and used in your blade holder It will eliminate the need for stiffening the fabric and give better results especially on shapes with sharp corners This blade can be purchased at http www buy acs com Be sure to change the Drag Knife Overcut and Trailing Blade settings to 30 and 40 respectively under Cut gt Tool Options 87 9 5 Cutting Chipboard There are many types of materials considered to be chipboard Some can be cut by the ACS and others cannot The best guidelines are o If the chipboard is thicker than the maximum blade length then it cannot be cut o If the chipboard is very stiff and cannot easily be bent then it probably cannot be cut o Thin flexible chipboards are the best choice It s worthwhile finding a particular brand of chipboard to use in your projects so that you will Know which blades and settings work best each time For a thicker look consider cutting two copies of the same shape from thinner chipboard and adhering together As with all materials set the blade length to be just a fraction longer than the thickness of your chipboard lt is recommended that the 60 degree blue capped blade be used Chipboard can easily come loose from the mat Try using masking tape or blue painter s tape around the outs
45. orientation for the cutter That is determined by whether or not Axis Swap is checked under Cut gt Plotting Defaults Refer to Section 4 1 Cutting Defaults e Select the Overcut Trailing Blade Settings from the Material Selection menu Refer to Section 2 2 Important Defaults to Check 4 At any time you can open a new document by going to File gt New or by clicking on the little blue icon first one on the left on the System toolbar Opening an Existing ADS File 1 Goto File gt Open or click on the second icon from the left Open on the System toolbar and browse your hard drive to locate subfolders where ADS files are stored 21 oN 5 Upon locating the file select the file name and click on Open Note that Alt S will turn on and off the fill for vector objects on the screen This can also be accessed by clicking on the Show Fill icon on the Workspace toolbar or go to View gt Show Fill Outline mode will show all the lines that will be cut In fill mode the image more accurately depicts your final product To view thumbnail images of your ADS files and other common graphical formats go to Layout gt Clip Art Viewer and browse to find the subfolder of your choosing You can add specific subfolders under Layout gt Clip Art Categories Setup and then directly open those subfolders under Layout gt Clip Art Go To Note that other vector formats such as ai wmf eps dxf can be opened using File gt Open Change the Files o
46. seat on the cutter making sure the pen nib is not touching the material Software Issues Basic Why isn t the bottom left corner of my Sign Blank set to 0 0 Go to Layout gt Sign Blank and check the bottom left corner of the diagram at the top When I try to move an object with my mouse it suddenly jumps up outside of the Sign Blank area A A built in function called Smart Move in some mouse brands can cause this Go to File gt Control Panel gt Mouse and locate the Smart Move option Uncheck the box and click on apply B Go to Options gt ACS Setup gt General Preferences and under Speed Scroll try changing the selection to Off My Sign Blank is no longer white Drag and drop the white color from the Shop Palette onto your Sign Blank Is it possible to have more than one file opened at a time Yes Go to Options and click on Multiple Instance ACS Studio can now be opened more than once and images can be copied pasted or dragged and dropped between them Software Issues Lettering My title appears on the screen as an outline rather than with colored letters The fill has been turned off Use Alt S to toggle the fill on and off or click on the Show Fill icon The letters inside a circle disappear and will not draw after being welded with the first weld button The letters are visible on the edges of the inner circle but the center of the letter is not there Letters must be welded to a frame rather than a single shape Refer to Sect
47. select from the menu of choices Check either the box next to Create New to open a new file or Create From File to open a browser window to import an existing file created with the application you wish to use e The Smart Bar will change to that of the other application For example if you create a new Excel spreadsheet or open an existing xls file the toolbar at the top will now have the Excel icons and functions To return to ACS Studio click anywhere on the workspace outside of the Excel document and the Excel file will simply become another object on your workspace and the ACS Studio toolbars and menu will be visible again To return to Excel marquis select the document and then double click on any of the nine bounding boxes Notepad Calculator Time Sign e Under Help you will find a link to open Windows Notepad and Windows Calculator Additionally a menu item called Time Sign works as a stopwatch for tracking the amount of time spent on any project Page Control e The Page Control function allows for multiple pages within a single file This is very useful when you have images that will not be cut from the same materials but should be included in the same file for example a custom sized greeting card and its matching envelope This can also be useful if you would like to make the first page of your file a title with instructions for cutting and assembling your project To use O Select an existing object on the screen Then cl
48. speed If your material comes in different textures or thicknesses make note of that as well e Again remember to use the Test button on the machine to cut small rectangles to verify the pressure setting and your blade length are sufficient for the cut Also remember to remove the test cut and observe the mat for any cut lines Decrease the blade exposure as needed to prevent unnecessary cutting into the mat 29 4 3 Cutting Procedure Important Checklist Before You Cut Do you have your material on a mat This is only necessary if your material does not have a separate backing Do you have the rollers positioned under the rectangle markers on the cutter Do you have the rollers protected from the adhesive on the mat Do you have the mat under the rollers and the levers lowered in the back Have you set the blade length based on the thickness of the material you are cutting Do you have the blade holder firmly mounted in the blade holder seat and the blade tip at the correct height Have you set the origin at the front right corner of your material Have you set the pressure And the speed Do you have Drag Knife selected if you are cutting Important Do not cut with Pen selected Have you selected the correct Material setting Overcut and Trailing Blade Do you need to do a test cut for this material at these settings Do you need to make any changes in the Cut Preview window Do you know with confidence where your images
49. that the default value for the weed offset it made by going to Options gt ACS Setup gt General Preferences This is an example of a title with an exterior weed Happy Bir f L Power Weed e Select the image and then under Shape Tools on the Tools toolbar pick the Power Weed tool In the Smart Bar various settings will permit you to change the offset as well as control the overlap of the horizontal cut that s made through the middle of the image You can also add more horizontal and vertical cut lines by dragging your mouse from any of the outside horizontal or vertical sides respectively f i L ur gt i TZ AIA ic 2 MA C gt Ay B H par l HE iu ee eee A h ff Ly pr j j TAAA HA Via H ae A Sa Y 9 4 Cutting Fabric and Felt Both fabric and felt can be cut on a ACS With either you can cut as is or optionally apply a fusible adhesive such as Wonder Under or Steam A Seam or a stabilizer such as Super Solvy or Dissolve 4X Pre stiffened felt can also be purchased and cuts very well on a ACS Both will need an extra sticky mat to prevent slippage during the cut Dedicate a mat to cutting only fabric or felt and apply a more permanent adhesive Also because of the fibrous nature of fabric and felt it is recommended that you cut at a slower speed try 100 and use multi pass 2
50. the rhinestone you will be using plus 0 1 mm For example if you are using 6 SS then the range is 1 9 2 0 mm Thus you will want the circle to be 2 1 mm in diameter 9 Circle drawn to size of OC rhinestone plus 0 1 mm IAS e g 2 1 mm for a 6 SS 1 stone VA 14 WA 1 i Py yy Viti p RARA i IM UA pl AA Image with original external path deleted 6 Use the same steps in the earlier tutorial on Adding Circles to An Image 7 The image will now appear with the circles applied The original path lines can be deleted and circles added deleted or tweaked in positioning to get the desired final pattern for cutting B Using Metamorphosis An alternative to Hatch Fill is the Metamorphosis function which provides an entirely different pattern but may be preferable for some designs In this case create a duplicate of your image but resize it to be as small as you would want for the inner most part of your pattern You might want to go ahead and create a few circles at the size you plan to use so that you can roughly arrange them around that smallest pattern to make sure it will be suitable Then center the two images by selecting and using Alt 7 O Select the two images and go to Transform gt Metamorphosis Leave Target Layers checked and then enter the number of additional paths you think you will want between the inner and outer pattern
51. to PDF There is an additional feature in ACS Studio where you can convert and email your pdf file in one step Go to Web gt Send Image by Email Converting to a Raster Image To convert and save any image in ACS Studio as a raster image specifically omp jpg pcx png or tiff select the image and go to File gt Export Image A popup window will allow you to select the resolution as well as whether you want Monochrome Gray or Full Color Remember to turn on Fill before exporting if you want the image filled with color versus an outline 9 11 Features for Professionals Templates Templates are used for starting a new design and can be set up to bring in any of four different parameters the current date the current time a graphic file such as a logo and or any specific text you wish to enter To create a template start with a Sign Blank of a desired size and create four text objects with any text in the font and font size you wish to see Move these objects to any location inside or outside the Sign Blank area Select one of the objects and go to Layout gt Templates gt Set Template gt and pick any of the four choices With the File option you will have the choice to either select a file from your hard drive or wait to be prompted when the original template is opened After setting each of the four items there will be no change to the screen Save the file and then reopen it You will be prompted if you have chosen
52. tool menu are several options O Multi Cut Checking this box opens a second box where the number of repeat cuts can be entered This is used when cutting very thick materials like chipboard which require the cut to be repeated several times As mentioned earlier there is no override once in the Cut Preview window so Multi cut must always be turned on and off here Refer to Section 9 5 Cutting Chipboard Pounce This is the same as cutting a dashed line Checking this box opens two additional boxes where you can enter the length of the dashed cut and the spacing between the cuts Suggested starting values are 0 07 2 mm and 0 15 4 mm respectively Refer to Section 4 5 Using the Pounce Feature to Cut Dashed Lines 27 e Under Cut either Page or Sign Blank may be selected If you pick Page then when you enter the cutting window the image will be moved to the origin you set to economize space but can be moved from the origin if desired If you select Sign Blank the images will be cut in the exact location as shown in the main Sign Blank area e Togetthe same orientation of cutting on your mat as you see in your Sign Blank something akin to WYSIWYG check both Axis Swap under Options and Sign Blank under Cut Thus if your Sign Blank appears as below on the left then the image will be cut in the same spot as shown on the right Below that you will see the location of the cut if you use other combinations of settings Axis
53. your image by dragging a corner In this tutorial we will be tracing two different items to illustrate the two types of tracing straight line and curved Straight Line Tracing 1 Zoom in on the image in order to clearly see the lines Don t worry about only seeing a portion as you can scroll while tracing without interrupting the process On the other hand don t zoom in too closely or the tracing will become tedious as you constantly will need to scroll to new areas of the image You will figure out with a little experience what works best for you 57 7 Manual tracing is performed using the Graphics Edit Tools on the Tools toolbar the tool with the pencil icon Since you will be accessing it over and over you can drag the popup menu to a handier location on your screen by holding your mouse over the two pale vertical lines on the left side of the three icons This will remain in place until you click on the Graphics Edit Tools icon again With the Graphics Edit Tools popup menu in place pick the first tool on the left called Node Edit Select a color from the Shop Palette which is different from the colors in your image In this example red has been chosen Before beginning the process remember that this should be a relatively quick and easy process Do not fret if you click and add a node in the wrong spot it can be moved later Do not fret about the path line straying from the original it can be fixe
54. your material are behind the cutter at the start of the cut Press the Origin button to set the origin Press the Online button to return to online mode NOTE you must reset the origin EVERY time you turn on the cutter For drawing the pressure should be set to around 30 40 If you find the pen isn t drawing then increase as needed Speed can be set to whatever you like for drawing Try 200 Set a page size to match your paper Go to Layout gt Blank Size and from Current Selection pick Letter for 8 1 2 x 11 and check the Portrait option Click on OK Also go to View gt Show Sign Blank and make sure it s checked Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults Check the box next to Axis Swap Under Cut check the boxes next to Sign Blank and next to Selected Click on Apply BEFORE clicking on Close to lock in the defaults On the Tools toolbar select the Shape Tools icon Resting your mouse cursor on any icon will pop up a title for that icon Click on the arrow under Shape Tools because an arrow will help you better compare where an image gets drawn versus where you see it on the screen Select arrow shape Shape Tools 00m ox gt oe a E In the main document area hold down your left mouse button to draw your arrow Press the spacebar to select it note the top left arrow icon on the Tools toolbar will also select images To open the cutting control window go to Cut gt Plot from the top menu or click on the Cut Tool scissors icon
55. ACS User Manual July 2009 Thank you for choosing an ACS digital die cutter Before using a blade in your new cutter we suggest you read the following sections of this user manual e The remainder of this first page e Sections 1 1 1 6 Important notes about the ACS blades and mat e Sections 2 1 2 3 Installation setup defaults and testing e Sections 3 1 3 4 Brief introduction to ACS Studio e Sections 4 1 4 3 Learning how to cut If you run into difficulties with the operation of the cutter turn off the power and look for a solution in this manual If you continue to have technical questions or issues please contact your ACS supplier as soon as possible You will find additional files tutorials videos and support at our message board http www buy acs com support Please Read e Verify that you have received all contents There is a checklist on page 4 Please notify your ACS supplier immediately if anything is missing e Remove any plastic zip ties foam pieces or other packaging before turning on the ACS e The ACS and other computer connected cutters are not plug and play devices Be sure to follow the installation directions carefully and make all recommended settings before operating e DO NOT lose the security key dongle for the software It must always be installed in a USB port on your computer for the software to be fully functional Also it is your proof of ownership of the software L
56. Bar and a window will open At the bottom check the box next to Pounce and then enter values for the Dash length and the Spacing of the dashes Recommended starting values are 0 07 and 0 15 as shown If working in metric then try 2mm and 4mm for the Dash and Space Pen 0 4 Pounce Y Check the Pounce box Dash 0 070 in E Space 0 150 q cor Click on Add or Change to activate Pounce for this color and close the window Enter a value for the length of the dash Enter a value for the spacing of the dashed cuts 4 Click on Add or Change A new color number is assigned to that color and your images of that color should change to dashed lines on the screen If not then select the images note the new color number and click on it by locating it on the Shop Palette 5 Proceed with the normal cutting procedure This new color will be dash line cut while other colors will be solid cut Note that you can assign other colors to be dashed cut as needed 33 Pounce First and Then Cut Occasionally you may find that pounce and cut in one step is not what you need For example you may wish to use a pen to draw dashed lines first and then switch to the blade holder to cut the image afterwards Of course you have the option to only select the color to be pounced while still in the main window However it is also possible to turn on pounce after entering the cut window In this example the following policy envel
57. You can further try the various spin icons to help oddly shaped items fit closer together Method B Repeats Use this method after you have selected your image and you go into the cutting window Note This method is for use with the Page mode only versus the Sign Blank mode 1 In the cutting window zoom out so you can see your image relative to the document size Make sure you have the correct media size entered on the Smart Bar Click on the Repeats Setup button under Repeats Check the box by Stack Repeats if it is okay to have more than one row of the image Then enter the number of images you wish to cut and the spacing if any between the images Click on the up arrow next to Stack Size Note that it will only allow you to enter the maximum number of rows which will actually fit based on the media size you entered above Enter any spacing between the images next to X Space and Y Space Note that you can save your settings if you wish by clicking on the diskette icon entering a name for this setting and clicking on Apply Click on OK to return to the cutting window At this point you can add or remove copies by clicking on the arrows under Repeats 26 4 Cutting 4 1 Cutting Defaults Just as you set preferences for your printer ACS Studio has a window of default parameters for cutting Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults and check any settings that you wish to be your defaults Be sure to click on the Apply button at
58. adhere an 8 5 x 11 sheet of paper to the mat If your mat has NO adhesive then use tape to firmly attach the paper to the mat surface Note do NOT use this method when you begin using the blade You must spray your mat with adhesive so that when images are cut they will remain attached to the mat While the paper can be placed anywhere on the mat it is recommended that the paper be placed so that the wheels will pass over the edges of the paper This prevents adhesive from the mat sticking to the rollers Raise the levers in back and slide the mat into the cutter aligning the mat along the right side of the cutter Make sure the wheels are aligned with the white rectangles on the cutter Refer to the photo below Drop the levers The left most wheel can be moved to the far left side and left in the up position Remove the top from the black pen holder With the spring resting on the top half of the ball point pen insert into the pen holder and replace the top Make sure the pen will write by scribbling on scrap paper Then loosen the screw on the blade holder seat and insert the pen tool Make sure the pen nib is slightly above the cutting surface so that it will not drag across the paper Firmly tighten the screw Refer to Section 1 4 Keypad Panel for instructions on the display panel Set the origin by going off line and then using the and buttons to move the tool over to the front right corner of the paper thus most of the mat and
59. age will move to that location Copying With the image selected you can copy in any of these possible ways o Go to Edit gt Duplicate or press Ctrl D to make a duplicate copy slightly offset to the top right of the original The amount of offset for a duplicate image can be changed under Options gt ACS Setup gt General Preferences 23 Use Edit gt Copy and Edit gt Paste from the top menu A small L shaped cursor appears Go to any area inside or outside of your document boundaries and drag the mouse to draw a rectangle The image will appear when you release the mouse button Note that the size of the image will depend on the size of the rectangle rather than duplicating the original If you do want the exact same size then instead of dragging the mouse just click once on the screen and the same size copy will appear Hold down the Alt key and begin dragging the center of the selected image as if moving it A copy of the image will move leaving the original in place OR you can hold down the Alt key and click once in the center of the selected image and a duplicate will be placed precisely on top of the original Go to Layout gt Array A new menu of choices will appear in the Smart Bar Under Total X and Total Y you can choose the number of duplicate images to appear in any row or column relative to the original On the left side you can select how the images will be arranged as well as the spacing between the images Resizing an
60. al imported raster image gt gt _ Vecciorized image 2 The raster image can be deleted once the tracing is complete Select the vector image and then click on the Stroke and Fill Tools icon on the Tools toolbar Select the second icon Hatch Fill and use the steps in the diagram below to enter appropriate settings Input desired spacing between the fill paths As a suggestion try adding 25 to the size of the rhinestone diameter Thus if 2mm stones will be used then try 2 x 1 25 2 5mm Click on Close when done Select a fill style usually i Select a color Island or Line Sweep for fill lines LE Close Pen width 2 50 3 The image appears with internal fill lines after closing the window Depending on whether or not Show Line Style is turned on or off the image will appear in one of two ways With View gt Show IVA Line Style not checked With View gt Show Line Style checked f PANN j H I A 83 4 The original external path line should now be selected and deleted Then select the filled image click on the Stroke and Fill Tools icon on the Tools toolbar Select the first icon Line Style Then change from Thick Line to either No Line or Hairline on the Smart Bar Y Indent either No Line or Hairline m 250 4 ml 5 Select the image and go to Arrange gt Make Path Now draw a single circle sized to the maximum diameter for
61. and width for the cutter Cut gt Plotting Defaults gt Setup Make Path Make Path will combine a selection of multiple objects or paths into a single path Arrange gt Make Path Mat can refer to either of the following 1 A thin usually plastic material with a sticky surface used to hold the Job Palette e Kerning Line Style lt at material to be cut Also called a carrier sheet 2 A background shadow for an image or a welded title _ The Metamorphosis feature will create a transition in a specified number of steps from one object to another Metamorphosis Transform gt Metamorphosis Mirror The Mirror feature can create a vertical or horizontal mirror image of the selected object Cut Toolbox window Use the Image gt Mode command to change the type of data that a raster image is composed of thereby determining the maximum number of colors that can be represented i e its color depth Image gt Mode Certain materials such as chipboard may require multiple passes of the cutting blade The Multi Cut field is Multicut used to set the number of passes that should be performed Cut gt Plotting Defaults When Multiple Instance is checked more than one copy of ACS Studio can be open at once Options gt Multiple Instance Node Edit allows individual and group node editing such as adding removing joining moving changing node Multiple Instance Node Edit type etc Tools Toolbar gt Graphics
62. are going to cut setting the Origin VERY IMPORTANT This tells the program where the material is located in the cutter While in offline mode press the four and buttons until the blade is directly over the front right corner of your material Then press the ORIGIN button in the center The origin is now set and will remain at that location But remember that it must be reset every time you turn on the cutter Also note that pressing the Online button does not set the origin Test Cut Before cutting a new material or resetting the blade length it is advisable to do a test cut While in offline mode press the TEST button to cut a small ring This will indicate if your pressure settings and blade length are sufficient If necessary change your settings move your origin and perform additional test cuts until the material cuts a clean shape Repeat a test cut in the same location to simulate multi cut cutting for thicker materials that will clearly require two or more passes While in the online mode pressing the TEST button will cause nothing to happen Pausing and Aborting a Cut If you need to stop the cutting process press the Pause button Note this is your PANIC button The cutter will immediately stop cutting At this point you should turn off the cutter You can then click on Cancel in the Cut window You can then turn the cutter back on at any time If the software locks up then you will need to always unplug the USB ca
63. arge or simple designs much faster speeds should work fine A slow speed is 50 or 100 A fast speed is around 300 A speed of 600 is extremely fast but useful when coloring in images with a pen or engraving Pressure e With the cutter in Online mode press the left or right or buttons to increase or decrease the pressure respectively The range is from 1 to 160 indicating a scale which spans from the minimum to the maximum force possible The pressure like the speed can be changed while the cutter is operating by pressing the Pause button making the change then pressing Pause again to resume the cut e The pressure needed can vary depending on the thickness of the mat materials which blade is used the height of the blade above the cutting surface amount of moisture absorbed by the material due to humidity and the dullness of the blade This makes it all the more difficult to recommend specific values for various materials Select a lighter pressure for thinner materials start at 30 and work up and a heavier pressure for thicker materials start at 90 and work up As your blade becomes dull it will be necessary to increase the pressure Remember to decrease the pressure when you replace your blade e You may wish to keep a notebook of your cutting experiences with various materials Besides just cutting pressures record things like which blade you used number of passes overcut and trailing blade settings if applicable and the
64. as more than one page check Single page 3 Find an image you are interested in using and double click One of the following situations will probably occur o Vector nodes will appear In this case the image is ready to edit or cut Important sometimes images will be duplicated So its a good idea to try dragging your selected image away to see if there are other copies beneath Do this in all situations listed below always check for copies o The Accuscan window will open indicating the image you chose is a bitmap image and must be traced before cutting Proceed with either an auto trace or a manual trace refer to Chapter 6 Tracing o The Group View window will open This is a common occurrence and indicates that all the images on the page are probably grouped together Go to step 3 If the Group Viewer window opens immediately close it and go to Layout gt Ungroup Click away so nothing is selected and then try double clicking your image again as in Step 2 If you again get the Group Viewer then go to Arrange gt Break Path You may need to wait just a moment as some large pdf files will take a minute to execute this step Note if any of the internal details appear to disappear in this step If so then use Ctrl Z to undo the Break Path and instead go to Arrange lt Connect Path Enter a small value say 0 00001 and then click on OK Then try the Arrange gt Break Path again Also during this process you can try to indiv
65. as they will be referenced throughout this user manual Systems AA 2 Toolbar a a ee Oa dimo A aaa 13808 5wmo 3 ie Smart Bar contains settings for lena OA currently selected Tool or Menu mse dy function Workspace sl y Toolbar A pe Sign Blank A m sele a Rulers Toolbar z Y Job Palette a Drag center tracks all colors l JE of selected used in current J object to file 4 1 Shop Palette lt 0 move amp shows all available Drag other Sheet Layer 4 colors for use F handles of Palette used to 4 in current file HA selected Page Control and object to current Page lace objects on p J resize Number different layers Fl RGB 0 0 0 Stroke None Layer 1 Clear Color amp E 4 00 OO a a a ar arrasar ara gt gt E Layer 1 e The Smart Bar will always appear on the screen and will show all the parameters and settings for any given mode In the figure above the select mode is shown If you go into the text mode then the Smart Bar will show a different set of tools and settings such as the currently selected font font height character picker and kerning e The Sign Blank is the basic document area and can be turned on by going to View gt Show Sign Blank To edit the dimensions of the Sign Blank go to Layout gt Blank Size For more information refer to Opening a New Document Sign Blank Setup under Section 3 3 Managing Files e There are four Toolbars which can be
66. as you press the icon 47 to go into text mode drag your mouse to create a text box versus just clicking once in the Sign Blank This will then allow you the option later to have longer names such as Elizabeth versus Sam to be compressed to fit the text box limits inside your shape Name Hometown The data is typed into a txt file with commas separating the names from the hometowns on each line Note that other separators can be used To quickly access Windows Notepad go to Help gt Notepad Save the file P List of Names txt Notepad File Edit Format View Help Helen Denver Karen Austin sandy Tempe Melanie Houston Pat chicago Dianne Ft wayne Select the three objects and go to Layout gt Badges The Badge Setup window will open Total number of mE Setup x badges to be made sae Number of copies Max copies per page 36 Settings for margins and spacing of images in Sign Blank Options to compress text so that longer names will fit Select a layout gt BE I Horizontal Use score lines Use crop mark M Use plate None Color BERR m Blank l Custom size Height 11 00C Margins Left 0 150 Width 18 500 Bottom 10 150 Right 0 150 Spacing Vertical 10 150 Horizontal 0 150 lv sn text equally over copies _ preview a a Replaceable items text highlight text to be changed Name Hometown V Use compression of original copy
67. ble before clicking on Cancel The need to do this varies from one computer to the next Selecting the Image s to Cut Select the image s you wish to cut If you have several images in your document only those selected will be cut Alternatively under Cut gt Plotting Defaults you can uncheck the box next to Selected and all images in the Sign Blank will be automatically selected for cutting without the need to select any of them individually If you wish to only cut images of a certain color or colors refer to Section 4 4 Cutting by Color 30 e You also have the opportunity to cut multiple copies of the same image after entering the cut window Details are presented in the second half of Section 3 5 Filling a Page with the Same Image Cutting Procedure 1 If using a mat then press the material firmly and evenly to make sure the material stays adhered to the mat during cutting Some owners will even use a brayer for this task Any slippage will result in distorted cuts If the material is thicker than cardstock or slippery in nature apply masking tape or blue painter s tape along the edges of the material to firmly attach to the mat 2 Align the material on the mat as straight as possible If you are cutting from scraps or if you need the rubber wheels to be outside the edges of the material then place paper or cardstock strips on the mat where the wheels will be traveling This is to prevent adhesive from collecting onto the rubber
68. ceceeesesees 20 e ll PP o O I E 20 Opening a New Document Sign Blank Setup ccccsssssssessssssssesssssssssssssesscssessssasssssessasscssessssassesessassessessssacseesessacsessessssasseesessasacasessssacasesessacseeses 20 Opening an Existing ADS File cccccsssssssssssssssessssssssessssssssssessssssssesessassessesssssessessssasssessssasscssesessacasessssasseasessssscssesssasacasessasacasesessasaeasessassssesessacaeeses 21 savino and e Pr O GEO 5 22 MAN PULL TIN IMAGE Scientist o een 22 a oo E O ON 22 nn A PU SEO 22 Ae OE 0550500 rr terre errr er errr rer rr ere ere te cn rene 23 NA OVING A A A 23 E e ONU o A E non ee eee 23 Era o ING SHUN OOPER ROP UUNU7 5 0 PP oO E o oo ES En EA 24 AO E 111 8 OPE PEPA E RL O PU E O OE CO e E CEE E rer mene E mer ore Teer reer E errant renter terre eee re 24 NAO ANNE THONG APPO PR este cet cope needa oe oh Aa ea ep as daa i na vaio eh PO O NE EE em nate EOS 24 oo ee ee ee eee 24 LOO O AA E e e eae ea E ceca ces E o ln a 25 PONG arses is scent cacins pe canadtc csp A A E E E A A 25 AON ates E ie eh tga ee a a oti ha ea gi tae A eee 25 a 26 UNO NAVIA aura AI AAN ANA NA ANA A AN E 26 3 5 FILLING A PAGE WITH THE SAME IMAGE o 26 MAOC AAN AY API PP io OO EE E EAEE E TE EE TA AAEE aera aes aca Aaa anda paar ee 26 A cetacean een ste o a a e sete o RO E a 26 AU AAA o E o e OT o E o ea 27 A Pa PP e RR In O IO OE PEO A 21 4 2 SETTINGS FOR YOUR MATERIALS AND IMAGES esoscrircco sra dei vii adi ido did
69. ck line around the workspace only see it when in cut mode Go to View gt Show Sign Blank to turn on the Sign Blank When trying to resize an image by using the boxes at the corner of the image am having a problem controlling the sizing Make sure Snap to Grid Options gt Grid gt Snap to Grid is not turned on Also the size of an image can be manually entered on the Smart Bar How can edit the edges of a graphic to make it smooth Refer to Segment Edit in Section 7 4 When double click on an image and proceed to move the nodes cannot move them Check to make sure Snap to Grid isn t turned on Options gt Grid gt Snap to Grid cannot weld together two images A The images must be the same color B The images must both have closed paths To close select the open path image and go to Arrange gt Close Graphics or go into node editing and repair Turn on View gt Show Fill to verify as unclosed paths will be dotted lines Software Issues Import Problems imported an eps file from PSE and tried to cut get a no object to cut message then exported the file as an Illustrator file and I m still unable to import and cut How can get it to work Images from Photoshop Elements are raster graphics and not vector thus there are no trace lines to cut You must either use one of the auto tracing techniques or manual tracing to convert the image Refer to Chapter 5 imported and traced a drawing When cut it however it
70. clusive Or Weld will produce an object that is composed only of sections that did not overlap in the original objects This is used when creating frames Tools Toolbar gt Weld Tools 101 Appendix C_ Troubleshooting Error Messages Objects with thick line attributes have been found in this graphic Click on the Stroke and Fill Tools icon on the Tools toolbar and select the Line Style icon On the Smart Bar click on the Thin Line icon 2nd from left There are small tiles in the job do you want to continue cutting The image you are cutting or the Sign Blank size is larger than the machine limits which have been set Increase the machine limits under Cut gt Plotting Defaults click on Setup Port Not Available Verify that the COM Port assignment under Device Manager is the same as what has been assigned in ACS Studio Refer to Section 2 1 If error continues contact your Supplier No objects to cut A There is no vectorized object in the Sign Blank to cut Imported raster images must be traced before cutting B No image has been selected to cut under Cut gt Plotting Defaults if Selected is checked then an object must be selected before entering the Cut window Error locating security device This occurs when ACS Studio cannot find the dongle Make sure dongle light is on Reboot Windows Possible error with password 1 This occurs when ACS Studio cannot find the dongle Make sure dongle light is on Reboot Windows Font N
71. completely cut When setting the blade length hold up the blade holder next to the material so that you can more accurately set the length to match the thickness of the material If you have a difficult time seeing the tiny blade try using your finger to feel for the tip of the blade to be just a tiny bit longer than the material s thickness Also develop the habit of using the Test button on the ACS to verify that you not only get a clean test cut but when you lift the waste and the test cut from the mat you cannot see cut lines in the mat It is okay to see very faint markings suggesting the tip of the blade is just barely grazing the adhesive on the mat But again if you see cut lines then shorten the blade slightly and test cut again For many new owners this may seem like a difficult task but it only takes a little practice and then setting the blade length will seem quite easy to do It s also important to have the blade holder mounted so that the tip of the blade is slightly above the cutting material This is to prevent the blade from dragging across the material when moving from one cutting path to the next and to give the blade more downward impact when dropping to cut into the material More information about cutting is covered in Chapter 4 and it is strongly recommended that you read Sections 4 2 and 4 3 before attempting to cut 10 1 6 Mat Carrier Sheet e Always use a mat to hold the material to be cut unless the material
72. ction refer to Section 7 7 Additional Editing Tools Center line tracing is extremely sensitive to the quality of the image and the consistency of the original lines so always test draw your image before cutting Modifying the trace settings may or may not yield better results Thus it is highly recommended that Manual Tracing be learned as it is often the best choice for images such as white filled clipart and patterns 6 3 Manual Tracing In some cases you may not be able to achieve a decent auto trace or the amount of editing required will defeat the purpose of using the auto tracing functionality If your imported image it too complex or has a very poor resolution or is too dark or too light to produce a decent tracing you can use the Graphics Edit Tools to trace manually You may also wish to learn these tools to design images from scratch It s a very easy process and can be done quickly Further learning to manually trace means that you can create ANY file you want from free images you can download from the Internet The important things to remember are e Zoom in so you can more precisely trace the actual outline e Don t try to be so exact the first time around the image Remember that nodes can be added deleted and moved as necessary Curves can be smoothed Importing the Image to Trace 1 Select File gt Import and browse to locate the graphic file 2 Select the file name and click on Import 3 3 Increase the size of
73. cuts on both sides of the line This happens whenever images are hollow and the vector lines are then created for both sides of an outline Use Center Line Tracing in ACS Studio to avoid this Refer to Section 6 2 Or just delete the duplicate paths lm using a CAD program to draw an object and then convert to a DXF file When the DXF file Is imported into ACS Studio the dimensions of my object are always larger than what was drawn When importing a dxf file a window will open where you will need to change the Scale Options from inches to mm 105 Appendix D Settings for Auto Tracing AccuScan Settings e Tolerance indicates the precision with which edges are traced O Fora detailed bitmap use a setting of 7 or greater More nodes will be produced O Ifthe bitmap is of poor quality or has long smooth edges then use a setting of 5 or less A loose Tolerance will avoid imperfections in the bitmap though fine details may also be lost Decrease if F f A b Too low Too high Shape is compromised Lines are wobbly 0 versus parts that represent a tight curve trace lines are wobbly aa Increase if shape H Tight doesn t fit original Tolerance 1 10 vf E a Setting is correct for this image Corners modifies corner recognition and is used to help distinguish parts of the bitmap that represent a corner O For angular bitmaps that are composed mostly of sharp corners use a setting or 7 o
74. d Contact your ACS supplier b You receive an Error Locating Security Device 1 message i The software cannot locate the security key dongle Close the software and plug in the dongle Then reopen ACS Studio ii The Products files do not match those programmed for the security key Contact your supplier c You receive a No Objects to Cut message i You must first select the image you wish to send to the cutter If you want all images to always be sent to the cutter then go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults and uncheck Selected Click on Apply ll The image is outside the boundaries of your Sign Blank Go to View gt Show Sign Blank to make sure the boundaries are visible and your image is within the confines d Nothing happens except the five rightmost icons in Cut Toolbox window turn gray i Machine is offline press the Online button ii Machine is turned off turn on set the origin and begin the cut again lil You have not set the correct Baud Rate on the machine Refer to Section 1 4 Step 4 e You have a serial connection and receive an error message when you click on Cut I The messages may vary But at the time of this writing clicking on Cancel should close the message and allow the cut to proceed 2 4 Calibrating the ACS Every new cutter should be calibrated to ensure accuracy in cutting For example instead of cutting a perfect 6 x 6 square a new cutter might cut a 6 125 x 5 875 rectangle Use
75. d Stretching With the image selected use your mouse to drag any corner of the image to resize proportionately Dragging a square not in a corner will allow you to resize either vertically or horizontally while leaving the other dimension constant Also if you hold down the Ctrl key while dragging a square it will instantly double the size of the image You can also resize the image from the Smart Bar Enter values directly into the Image Dimensions setting Note that if you do not want to hold the aspect ratio click the lock box icon to unlock You can also resize percentage wise scaling using the two boxes just to the left of the lock icon To keep the center of the object from changing locations in the Sign Blank be sure to turn the middle box red in the little diagram of 9 boxes up on the Smart Bar Stretching is similar to resizing but with a different algorithm that appears to apply more change to outer regions rather than uniformly To stretch an object select it and go to Arrange gt Stretch Enter the percent change and choose either horizontal or vertical or drag the square handle on the image In the following example the same circle is resized in width only and the difference in the outcomes shown CO l gt Normal Resize Stretched Rotating With the image selected you will notice a curved arrow in the upper right region of the image Hold down your left mouse button and drag that arrow either clockwise or counterclockwise
76. d later Do not fret if you inadvertently add two nodes right on top of one another one can be deleted later Again just focus on click click clicking your way around the image The editing comes later Now for the fun Click on any corner of the image to plant the first node Then go to the next corner and click again Continue around the outside of the image again scrolling to other parts of the image as necessary In the diagram below the blue outline doesn t show up yet because the tracing process is still underway but the nodes being planted in each corner do appear 2 Click at the next y e 3 Click here point where the F HA N line changes a 4 Click here Then i lt continue around 1 Start ata ad the perimeter of the image ending back at the first node point and click once to plant the first node Finish tracing the perimeter ending at the first node Note that because you ended at the first node you have the option to begin another trace at another location Otherwise you need to click on Node Edit icon again to start a new trace To trace the internal folding lines again select the Node Edit tool Select a different color for the fold lines in this case blue has been picked Also in this particular case notice that a rectangle could be drawn for the section with the dashed lines Red trace lines for the cut and This area surrounded blue trace lines by the dashed fold rectangle for l
77. de and turn on Fill 7 In the second example arrange an image such as a letter over the lattice In this case use Ctrl F to make sure the letter is on top of the lattice 8 Then marquis select the grid and the letter and select the third XOR Weld from the Weld Tools on the Tools toolbar 9 It will appear that nothing has happened but carefully click on the trace lines of the letter to highlight it and drag away The letter is now filled with a lattice Arrange letter over grid Apply XOR Weld Drag letter away from grid Turn on Fill 8 13 Freehand Drawing Freehand drawing like manual tracing is performed using the Graphics Edit Tools on the Tools toolbar Select the middle tool called Free Edit You can now use the mouse to freely draw on the screen Unlike Node Edit mode in Free Edit mode you can release the mouse button to stop your drawing at any point and begin again at another point on the screen If you wish to draw a straight line at any point hold down the Shift key or Ctrl key and continue drawing It will appear that you are no longer drawing but upon releasing the key a straight line will appear At any time you can click on the spacebar and close the Free Edit mode Double clicking any of your paths will bring up the nodes for editing Remember that Transform gt Round Corner can be used to convert your single line paths into closed paths for cutting 8 14 Enhancing Your Design Files Before shari
78. don t have to end at the first node At any point you can simply stop and then click on the Node Edit icon to start tracing at a different location If you do end at the first node then you can begin tracing at a different location without clicking on the Node Edit icon 6 Below is part of the tracing showing the nodes Note that the nodes with sharp pointed turns were changed to corner nodes Also note that the stem was separately traced and the top extended by a small amount This gives you the option of cutting the two paths separately for a paper piecing the flower bulb in one color and the stem in another 99 7 Alternatively the stem and bulb can be selected and then welded to remove the overlap by selecting the Weld Tools icon and clicking on Basic Weld icon Before Welding After Welding 8 Finally the individual pieces are re colored so that the individual colored paths can be selected for cutting from different colored pieces of vinyl or paper Refer to Section 4 4 Cutting By Color WA j j i l j 1 A Combined Straight Line and Curved Tracin When manually tracing some images you will want to combine both straight line and curved line tracing in your design Note that you can easily switch from one mode to the other without stopping the trace When you reach a point where you wish to switch right click and select the circle icon to switch to curve tracing or select the corner node to sw
79. e if fill is turn on the circular hole will disappear But after applying Arrange gt Make Path the hole turns white and will now appear Tag with fill turned off Tag with fill turned on Tag with fill turned on after Make Path is applied 7 9 Example of Editing a Vectorized Image 1 Using the information from the prior sections the following image will be edited This image is from the file apple cdl on the Clipart and Fonts CD which accompanies the ACS Studio program The purpose of this editing will be to make the image a paper piecing i e break the image into the apple the leaf and the stem But first we will make the image simpler and more curved Open the apple cal file Turn off the fill by pressing Alt S NX a Select the image and use Arrange gt Break Path to break the paths in the image In this example the interior parts are going to be deleted Click away from the image and then click on each interior part and press the Delete key Select these two NS 2 _ parts and press the Qe N Delete key gt y Next convert all of the nodes to curve nodes for a smoother more rounded apple 67 Double click to bring Right click to bring up menu All of the corner nodes will Apple is now smooth up the nodes and select circle icon turn into Curve nodes and round 40 D Y ff vi A To separate the leaf and stem from the apple select the image click on the Ginsu Knife Tools icon on the Tools too
80. e Pressure Offline Mode Display x forward back distance from origin y left right distance from origin Move the mat forward or towards the back Move the carriage left or right Press the Origin button to set the origin Note the cutter will remain in the Offline Mode Laser Mode Display Press the Origin button to turn the laser light on You will see a red light appear below blade carriage Also the cutter will change to Online mode To turn off the laser repeat Steps 2 and 3 and then press the Origin button again Step 3 In Offline Mode press the Menu button The Laser display will show and the laser can be activated Setting Display Us Traverse speed movement of carriage when head is up Br Baud rate USB 57600 Serial 9600 Step 4 In Online Mode press the Menu button Increases Decreases Traverse Velocity Speed Experiment with the and buttons for the Traverse Velocity Change the Baud Rate based on the connection you are using Increases Decreases Baud Rate USB 57600 Serial 9600 Set Per Display Xp Calibration of X scale Yp Calibration of Y scale Step 5 In Online Mode press the Menu button twice Do not change these values Instead it is recommended that calibration of the ACS be done from within the ACS Studio program Refer to Section 2 4 Press again to turn off the Menu function Pause Display v cutting velocity mm sec
81. e Ee ee er ee AS 66 Converting a Closed Fath toa Ferec CU Gl O sic lio 66 O WAKING PATHS OR GROUPING errata rra lara iii idol 67 1 9 EXAMPLE OF EDITING A VECTORIZED MAGE inriaddaias 67 S DESIGNING orania eee eT eR CEE er eRe re are eee eer eRe eee ee 69 8 1 ADDING GUIDELINES TO THE SIGN BLANK Cariaco lides 69 8 2 DRAWING AND MODIFYING BASIC SHAPES sisi nomina ii 69 Moanyng A ReclIng AAA aoe a RO cca stale nena ce ua AEEA EEE EEA 70 MONTA 013100 y a AER OC PEE E E reer Pee ee een ee 70 MOGO A Les a OPEP RPP E O O O O oo II eee ae 70 o o y er ee te rere ene etn rere 70 MONTANO MORE e e o e a eS OE OS 70 0 0 THE HREF WELDING TOOL S tarada di dai a 71 BISON Ce eT Me ce ere cr ee me tT ete eet ee eee E eee eer Terre 1 PUNTO WAC shea En E SEO a at da Sa aa este eae i 71 AP A a AAN eee eee 11 0 TRANSFORME 71 Te AAA e A A T acta cee set cacti 11 A A 72 A O a 12 ALONE AA AA IA ANA AAA 72 A A E o O 72 A EEA EAEE cesaelacareasucat mada Ae 12 DOART A 73 00 OLY ARO EDITING aaa cda 14 0 DECORATIVE BORDER idad 14 OR 15 DISTENGE QOL raid 15 Or LO ANG Tin KIND OF O TENCILING tias 15 Ooi We Ll BING ateo oir 76 8 PZ OREA TNG LATICE DESIGNS AAA AAA AA aa 76 919 BREFHAND DRAWING ANA a T O TAENHANCING OUR DESIGN LESS tcl tb ra a gcc Rhee Nha da T De SPECIAL TOP IS a 79 9 1 PREPARING IMAGES FOR RHINESTONE APPLICATIONS coononccnccncninnnicnicinrcrrcrrir k atA aNAARAANAANAAAANEAANEAAEANEANEAN EAEAN EARRA REEERE ns 19 e A euTnS naa
82. e and the inline you will want to delete the original line and only use the inline in your print and cut Refer to Section 5 5 Outline and Inline Inline is set at 0 02 and moves cut line safely inside graphic Original trace line is Slightly outside graphic Print and Cut Sample Close Up of Right Side of Roofline While you can use either a portrait or a landscape orientation and either check or uncheck Axis Swap in this example we will use Portrait and Letter under Layout gt Blank Size and check Axis Swap under Cut gt Plotting Defaults Also check Sign Blank Click on Apply and then OK to close this window Select the image and from the Shapes Tool icon on the Tools toolbar click on the Multi Registration Mark icon third from the right In the Smart Bar will be a menu choice of marks to use Pick the symbol 36 6 from the left side On the right you can select how far to offset the marks Enter a relatively small value say 0 25 or 6mm Size of Marks Check all 4 even though Enter offset of marks Select only 3 are needed from original E e e 050 E 4 x COSPCAFHO Mii fmm CMT ome om 4 wii iw 4 Four registration marks will appear around the image Click on Close 5 Before printing hide the cut line by selecting it and using Ctrl B to order it to the back If your cut line still appears as in the case of say cutting out a tag with lettering then change the tag cut line to white before pr
83. e objects to one another front to back order horizontal or vertical Cut gt Plotting Defaults or Cut Toolbox window Invoking Sort and Cut All Colors brings up a list of all colors used in the objects selected to cut The user can uncheck any colors not needed for that cut Cut Toolbox window The Stencil tool is used to apply a clipping style to one or more selected shapes The resulting stencil bands will be like windows through which the underlying shapes may be viewed Tools Toolbar gt Shapes Tools The Storage Bin is a way of viewing and organizing operations that have been copied to the Clipboard in Instant Replay View gt Show Storage Bin The Stretch feature is used to distort an object as if the object had elastic properties Objects may be stretched in either an upward or rightward direction Arrange gt Stretch Refer to Line Style The Super Size feature allows scaling and interpolation of an image for vectorization without compromising the sharpness of the image A Tangent Node is used to provide a smooth transition from a straight line to a curved line In node edit mode it appears as a small triangle A Template operation is used to convert a text object into a date time graphic or text input variable which is then saved with the workspace When the file is again opened the text object will be converted into the type designated by the Template operation Layout gt Templates Text to Graphics will conver
84. earl Plate Stone Size Diameter mm 6 7 6 9 6 9 7 1 11 73 7 3 7 5 7 5 7 7 17 79 7 9 8 2 8 2 8 4 8 4 8 7 8 7 8 9 8 9 9 2 92 95 95 99 9 9 10 2 10 2 10 5 10 5 10 9 10 9 11 3 113 117 117 120 13 0 13 2 142 145 again during the designing process This is very easy to do using the Rulers on your screen see below or you can go to Options gt Toggle Units Right click on this icon to get a popup menu with option to toggle between inches and mm 19 2 Import your vector image or import a raster image and auto trace In this tutorial the image is already a vector 3 Re size the image according to what you want the finished pattern to be For example this heart will be changed to 4 in height Then select the image and go to Arrange lt Make Path Now in this example the Make Path step is not actually necessary because there is only a single path However you will ALWAYS want to do this step when you have more than one path so it is presented here as a reminder 4 Let s say you want to use 3 2 mm rhinestones in this design Switch to mm and then draw a circle using the Shapes tools on the Tools toolbar Select the circle and change the size to 3 3 on the Smart Bar it s advisable to add a little extra to the maximum diameter specified on the rhinestone Diameter of circle is set to 3 3 mm Circle 1 pane F325 4 e 330 7 lt 100 00 Fa omo lt P o 132 833 202 850 F 410000 8
85. eated settings Target layer checked Count 5 Then select and weld all images using Basic Weld Fit Object to Path en gt ES Transform gt Fit Object to Path Start with a small Circle and large Oval After Object to Path middle image is created settings Number 25 Then apply Basic Weld to create scallop ABC ABC ABC ARC Transform gt Shadow Choose shadow style on Smart Bar along with other settings The shadow created is an individual closed path that can be cut separately from a different color Note that Fill is turned on to highlight how the final cut images will look Shadow Render to Bitmap Occasionally you may have a reason to convert a vector image to a bitmap image For example you might want to design a Print and Cut tag and place lettering inside the tag to be printed but not cut Create your tag with the lettering as usual Select just the lettering and go to Transform gt Render to Bitmap 12 o T B Q O Fill turned off Fill turned on Apply Render to Fill is turned off lettering lettering is not filled lettering is filled Bitmap to lettering remains filled tag is not but so is tag filled 8 5 Arc Edit The third tool in the Graphic Edit Tools menu is the Arc Edit This can be used to construct segments of a circle 1 With this tool selected click once As you move to a second location you will notice a line being drawn t 2 Atthis point hold down the left mo
86. eeded From ADS to Al Go to File gt Export and select ai from the list of file types If you have Adobe Illustrator installed on your computer you can also copy paste images from ACS Studio directly into Adobe Illustrator and then save the file there Converting from PDF to ADS and Vice Versa From PDF to ADS PDF files can be imported into ACS Studio by using File gt Import It s important to note that not all PDF files are the same Some have been created strictly from vector images while others have been created from raster bitmap images and still others are a combination of vector and raster Additionally not all of the pdf s will behave the same upon importing The following guidelines will attempt to cover the majority of the cases but if you have difficulties working with a particular pdf file you may need to seek help at our message board http www buy acs com support 1 Open the PDF file using Adobe Reader or other PDF reader and determine which page of the PDF file contains the images you want to use It is not advisable to try to open the entire file into ACS Studio especially if it contains many pages 2 In ACS Studio use File gt Import to open the PDF file A window will open in which you can select which page you wish to import 91 Import pages 110 Pages found C All pages Enter the page number Single page m 4 determined in Step 1 C Selection From 1 To 110 E Important when the pdf file h
87. er O Moderate settings work best with images that include areas of high detail with areas of low detail e Truncate Endpoints The Truncate Endpoints setting controls the Center Line Tracing corner and endpoint recognition ability Center Line Tracing uses this setting to determine which parts of a trace represent a corner endpoint and which parts represent a tight curve o Ifa bitmap contains sharp corners and is mostly angular with sharp endpoints set to a lower value O Ifitis mostly curves set to a higher value 107 Accuscan 51 Add Group 50 ADS 21 Al 91 Aligning Circles 79 Alignment 25 Allowable Error 62 66 Anchor Nub 23 AND Weld 71 77 Arc Edit 73 Arc Segment 63 Arrange and Distribute 25 Arranging 25 Array 24 26 Array 75 Arrow Draw 78 Automatic Save 22 Axis Swap 27 28 86 Badges 47 Banner Fill 27 88 Basic Weld 71 Blade 29 Blade Assembly 9 Blade Length 10 29 Bladeholder 29 Blades 5 9 Blank Size 21 Block Nesting 90 Breaking Paths 61 Brightness 54 Calculate Scale 18 Calculator 94 Calibrating 17 35 Carrier Sheet 11 Center Line Trace 82 107 Center Line Tracing 56 Character Picker 46 Checklist 30 Chipboard 88 Circle 66 Clip Art Viewer 22 Clipping 76 Close Graphics 66 Close Path 65 68 Collapse All Layers 25 Color Name 32 Connect Path 57 66 Connected Letter Title 42 Contents 5 Context Menu 25 Contour Cut 40 Contour Cutting 40 C
88. es will open the Group Viewer window For more information on the Group Viewer refer to Section 9 10 File Conversions Subsection Converting From PDF to ADS and Vice Versa Undo Navigator As with most Windows applications Ctrl Z Edit gt Undo will undo the last action invoked and Ctrl Y Edit gt Redo will reverse the last undo In ACS Studio you can choose Edit gt Undo Navigator and open a small window which lists all the operations in order This permits you to click on any previous operation and begin working from that point forward automatically deleting all operations that occurred after that point 3 5 Filling a Page with the Same Image Method A Array Use this method if you wish to fill the Sign Blank area 1 2 Select your image and move it to the lower left corner of the Sign Blank area Go to Layout gt Array In the top left corner of the Smart Bar you can click on a drop down menu to select the layout you wish to use In general if you plan to fill the entire page you would select the default grid Below this setting you can choose either Object to Object or Between Object For this application choose the latter Under Total X and Total Y begin clicking on the tiny arrows to add images in rows and columns Adjust those numbers to fit as many copies into the document area as possible Adjust the spacing values to economize the use of your available material Repeat Step 4 to add more images if desired
89. esign using this feature DO IO 74 8 8 Array DY 1 Select any 2 Go to Layout gt Array and 3 Increase the Arc Radius to 4 Click on Close Delete middle image from the drop down menu spread images outwards and image if desired and apply select On Arc with then begin increasing Total as Basic Weld Rotation Start 0 End 360 desired 8 9 Stencil Tool The purpose of the Stencil Tool is to apply one of five possible effects to an image The choices are Horizontal Vertical Square Circular and Conical and samples of each of the five are shown A Le kw lt A gt why AN Q Turn on View gt Show Fill Select the image and then select the Stencil icon under the Shapes tools second from right After selecting an effect slowly drag the various handles on the image until desired effect is achieved Again these are only a few of the many possible looks available KO 8 10 Another Kind of Stencilin 1 Using the Basic Weld feature you can create customized designs using a function called stenciling In this example we have a welded word a heart border and then also an outline mat for the heart border RONI 2 Arrange the outline mat over the word and use Ctrl F to make sure the mat is on top of the word Note the border needs to be a different color from the word Select both and then apply the Basic Weld tool from the Tools toolbar It will appear that nothi
90. ess and density of chipboard some chipboard will produce a lot of crumbs during the cut and this can build up inside the blade holder as well as build up around the cut lines causing interference with the blade during the second pass For this reason some users will use canned air to blow the crumbs away from the surface between each pass You may also need to clean the inside of the blade holder by removing the blade and taking it apart so that any small pieces can be removed 9 6 Using Banner Fill for Embossing Engraving or Drawing in Color The Banner Fill option in ACS Studio will fill in images in either a line sweep or an S sweep movement This allows the user to emboss using the engraving tool or to draw colored images using colored markers gel pens etc For drawing in color pens or pens can be directly inserted into the blade holder seat on the cutter Embossing tools can also be directly inserted Just realize that the drawing and or embossing may be offset from any cutting around the image since the center of the tool may not be in the exact same location as the center of the blade A tutorial for adjusting for these differences can be found at http www buy acs com downloads htm Banner Fill can be selected inside Cut gt Plotting Defaults but it can also be turned on in the Cut Toolbox window as well This latter choice is probably better since it is unlikely that you will be using banner fill the majority of
91. essary Otherwise just click on OK The Sign Blank will fill with the shapes you chose and each shapes will contain the data from your text file Dianne Pat Melanie Ft Wayne Chicago Houston Sandy Karen Helen Tempe Austin Denver 5 12 Stenciling Letters Sometimes users will want to keep the waste or negative of a cut and when typing certain letters you will lose the interior portions of these letters as they are not connected to the waste portion of the material For example if you are creating a stencil and typing the name BABY then the interior parts indicated by the arrows would be lost and the resulting stencil would appear as in the figure on the right Resulting cut without stenciling the letters To avoid this a procedure called stenciling can be used to connect the interior parts to the area outside of the letters 1 Type your text and then create a tall thin rectangle and change the color so that it is not the same as the text you have typed BE 2 Use Ctrl D to duplicate the rectangle until you have one copy for every interior part needed Then arrange those rectangles so that they overlap each interior space ie a er AS ov F e S PEA ie AN y N 1 Fr d MA 1 ir ff VA pol LOA f f Ef i a OF gt f lt lt KLN Jo po t 4 I VA pol ji H o Z f j rd MA ES p A yl A e g E ia 3 Marquis select the text and
92. f Type to All Files and browse to the location of the vector file Saving and Exporting 1 2 3 4 To save a file click on the third icon from the left on the System toolbar or go to File gt Save If you ve made changes and wish to save under a different file name choose File gt Save As Name the file choose a location and click on Save If you wish to export the file in a different graphical format choose Export and then select from the many export formats available Name the file choose a location and click on Export File gt Export Image can be used to convert and export an image in a number of different raster formats such as jpg omp ACS Studio can also create backup files bak Go to Options gt Automatic Save 3 4 Manipulating Images Zooming The quickest way to zoom in and out on an image is to move the scroll wheel on your mouse If you click on your middle mouse button it will toggle on the Hand cursor which then allows you to move your image around on the screen also referred to as panning There is also a Zoom Tools icon on the Tools toolbar The options under this toolbar will allow you to perform various zoom functions such as marquis zoom zoom to Sign Blank zoom on selected object etc Experiment with each as these tools will greatly enhance your ability to work with images You can use the function keys F5 F8 to perform these same functions Refer to Zoom Shortcuts in Appendix A
93. g Instead raise the pinch wheel levers and insert the paper into the cutter aligning it evenly along the right side of the machine 6 Again press the Online button to return to offline mode Because the pinch wheels have not been lowered you can manually move the paper forward or backwards by hand Use the left and right and buttons to move the laser light until it is directly over the red circle on the calibration sheet Again make sure the calibration sheet is snug against the right side of the machine Gently push the blade holder down to puncture a hole in the calibration sheet Then remove the sheet Puncture is on X 14 line and halfway between Y 27 and Y 28 Thus the calibration values are X 14 and Y 27 5 Position laser beam at the center of the red circle 7 The location of the puncture indicates the X Y values to be entered into the Origin Adjust setting in the software Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults and click on Setup Select the Plotter Options tab Check the Edit box For the example above a value of 14 0 is entered for X and a vaule of 27 5 is entered for Y 35 8 9 Origin adjust W Edit 114 000 E 27 5 E Y Reset After entering X and Y values click on Apply and OK It is recommended that you perform a test Print and Cut to verify that your calibration is accurate You can tweak the values if necessary based on the offset you receive in your test For example if you perform
94. ging it will move the object The Center Line Tracing feature uses a bitmap to produce a Center Line traced drawing that can be cut This feature works best with larger sized objects versus photographic images Tools Toolbar gt Scan Tools Character Picker Clicking on the Character Picker icon will open the complete character set for the currently selected font The Clipping feature is used to designate an object to be a window through which other objects are viewed Tracing Arrange gt Clipping ics Close Graphics is used to join the first and last nodes of a contiguous path with a curve or straight line Arrange gt Close Graphics Use Connect Path to connect nodes in a broken path the two nodes will merge into one Arrange gt Connect Path The Contour Cut feature creates a hairline trace around an object or graphic Cut gt Contour Cut Contour Object is used to create a single shape that matches the contours of an image It can be set to retain or ignore the inner contours of the original shape Transform gt Contour Object A Corner Node is used to construct straight lines thus two corner nodes on a path will be joined by a straight line In node edit mode it appears as a A Curve Node is used to construct a curved contour thus two curve nodes on a path will be joined by a curve In node edit mode it appears as a small circle Checking the Cut by Color option will evoke the Filter by Color feature
95. gt Blank Size Select Landscape Custom Width 45 Height 13 e Because Axis Swap is turned off in the Cut Preview window your image will not be rotated and the entire image should fit within the green lines which represent your machine limits If the image extends beyond these limits return to Step 2 and increase the limits Cut Toolbox TOSAMED SRAMAQRE AAA Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults uncheck Axis Swap for front to back cutting on the ACS Under Cut gt Plotting Defaults gt Setup increase Machine Limit values to make sure the green boundaries are equal to or larger than the blue e Also when cutting longer sheets you will probably prefer the cutter to NOT return to the origin at the end of the cut To change this setting Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults and click on the Setup button Select the Plotter tab Under Origin you will see the bottom left corner indented in the small diagram This actually represents the front right corner of the cutter as the software s default orientation is front to back rather than left to right Leave this bottom left corner indented Under End Point click on the bottom right corner of the small diagram to make it indented This will now cause the cutter to return the tool to the end of the document or sign blank rather than the origin 86 Origin End point Origin End point 1117 cl Litt 1111 4 Aaa aa A H saca ae istance
96. h hold the blade holder next to the material so that you can more accurately set the length to match the thickness of the material Having the blade fully extended will NOT result in better cutting In fact it can cause skewing damage to the blade and damage to the mat or cutting strip When conducting the test cut be sure to check your mat for lines You should be able to set the length to get clean cuts but with no visible markings on the mat or backing sheet e Remember to change the Overcut and Trailing Blade values with any blade change or if your image is particularly large or small as presented in Section 2 2 Important Defaults to Check e When inserting the blade holder into the blade holder seat on the machine the tip of the blade should not be touching the material you are cutting Check the tip of the blade before tightening the screw to make sure it is slightly raised Refer to Section 9 5 Cutting Chipboard for more details Speed e With the cutter in Online mode press the top and bottom or buttons to increase or decrease the cutting speed respectively The range is from 50 mm sec to 600 mm sec Note that you can change the speed while the cutter is operating When engraving or drawing with a pen you will probably want to use higher speeds It is recommended however that you select slower speeds when cutting intricate designs or thicker denser materials e For small and or intricate designs slower speeds are better For l
97. hange Baud b 9600 v Baud rate N Parity rate to 9600 and N y Parity 8 Data bits confirm other 8 y Data bits Pet default settings 1 z Stop bis on off Flow control on off gt Flow control 7 Click on Apply and then OK It is recommended that the same USB port on your computer always be used Otherwise you will need to change the COM port assignment as you change ports 8 In this same Cut gt Plotting Defaults window under Selected Driver verify that it reads ACD Design Studio Eagle MS Select from the drop down menu if it reads otherwise 2 2 Important Defaults to Check There are dozens of settings in ACS Studio which are either critical to getting the cutting results you want or are useful for customizing the software to meet your needs The following are some of the very basic settings you ll want to check right away To fully understand how other settings will affect cutting please refer to Chapter 3 e Units Go to Options gt ACS Setup gt General Preferences and choose inches or mm e Toolbars Go to View gt Toolbars there are four in total and it s useful to have them all showing click on one to turn it on off until you determine which features you find most useful You can then create a custom toolbar with just those you need most often View gt Toolbars gt Customize e Palettes Go to View gt Palettes there are three in total The important ones are the Shop Palette which shows all available colors f
98. has its own protective backing e f your mat was sold with a can of Krylon Easy Tack carefully follow the directions on the can Shake the can well and place your mat on newspaper in a well ventilated area such as a patio or inside a garage Never spray near other objects Spray the mat back and forth vertically and horizontally making sure to cover the surface thoroughly but do not soak Allow about 30 minutes to dry e While Krylon Easy Tack has proven to be an excellent mat adhesive for cutting paper and cardstock alternative adhesives may be used in place of the Krylon If you are cutting thicker materials such as oil board or styrene then you may want to experiment with stronger adhesives or use painter s tape to secure the material to the mat If you are cutting thin paper then you may want to experiment with lighter adhesives e Use aplastic scraper an old credit card will suffice to scrape off any random material pieces remaining on the mat after a cut For finer particles of paper or lint you can use a lint roller Tear off a sheet and then press down and pull up across the surface of the mat to clean in sections e When mats begin to lose their stickiness they can be washed Use a mild dishwashing detergent warm water and a soft brush to thoroughly clean the surface Then allow to thoroughly dry Normally the mat will regain its original stickiness But if not apply more adhesive e lfthe newly sprayed mat is too sticky ca
99. hat dingbat fonts are not the only images one can be welded to letters Once a title has been converted to a graphic the letters can be arranged around any other vector image and welded 46 5 10 Welding Text to Frames Creating a frame for welding single letters monograms or a title is very easy In the following example a rectangular frame is created 6 7 10 11 Go to the Shapes Tools Tools toolbar and select the Rectangle shape Drag to draw a rectangle If you need a specific size for a project then go ahead and set the dimensions Using the steps in Section 5 2 Text Basics create the title using the font of your choice Note that when welding more than one letter you may wish to use all upper case characters so that the letters are the A JPROENIX Select the title and go to Arrange gt Text to Graphics The purpose of this step is to break apart the individual letters so they can be rearranged and even resized as necessary to overlap the rectangle AND one another if desired lt may be necessary to change the width of the rectangle to properly fit the letters Note that the letters just extend beyond the top and bottom lines of the rectangle POOJRNUIA Once you are satisfied with the arrangement of the letters select the rectangle only and go to Transform gt Contour Object Create a second rectangle outset from the first Make sure the Group Objects box is NOT checked in this window before clicking on the Se
100. he image in a thicker line which will provide a little room for error To do this first go to View gt Show Line Style and check this setting Then click on the Stroke and Fill icon on the Tools toolbar and select the Line Style icon In the Smart Bar click on the Thick Line icon 3 from left and then enter for example 0 05 for the Thickness After printing then turn off line by returning to that window Spring Spring Spring o Another way to provide room for error is to use Transform gt Outline or Transform gt Contour Object to deliberately set the cut line outside the boundaries of the image and thus place an outline of white around the outside of the colored image This is similar to the tag example shown earlier in this section where the outside boundary line could be hidden during the printing process Refer to Sections 5 4 and 5 5 O Ifyou are importing an image to auto trace for a Print and Cut then be sure to duplicate it before the auto trace and save the duplicate as the original images to line up with your tracing During the auto trace process the original will become a monochrome image that you will want to delete 4 8 Contour Cutting Go to Cut gt Contour Cut to create a contour cut line around either a vector or bitmap image In the Smart Bar will be settings for the color of the contour line the offset of the contour line shape pointed rounded or mitered as well as additional settings for tracing bitmap images
101. ically sell low lead content stones but we want our customers to be aware of the fact that there is lead in these stones Pearl Plate Stone Size Diameter _ mm 3 PP 4 PP 5 PP 6 PP 7 PP 8 PP 9 PP 10 PP 11 PP 12 PP 13 PP 14 PP 15 PP 16 PP 17 PP 18 PP 19 PP 20 PP 21 PP 22 PP 23 PP 24 PP OSS 155 255 255 355 355 45S 455 5SS 5SS 6SS 6SS 7Ss TSS 8 SS 8 SS 955 955 10 SS 10 SS 11 5S 12 SS 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 12 13 13 1 35 135 1 4 14 15 15 156 16 1 7 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 2 1 2 2 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 2 9 3 0 3 0 3 2 Aligning Circles to an Image 1 Unless you always work in metric you will probably want to be able to switch from inches to mm and back Rhinestone Standard Sizes It is recommended that 0 1 mm be added to the maximum diameter indicated for the circle size in designing rhinestone patterns 25 PP 26 PP 27 PP 28 PP 29 PP 30 PP 31 PP 32 PP 13 55 1355 14 SS 14 SS 15 55 15 55 16 SS 17 SS 18 SS 1955 20 SS 21 55 22 S5 2355 24 SS 25 SS 26 SS 27 SS 28 SS 29 55 30 SS 31 SS Pearl Plate Stone Size Diameter mm 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 34 35 35 36 36 37 3 7 3 8 3 8 4 0 40 41 42 44 44 46 46 48 48 49 49 51 51 53 53 54 54 56 56 58 5 8 6 0 6 0 6 1 6 1 6 3 6 3 6 5 65 67 32 SS 33 SS 34 SS 35 SS 36 SS 37 SS 38 SS 39 SS 40 SS 41 SS 42 SS 43 SS 44 SS 45 SS 46 SS 47 SS 48 SS 49 SS 50 SS 55 SS 60 SS P
102. ick another color or cancel Remember to reset the origin after changing materials on the mat Another alternative is to have all the images appear in the cutting window and then select which colors to cut and which ones to ignore Refer to Section 4 4 Cutting by Color Banner Fill Banner Fill is used with the engraving tip to provide filled engraving or with a pen tool to color in an image Refer to Section 9 6 Using Banner Fill for Embossing Engraving or Drawing in Color Jog Checking this box indicates that you have registration marks set in your document for a print and cut When you click on the scissors to make your cut a small window will open where you can set the position of each registration mark Refer to Section 4 7 Print and Cut Using the Laser Alignment Under Tools there are three choices O Pen is used for drawing with pens pencils markers etc or with an engraving or embossing tool Because these tools are not cut at an angle there is no Overcut or Trailing Blade settings required Do not use Pen when the blade is in the machine as there is no correction made for the direction of the blade at the start of the cut Drag Knife is used for cutting with a blade Punch drops the tool at vector points and does not connect the nodes thus it can be used with a paper piercing tool to poke holes in your material or with a pen to mark dots As with Pen there are no Overcut or Trailing Blade values needed Beneath the
103. ick on the Page Control icon near the bottom right corner of the screen and enter the maximum number of pages you plan to use and uncheck the box next to Use On All Pages unless you want that Then under Use on Page enter that last page number If you choose a different page then the maximum number of pages will be reset to the page you chose O Use the arrow keys next to the Page Control window OR click on the page number to move to a different page o Tocopy or move selected objects to another page use the typical copy paste or cut paste commands o Note that anything now placed on Page 0 ends up on all pages and can t be deleted from those pages Thus you might prefer to use Page 0 for a title only and Page 1 for project instructions 94 Zoom Shortcuts F5 and then marquis area Right click while in Shift F6 Basic Functions Ctrl Insert Shift Delete Shift Insert Alt Backspace Ctrl Backspace Screen Functions Right click screen Right click up or down arrow on setting in Smart Bar Right click on any of the 9 bounding boxes FS F6 F7 F8 F9 F11 Ctrl C Ctrl N Ctrl O Ctrl P Ctrl S Ctrl X Ctrl V Ctrl Y Ctrl Z Ctrl R Alt Alt M Alt N Alt R Alt S Alt W F4 Alt D Ctrl W ofa selected Image Appendix A Key Board Shortcuts Zoom in on marquis area Zoom out Zoom out Zoom in Zoom to selected object Fit viewing area to sign blank Previous zoom toggle
104. ide edges of the chipboard to prevent the chipboard from slipping during cutting Some thin soft chipboards may cut at a setting of 100 thus try this setting for your test cut Increase in increments of 10 as needed For denser thicker chipboards you will probably need to increase the pressure to the maximum setting of 160 and use more than one pass To simulate multi pass during the test just repeat without moving the origin The test cut will be performed in the same spot Again it is imperative that you use the Test button to make sure a clean cut can be achieved before attempting to cut your image When cutting thicker materials the blade holder needs to be raised in the blade holder seat to enhance the downward force To do this initially try 1 16 and use the Test button to verify clean cutting is obtained You may want to use a sample of your chipboard as a guide for the spacing needed Just insert a small piece between the blade holder seat and the bladeholder rim and then remove after tightening the screw on the blade holder seat This usually will give you the extra height needed to get the maximum downward force Once you determine the number of passes needed to cut a particular chipboard go to the Cut gt Plotting Defaults window and check the Multi Cut option and then enter 2 Click on Apply and OK When the image is now cut a second pass will occur Increase that number to whatever is needed to cut through a particular thickn
105. idually click on border lines or random text labels to delete You may need to use Alt D to redraw your screen occasionally and large pdf files can often give random screen quirks such as images being deleted but not disappearing fully from the screen In the end if you continue to only be able to bring up the Group Viewer and not be able to individually select an image then you can sometimes work with the image from within the Group Viewer itself Refer to the following diagram Each listing is an individual image in the file and you can click on the listings and then move down the list to view the image in the small viewer window Click on a Clip Group Group Viewer E Double click on any oI listing to open up these to change the line another grouped set of ka bine Style thickness stroke color T Line Color and fill color respectively images Clip Group Bitmap Double click on the word Bitmap and Accuscan will be activated You can proceed to set the trace settings and vectorize the current image Thumbnail of currently selected image Click on arrow and a popup window will display all thumbnails for the entire group A path refers to a vector image which can include individual letters of a typed label or a border line thus the reason you will often see so many 92 Converting from ADS to PDF Go to File gt Export and select pdf from the list of file types or more directly you can go to File gt Publish
106. in in the font drop down menu in text mode until you close and reopen ACS Studio To uninstall all fonts go to File gt Install gt Fonts and click on Reset Just as in Step 3 you must close ACS Studio and reopen for the fonts to be removed and this only uninstalls the fonts from this program e For more information on organizing fonts within ACS Studio refer to Section 5 13 The Font Detective 5 2 Text Basics 1 On the Tools toolbar click on the Text Tools icon and then select the first icon on the left Text Compose 2 Click once inside the Sign Blank area to enter text mode or hold down the left mouse button and drag a marquee to create a text frame 3 Inthe upper left portion of the Smart Bar a new drop down menu of your available fonts will appear If needed click on the plus sign next to All Fonts to open the complete list Locate and double click on the font of your choice 41 Font Font Selection Font Font Kern Line Line Detective Window Height Angle Percentage Spacing Compression n y lr ala reals Ag yo Piz j y 7 Horizontal vs Text a Alignment in Character Spell On Screen Vertical Text Justification Text Frame Mode Picker Check Kerning Width At any time you can begin typing the letters of your text title Pressing the Enter key will do a line break and allow you to continue typing a second line of text On the Smart Bar are the options for Vertical Text Font Height Font Angle Spell Check Cha
107. increased until lighter green fills leaves lt 15 Also adjust the Brightness and Contrast settings at the bottom of the screen as necessary to improve other parts of the image Once you are happy with your image then click on OK Use the Accuscan method to autotrace In the first pass the default of Logo Long Lines and Curves was chosen The result shows that the image still ended up with random specks being traced To remove those the image was retraced with a Speckle Filter setting of 50 and the Small Shape Accuracy turned off 54 Initial Trace showing many small Second Trace with higher Speckle specks being individually traced Filter and lower Small Shape Accuracy no longer showing minute specks of color being traced o cal m i a 16 As with most auto tracing additional editing may be necessary to perfect your final trace Refer to Chapter 7 Editing 17 If instead you are planning to do a print and cut then instead of mapping all of the colors you can slide the tolerance for black toward the right until the image fills with black pay E Jeanen m Sa si 7 Go to Arrange gt Break Path O Bom E F and delete exterior path Color 6 a er racing an m Increase just de iaa Ac was also oe A until image esas alien the image because O i black NJA J l y i Ft a NI JW i e om gE Or 18 Re import original image and arrange tracing to align with original No
108. ine and then using the and buttons to move the blade holder over to the front right corner of the material to be cut Click on the middle Origin button to set the origin Because you are setting the origin in the front right corner most of the mat material should be behind the cutter 9 While in the off line mode perform a test cut by pressing the Test button Press the front button to roll the mat material forward so that you can lift your material and check for the quality of the cut and whether or not you see cut lines in your mat backing material If so then remove the blade holder and lessen the exposure of the blade You will NOT get better cutting by having more blade exposed than required to penetrate the material you are cutting 10 Once your test is complete set the origin again and click on the Online button to place the ACS in online mode 11 Select the images you wish to cut as described earlier under Selecting the Image s to Cut 12 To open the cutting control window go to Cut gt Plot from the top menu or click on the Cut Tool scissors icon second from top on the Tools toolbar If you have Axis Swap checked under Cut gt Plotting Defaults it will appear as though the image has moved to a different location What has actually happened is that the Sign Blank is rotated by 90 degrees for the Cut Preview window 13 On the Smart Bar change the tool if necessary For example you may be using the pen
109. ines is rectangular the fold lines Select the rectangle tool to quickly draw a rectangle to use Once you have concluded the trace press the spacebar or click on Apply at the top to select the tracing Zoom in to have a close look at the trace lines and how they match up with the original image With regular dies cuts it s usually not critical that the tracing be all that accurate However with Print and Cuts and with fold up projects it s important to have cut and fold lines match up accurately Both red and blue trace lines need tweaking to OPN E match up to original image 98 10 Double click along one of the trace lines of the selected image to bring up the nodes or use Edit gt Edit Path One can then just drag a node to the center of the template s lines N Zoom in close on this intersection Node is outside the a enter of the Node is dragged to original line the center 11 To delete a node select it and click on the Delete key on your keyboard or right click to bring up a popup menu where you can then drag your mouse over the trash can icon to delete the node To add a node just double click anywhere along a path line More information on node editing is covered in Section 7 2 Basic Node Editing Click on a node to turn it red qn O Then right click to bring up this D Pa menu Hold down mouse and move cursor over trash can to Ban ii t delete the node if desired Do
110. ing paper For cutting long sheets skewing can be an issue To help with better alignment make sure you have room behind the cutter for the roll of vinyl Another tip is to cut off the amount of material needed for the job This helps prevent any drag caused by the roll itself For cutting long sheets you will probably need to work in a landscape mode To do this Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults and uncheck Axis Swap Click on Apply Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults click on Setup and make sure the Machine Limits length is set to the maximum length of vinyl you plan to cut at one time Go to Layout gt Blank Size Under Current Selection select Custom Under Width enter the longest amount of vinyl you plan to cut Under Height enter the width of the vinyl you are cutting For example the Sign Blank shown in the following diagram has been set to Width 48 Height 15 Position your images towards the left side so that they will cut close to the origin Because Axis Swap has been turned off the left side of the Sign Blank rather than the bottom represents the front of the cutter OR under Cut gt Plotting Defaults switch from Sign Blank mode to Page mode and then the images will automatically start cutting at the origin Refer back to the diagrams in Section 4 1 Cutting Defaults to review where images will cut Note you still set the origin on the ACS in the front right corner To create this particular Sign Blank Layout
111. ing a Windows emulator on a Mac then restart the computer After you have successfully installed the software an ACS Studio icon should now be present on your desktop Install the security key dongle into a free USB port on your computer Launch the software Place the ACS on a sturdy horizontal surface If you have not yet done so attach the bolt on tables to the cutter Refer to the instructions in Section 1 7 Attaching the ACS Bolt On Tables If you are not going to use the tables then be sure to allow enough free room in both the front and the back for the mat to extend during cutting Connect the power cord to the left side of the cutter and plug into a wall outlet or power strip Turn on the power using the power switch on the left side The yellow LED display should come on and the cutter will initialize carriage will move to the far right side of the cutter Note that the display indicates the current pressure and speed settings Refer to Section 1 4 Keypad Panel to learn the various display modes and how to make changes A USB Connection Turn off the cutter and connect the USB cable to the right side of the cutter and into an available USB port on your computer Turn on the cutter If your computer is running Windows XP or Windows Vista the hardware manager will identify the USB connection If the Hardware Installation window pops open proceed and accept all defaults On the Control Panel press the Menu button and verify that the
112. ings somewhat similar to those used in the Accuscan process in Section 6 1 Check the box next to Centerline Trace Only and the box next to the bottom right yellow diagram Try the other settings shown below but make changes based on how your image differs from the one used in this tutorial For detailed information on these settings refer to Appendix D Settings for Auto tracing Centerline Tracing Setup e Check this choice to get Options f f Centerline trace on a single trace line C aca f pa trace _ Cancel Increase if you see random small speckles you want to be ignored Path creation Decrease to get smoother APTO tracing but accuracy will be CT Ti Set to 300 Refer to Appendix D lost Speckle h gw Resolution DPI 300 ee a Select based on look of image a Lower value for curved images Try 0 1 for both Refer to E fi higher value for sharp corners Appendix D for guidelines on p ne a changing truncate endpoints 10 E Check this option 56 4 Click on the Vectorization button and watch the progress bar at the bottom of the screen When it reaches 100 you can then close this window by clicking on Close Click once on the image and then drag one image away from the other Original Image Vector Image ready to cut 5 Turn on Fill to make sure any closed paths are continuous If not then located and weld disconnected adjacent nodes or try the Connect Path fun
113. inner Similarly if your letter is too bulky or if you want to slightly shrink a cutting path for say a print and cut then use the inline feature in either of these menu choices 5 6 Fitting Text to Curves 1 Type the letters you wish to fit to a curve using the method described in Section 5 2 Text Basics In this example Arial Narrow is the select font and the text will be fit to a circle SUMME 2 With the title selected go to Transform gt Fit Text to Arc The title will immediately be placed at the top of a circle and the Smart Bar will show a series of settings to use to customize the look Specifically changing the Arc Angle or Radius will adjust the amount of the curve 44 Clicking on a different icon in the Smart Bar the word can be fit to the arc at the bottom which will curve the word in the other direction When the desired look is achieved click on the Arrow icon on the Tools toolbar to complete the process The arc will disappear leaving the curved word a Umme To put a welded title on a curve select the image and go to Transform gt Transformation Note the various transformation options that now appear on the Smart Bar Use the last set on the right to curve your welded title Adjust the little handles on the ring to customize the look 5 7 Fitting Text to Paths 1 4 In this case the Graphics Edit Tools icon is first picked from the Tools toolbar and the middle Free Edit icon selected
114. instead of a blade but you prefer to keep the Drag Knife as your default tool 14 The Repeats button allows you to cut more than one of the same image you select Refer to Section 3 5 Filling a Page with the Same Image 15 Zoom out so that you can see the entire document area Move the Cut Toolbox window out of the way 16 If you are in Page mode versus Sign Blank mode you can now move your image to any portion of the document area if you wish Note you can also toggle between Page mode and Sign Blank mode using the Select Mode icon refer to diagram below 31 17 Also if you are in Page Mode versus Sign Blank mode the overall size of your image is shown to the right of the location information in the Smart Bar You can modify the size by dragging one of the corners of the image or typing in a specified size in the length or width field When you make this change it oly applies to the version you are about to cut When you close this window and return to your regular document area the original size will still be intact 18 The Cut Toolbox window provides additional options such as rotating and mirroring the image cutting only certain colors or dashed lines pounce banner fill using a pen to color in the image or engraving tool to emboss weeding cutting a rectangular border around your image etc Below is a screen shot of the Cut Toolbox window and an indication of each function Registration Marks Nesting Zoomi
115. inting and turn on Fill to make outline vanish Y Y Michael Michael and and Jennifer Jennifer wedding Day Wedding Day 2 14 87 2 14 87 Tag with black outline No Fill Tag with white outline turn on Fill 6 Go to File gt Print and click on the appropriate printer from the list Click on Setup and verify you have Portrait selected Every printer will have different windows under Setup thus you may need to click on other tabs to locate your Portrait Landscape setting If your images or registration marks are close to the outside margins you may need to check a Borderless Printing option as well Then close this window to return to the Print window 7 Check the box next to Preview Then click on the Preferences tab Check the box next to Entire Area Click on Close 8 Click on OK and the Print Preview window will open In the small icon with the grid click in the center box This will now center your images on the page Click the center box to indent This should read 100 If not check Borderless and turn blue Printing or required margins by your printer 7 de x 2 76 2 48 Scale by EZETA Rows 1 o Pit etup Ly va aan inches 100 0 Z Columns 1 Cancel 9 Your image on the screen should now appear as shown lf it appears as though it is on several pages verify you have the correct orientation setting under your printer settings Also make sure there are no images outside the boundaries of your Sig
116. into c ACS Studio Fonts Under Look In browse to locate this folder Then check the boxes next to Locate Corel WEN font files and Locate CADLink VEF type font files Click on the Search Now button to list all fonts You can click on Install All and the entire list of fonts will be made available in ACS Studio Alternatively you can pick and choose individual fonts by clicking on the names in the list Note that holding down the Ctrl key will allow you to select unselect more fonts from the list Click on the Install button when you are ready to make those highlighted available in ACS Studio To convert the WFN and VEF font names from the original DOS 8 character restriction click on Convert and then locate the fontlist ini file contained in your c ACS Studio folder e To uninstall fonts from ACS Studio 1 4 On the Tools toolbar click on the Text Tools icon and then right click on the first icon on the left Text Compose The Font Detective window will open Under Font click on the first name and it will be highlighted in blue Then use the down arrow on the keyboard to cycle through the fonts you have installed and a sample will appear in the window above When you find a font you no longer want installed in ACS Studio click on Uninstall and it will be removed Note that it only uninstalls the font within ACS Studio and not in Windows itself if it s a font that was also installed in Windows Also note that the font will rema
117. ion 5 10 If you want a single circle Then after welding break apart the image and delete the outer circle Can fonts be edited using nodes or vectorized Can one drag the bottom right portion of the letter R to underline the rest of a title word Select the word and go to Arrange gt Text to Graphics The letters are now individual paths with editable nodes Typing a title from an open or hollow font results in double lines Use Center Line Tracing to trace any words or objects that are hollow and only one path will be drawn Refer 104 to Section 6 2 Alternatively use Arrange gt Break Path after tracing and then select one of the paths to delete Some fonts result in very jagged edges Also some of my tracings too Use Segment Edit to smooth jagged edges as needed Refer to Section 7 4 With some fonts the letters are almost on top of each other After typing the title use the On Screen Kerning function to space letters as desired See Section 5 4 Also the Kern Percent variable on the Smart Bar can also be adjusted before typing the letters When I type a title in text mode nothing happens I see the hourglass appear but no text appears Make sure the font height on the Smart Bar is set to at least 0 5 inches At the minimum value the text is too small to be visible on the screen Software Issues Editing notice the outline of my Sign Blank is not showing have the rulers set on the top and side but cannot see the bla
118. ions Microsoft Word contains a Word Art function to create another large variety of interesting looks A Word Art title can be copied in Microsoft Word pasted into ACS Studio and is ready to cut 5 9 Incorporating Dingbat Images in a Title A quick way to create a welded letter title with an image attached it to use any of thousands of dingbat fonts available from the Internet for free In this example Brush Script font is being used for the letters and Wingdings will be used for the image 1 Using the steps in Section 5 2 Text Basics create the title FLORIDA 2 Do the kerning as described in Section 5 4 Connected Letter Title with a Mat but do not weld yet Instead select the title and go to Arrange gt Text to Graphics Now the letters can be treated individually Marquis select the left side and drag away from the right to allow spacing for an image 3 Click on the Text tools icon again to return to Text mode From the Font Selection menu locate the dingbat font of choice Then click on the Character Picker icon on the Smart Bar O A character set window will open and you can scroll through the choices to locate the particular image you wish to use Click on the image to insert it into the Sign Blank area Click the Close button on the Character Picker window 4 Arrange the dingbat image as desired Continue with the welding steps outlined in Section 5 4 Connected Letter Title with a Mat IE MIDS 5 Note t
119. iptions of the functionality of the default items can be found under Help gt Index gt Cutting and Plotting gt Plotting Defaults e Again you do not have to change these parameters with every cut These are the default settings When you open the cutting control window you can select or override these settings for any particular cut Only Multi Cut must be set in the Plotting Defaults Window 4 2 Settings for Your Materials and Images Naturally your own experimentation will teach you the best speed and pressure settings to use with your images and materials The following are very rough guidelines to use as a Starting basis Always start with more 28 conservative settings and then increase as needed This will prevent unnecessary wear on the mat and dulling of the blade due to over cutting Get into the habit of using the Test button on the ACS itself to make sure your settings are sufficient In the off line mode Test will cut a small test shape so you can check for completeness of the cut and ensure the blade has only cut the material and is not cutting into the mat Blade e Atthe time of this writing there are two blades provided with your ACS The red capped blade is a good choice for cutting thinner materials such as paper vinyl and flat cardstock The white capped blade is good choice for cutting thicker materials such as textured cardstock motif template rubber chipboard oil board and styrene e When setting the blade lengt
120. itch to straight line tracing In the following example a wine bottle is traced of the bottle with The trace is started near the i top of the bottle and straight lt i ES straight lines line is drawn Continue curve tracing to fit curvature of bottle DNO Again use j 4 curve tracing for this part Switch back to straight line tracing for this part e to Switch to curve tracing T straight line for bottom of bottle Finish up the top Once the curve section s begins right click to bring up 24 menu and pick top right circle icon 60 7 Editing 7 1 Breaking Paths Making Paths Use Alt S or click on the Show Fill icon in order to fill the image with color This will often provide a better view of your final cut and help you determine where you might want to make changes Note however that one image may cover up another and both will still cut Select the entire image and select Arrange gt Break Path or Ctrl J This will break the image into individual paths and allow you to delete separate paths or edit them Click once on any line and only the connected path of that line will be selected Press the Delete key if you wish to delete that path Double click on any line and the vector points will appear along the path and be available for editing 7 2 Basic Node Editing Depending on what kind of object you ve created you may need to break path or convert to curves first
121. k Tool Break the contour at the selected node A Tangent Node Change the currently selected node into a Tangent node Tool or specify that new nodes must be Tangent type In Polyarc mode the three node type icons will not appear because there is only the curve node available Otherwise the remaining tools serve the same purpose shown above A series of hot keys can also come in handy while editing nodes For example simply moving the mouse over any node and pressing the R key on the keyboard will delete that node Or pressing the A key at any time will add a node at that location Refer to the complete list of shortcut keys under Editing Vectorized Images in Appendix A 7 3 Reducing Nodes With the nodes showing drag the left mouse button to marquis select any group of nodes To select ALL the nodes in a given path use Ctrl A on the keyboard You can also hold the Shift key and repeat in a different area to select more nodes at the same time Press the U key on the keyboard and every other node will be selected in red Press the Delete key and those selected nodes along those paths will be deleted thus instantly eliminating half Repeat the process if desired but use with care Deleting too many nodes can distort the image If the image is a polyarc then the overall number of nodes can be reduced by going to Arrange gt Reduce Nodes A window will open with a setting for Allowable Error The smaller the number entered the more nodes that
122. ke it the current layer Any new objects now created will be assigned to that layer 3 To assign an object to a different layer select the object and then click once on the layer number OR if the object is closed and fill is turned on then you can drag and drop the layer number box onto the object 4 To turn off layers and thus hide the objects assigned to that layer either double click to open the layer box and uncheck the Active setting and click on Change Alternatively hold down the Ctrl key and click on a layer box to make it inactive Repeating this will re activate the layer box 5 To collapse all layers back to Layer 1 click on the Context Menu button icon with three small dots just to the left of Layer 1 and select Collapse All Layers 25 Grouping Grouping is used to link objects together so they are treated as one Select all objects to be grouped and go to Arrange gt Group Now when you click on any one of the objects all will be selected and most any function or operation chosen will be applied to all such as resizing re coloring stretching flipping deleting etc To ungroup go to Arrange gt Ungroup You can have grouped images within other groups For example you can group three images Then group another two images Then group those two groups together If you then go to Arrange lt Ungroup the Original two groups will still exist until they are also ungrouped Double clicking a grouped set of imag
123. lank Size and View gt Show Sign Blank p o Q a D gt 3 O A ANRGN Checking Sign Blank will place images in the cut window in same location as in the Sign Blank Cut gt Plotting Plotting Defaults pelaulls Sign Blank When selected a new object with the exact dimensions of the current Sign Blank is created Layout gt Sign Object Blank Object 100 o lolo 31312 o a a 2 3 w lt 5 D O Sort from Plotting Defaults Sort and Cut All Text To Undo Navigator Vector Images Weld O S o R Q D 2 Z E T ws O 3 J Lo O D 5 JI a D gt z O D x D 3 JQ gt O O n 5 O D 3 Q O 2 10 Q o C O Q o Q 5 da 3 D O O dp F Vz o ray O Q O 5 D D Q a 5 17 Applying the Simplify command to an object will break the association between the object and tool path which will allow the object nodes to be edited without changing the tool path contour Arrange gt Simplify The Smart Bar is a changing toolbar which appears at the top of the screen and provides settings according to the type of operation that is currently selected Smoothing refers to the number of vectors or arcs used to represent the actual curves when cutting A higher setting will increase the number that represent a curve producing a smoother cut Cut gt Plotting Defaults The Sort option controls the order in which objects will be cut It can be set based on proximity of th
124. lbar and pick the Close Path tool Click once on the left and once on the right near the bottom of the leaf and stem making sure the start and end points are outside the path lines Click on Apply and then click away from the image to deselect it Click once on the leaf and then move the leaf and stem away from the apple Repeat the Ginsu Knife process to separate the leaf from the stem In this case the left mouse button was held down and a hand drawn curve was used to separate the stem from the leaf for a more natural look a At this point each piece can be edited if the curves need smoothing or the shapes need altering according to what you might prefer In this example the top of the apple was made a little smoother and the leaf and stem were made larger relative to the apple Then the pieces were re colored for the file cut DL 68 8 Designing 8 1 Adding Guidelines to the Sign Blank In ACS Studio not only can the user add vertical and horizontal guidelines but also guidelines at any specified angle Note that the guidelines have magnetic properties images will snap to them as you move the images close e To access this feature first make sure no objects are selected Then right click in any blank area of the screen and the Edit Guides window will open Within that window guidelines can be added deleted changed and locked Edit Guides o e 7 _OQzSzE E RrxIDOBn xan il iI War Add parallel line at
125. ld down the Shift key and click once on another color to add those images to the selection e To turn off or hide images of a particular color hold down the Ctrl key and then click on one of the colors from the Shop Palette or Job Palette All objects of that color will immediately change to a dotted line indicating they are hidden and no longer selectable Repeating this step will return objects of that color to a normal state Alternatively holding down the Alt key while selecting a color will hide all objects that are NOT that color Again this is a toggle process One can also select objects based on size Go to Edit gt Select By Size and the Smart Bar provides a number of options such as the biggest smallest bigger than an object you select or smaller than an object you select If you pre select an object before going to this window the Smart Bar will show the dimensions of the selected object in the top left corner Deleting To delete an image select it and press the Delete key or go to Edit gt Clear One can also use Ctrl X or Edit gt Cut to Clipboard which will make the deleted item available for pasting elsewhere Moving e Click on the Select Tools icon top icon on the Tools toolbar e If your image is not already selected click once on any of the image s trace lines and nine small squares will appear e Hold down your left mouse button on the center square A new cursor with double headed arrows will appear Y
126. lect tool icon on the Tools toolbar IPISIOVRIN ILA Click on the inner rectangle then hold down the Shift key and click on the outer rectangle Then click on the Weld Tools Tools toolbar and use the third tool KOR Weld to transform the two rectangles into a frame In Outline Mode you will not see a difference however in Fill Mode you will see that a frame has been created Make sure the lettering and the frame are the same color Then use Ctrl A to select the frame and all letters Click on the Weld tools Tools toolbar and choose the Basic Weld tool first icon the left The overlapping lines will vanish and your welded title frame is ready to cut JS OJEINLA 5 11 Badges 1 Badges is a feature which allows you to create nametags place cards personalized invitations etc from a list of names in a text file You can have multiple fields on the badge such as name business department etc The badge itself can be in any shape you choose including your own designs Remember however that the ACS is not a printer and text is either cut or printed in outline form Of course Banner Fill can be turned on to fill in in the letters if using a pen Refer to Section 9 6 Using Banner Fill for Embossing or Drawing in Color In the following example a heart and two text objects have been created One text object has the word Name and the other has the word Hometown When typing your words as soon
127. left Cut gt Plot also 2nd icon from top on Tools toolbar Arrange gt Simplify The following keystrokes are available to use in creating your own hot keys A D S Ctrl 0 thru Ctrl 9 F thru K Home M thru Q End U thru Z Page Up O thru 9 Page Down To do this 1 Select Options gt Customize Shortcuts Select menu item from left side Click on Assign and then Apply 2 3 Under Press New Shortcut Key enter keystroke you wish to use 4 97 Appendix B_Terminology Most definitions below also contain the menu or toolbar location Note that some functions in this list or in the software are not present in the user manual but information can be found by going to Help gt Index and then locating the term under the Index tab The AccuScan feature contains the tools required to convert a bitmap into a line traced drawing format which can then be cut Tools Toolbar gt Scan Tools The Anchor Nub is a small anchor icon appearing in the Smart Bar during select mode Position the anchor over the image and the coordinates will appear Or type new X and Y coordinates in the Smart Bar and the anchor and image will be moved to the new coordinates The AND Weld will generate a combined object that is composed of only overlapping sections of the original AND Weld objects Tools Toolbar gt Weld Tools Arc Edit The Arc Edit tool is used for creating and editing polyarcs Tools Toolbar gt Graphic Edit Tools i The Aspect
128. levers into the upward position Remove the accessories from the tool tray and place in a separate bag We also recommend retaining the original box with the Styrofoam inserts in case you ever need to ship your ACS Additionally o DO NOT touch or jam the plotter s track while it is operating If the cutter is damaged it is the owner s responsibility o DONOT shake the cutter while it is operating o DONOT cut any materials that have staples or other embellishments attached o DO NOT touch the cutter with a magnet o DO NOT allow small items to fall into the cutter o TURN OFF the cutter when not in use 1 2 Contents of Box Please verify that you have received the following items If anything is missing please contact your ACS supplier as soon as possible as 70 ACS Cutter ACS Studio Installation CD 1100 Font and 3900 Clip art CD Blade Holder Two blades red cap and white cap Laser Calibration Sheet Testing Pen Holder with 2 pen inserts AE El 1 EE Cutting Mat optional Krylon Spray optional User Manual Ruler Power Cord Serial and USB Cables Bolt on Tables 1 3 Parts Diagram Blade Carriage Blade Holder Seat Pinch Wheel Positioning Label Total of 4 5 on 24 Cutting Strip Grit Shaft beneath Pinch Wheels Total of 4 5 on 24 Pinch Wheel Front OA Total of 3 4 on 24 esa some models USB Port Power Port RS232 Serial Port On Off Switch Left Side Right Side
129. lled Cut a section of rhinestone transfer tape to cover the rhinestone pattern Remove the backing and apply over the top of the rhinestones Press down on the tape so that the rhinestones will adhere well and can be pulled away from the template The tape can then be placed back onto its backing sheet OR the tape can be immediately placed onto the T Shirt or other item for heat pressing If the original design uses different colors and or different sized rhinestones then cut each section of the pattern separately This can be done by coloring the circles differently in the software and then using one of the methods described in Section 4 4 Cutting by Color Steps 8 10 above can be repeated for each part of the pattern cutting a different piece of rubber each time Then the same rhinestone transfer tape sheet can be pressed down to pick up the rhinestones for that section of the pattern aligning carefully so that the rhinestones fill in the pattern in the appropriate spots with the other rhinestones 85 9 3 Cutting Vinyl e While there are many types and thickness of vinyl in general it is very easy to cut Thus start with a conservative estimate for the pressure setting in the initial test cut say 30 Use the red capped blade and start with barely any blade exposed Do the test cut and then gently lift the corner of the vinyl from the backing paper Make sure the test rectangle is a clean cut and the blade did not penetrate the back
130. lotting Defaults window the Object Start Point can be modified to change the location within each object for the cut to begin Note that Current refers to the arrow locations shown when you enter the Node Edit mode for any object e To further pinpoint the actual starting node of the cut and whether a closed path cuts clockwise or counter clockwise refer to the node editing diagram in Section 7 2 Basic Node Editing 4 7 Print and Cut Calibrating the Laser Light This calibration is necessary to make sure your print and cuts are accurate It only needs to be done one time It is recommended that you take note of the final calibration numbers in case you ever need to reinstall the software 1 Itis necessary that metric be used in the calibration process To temporarily switch ACS Studio to metric go to Options gt Toggle Units 2 A calibration sheet has been included in your box If it is missing you can download this file from http www buy acs com downloads htm 3 Turn on the cutter Press the Online button to go into offline mode Press the Menu button to display LED Laser Press the Origin button to turn on the laser light which will appear below the blade carriage 4 Insert a blade into the blade holder and make sure enough blade protrudes to puncture the calibration sheet Insert the blade holder into the blade holder seat on the cutter 5 Do not place the calibration sheet on the mat you will not be cuttin
131. lows In all cases the Pen Diameter was set to 0 02 0 5 mm Again test these settings on a single small image first and adjust to get the look you desire Overlap Pressure Percent Setting Paper 15 1 15 Cardstock 15 80 100 Aluminum 36g 15 50 Copper 36g 75 75 Normal Vellum 195 1 5 Heavy Vellum 15 30 40 Paper and Cardstock may not yield the results you want Instead try inserting your own embossing tools directly into the blade holder seat Use a larger diameter setting but keep the percentages the same Also use higher pressure settings 9 8 Using Instant Replay and the Storage Bin e At any time one can select View gt Instant Replay to open the Instant Replay window All objects on the screen will be displayed Selecting an object will then display a list of the basic settings for that object such as color and line style followed by any changes that have been made to the object such as resizing moving rotating If you wish to apply the exact same changes from one object to another you can highlight those changes click on the first icon on the left at the top Copy to Clipboard select the other object and click on the second icon Paste from Clipboard e The third icon Show Clipboard is also called the Storage Bin and opening this window will show all the steps that are waiting to be pasted These steps can also be saved in a separate file if needed later 9 9 Block Nesting Block Nesting can
132. markings to measure the sides of your square Note these lengths on the X and Y axes 10 Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults Click on Setup and then the Plotter Options tab Check the box next to Manual Calibration 11 Inthe top two X and Y boxes enter 6 0 In the bottom two X and Y boxes enter the precise measurements from your square W Manual calibration Size on screen in inches ex e Size on cutter in inches 5 875 e 6 125 Y 12 Click on Calculate Scale Then click on Apply and OK 13 Draw the square again and confirm that it now has 6 sides 4 If the values are closer but one or both are still slightly off your target repeat Steps 10 12 If the values appear to be deviating rather than closing in on your target sizes then confirm again that you have Axis Swap turned off AND you are correctly assigning the X and the Y values 15 You may wish to return the Axis Swap and Sign Blank settings to a checked position under Cut gt Plotting Defaults Also if you switched the Tool to Pen then switch back to Drag Knife before cutting Remember to click on Apply before clicking on Close e Note that the Laser Alignment Light used in print and cut applications must be calibrated separately Refer to Section 4 7 18 3 ACS Studio Basics 3 1 Main ACS Studio Screen e Below is a screen shot of the main screen in ACS Studio identifying the major parts Note the specific names of the items shown below
133. mber to switch back to Drag Knife before cutting 89 9 7 Using the Engraving Embossing Drop In Tool e The engraving tool an optional accessory sold at http www buy acs com can be used to engrave on thin metal sheets as well as emboss on vellum and other materials e This drop in tip replaces the blade in the blade holder Warning the drop in engraving tip must be inserted correctly into the blade holder If the wrong end of this tool is use it can permanently damage the blade holder e You will need to experiment with the pressure setting Thinner materials will require less pressure perhaps a setting as low as 1 Thicker materials will need more pressure You may find that you prefer the look at some pressure settings versus others even though both are successfully engraving the material e Use the Banner Fill function described in the previous Section 9 5 to emboss shapes or letters onto materials Vellum especially yields beautiful white images when embossed with the ACS Try other pressures than those recommended below for a variety of intensity e A felt strip also sold separately can be placed over the regular cutting strip on your ACS and the mat will not be needed when using the engraving tool This allows for deeper impressions to be made on the material When you return to using the mat and knife it is fine to leave the felt strip in place It will not interfere with your cutting e Recommended settings are as fol
134. n Blank which are being included in the print 3 o o o o f o o j 10 Click on Print and the arrow and registration marks will be printed Place the printout on the mat and load into the ACS If using Axis Swap your printout should be on the mat and loaded into the cutter in the same orientation as you view it on the screen 11 Select an appropriate speed pressure and blade length for your printout material If using ordinary printer paper a pressure setting of 40 should be sufficient Do a test cut near the front right corner as usual and adjust your pressure to get a clean cut without cutting into the mat 12 If you have a ACS Groove E insert the Alignment Pin If you have a ACS MAXX then turn on the laser as described in Step 3 of Calibrating the Laser Light 13 Return again to the Offline mode and use the and keys on the control panel to move the laser light alignment pin to just outside the front right registration mark Set the Origin on the cutter Note that this is an exception to setting the origin in the front right corner of the material you are cutting v Move the laser light just below and to the right of this registration mark to set your origin Front of ACS 14 Return to Online mode by pressing the Online button 15 Use Ctrl A to select the image and registration marks Select the Cut Tool ic
135. n assigned to the USB 12 MosChip Unusable Parallel Port LPT3 connection and on the a E Processors Sound video and game controllers aa Sound video and game controllers 4 gt Storage controllers right COM 8 was l Hi System devices assigned to the Serial Connection i gt Storage controllers i H E System devices F a Universal Serial Bus controllers Universal Serial Bus controllers 4 If you do not see a Ports subfolder first try a different USB port and check your USB cable then contact your ACS Supplier for assistance or visit our message board at the link on Page 1 5 Goto Cut gt Plotting Defaults and click on Setup Click on the Port tab Verify that Direct to Port is checked 6 Under Port Location select the COM Port determined in Step 3 If you are using a serial connection you will also need to check the Edit box and change the Baud rate to 9600 Also refer to Section 1 4 Step 4 where it shows how to change the Baud rate on the Keypad Panel as well Changes in both locations are necessary for the serial connection to work USB Connection Serial Connection Select assigned ae Select assigned A COM port from gt COM port from gt coms y drop down menu Dos FP drop down menu DOS E Data rate Data rate 2 min 2 min r A r default Curent COMM settings Current COMM settings Confirm other 57600n81x 7 Edi nsis W Edt lt Check Edit default settings 57600 Baud rate C
136. n cut order or you can drag items to new locations in the list Sequence By List Sequence By List He star lt Star will be cut last Circle was moved up to cut next to last Arrow was moved to 3 3 Circle 4 Circle will be cut first cut first Alternatively and this is especially important if all the objects are the same basic shape use Layout gt Sequence gt Start Sequence by Vector In this case select the first object BEFORE invoking this command A blue line will appear extending from the center of your selected first object Click anywhere in the middle of the next object you wish to cut and then the third and the fourth and so forth After the last object is selected click anywhere outside of the objects These objects will now cut in the order you clicked 34 Sort e The order in which objects are cut can also be set either by going to Cut gt Plotting Defaults OR within the Cut window itself by clicking on the Display Sort Dialog icon 9 icon from the right in the Cut Toolbox window There are four options for the order Nearest objects closest on one another will be cut first Database based on front to back arrangement Horizontal and Vertical In the Cut window when the Sort Dialog Box is opened one also has the option of checking a box which will then number the objects on the screen showing the cut order Object Start Point and Path Direction e Inthe Cut gt P
137. n er aCe ae oe 79 END VIG AGI IN SOI AOS pai eins 81 Using Regular FONS IRNOS TONE Application Se SERA ASA AAA AAA EA EEE AAA aaa asad Maca 81 Filing Images TOF Rhinestone APN CANONS a aaa e do 03 9 2 CUTTING MOTIF TEMPLATE RUBBER AND SETTING RHINESTONES ccccccsccssccsssssscsessceesenesonesenssenesseessesssusseesseesseessenssersserseneeaneesnnaness 85 IS CUTTNG VINY G seana a a teatro tl to lo Et ska mata oan gana nc wae std caata ea dauibaa eaten eae SietaeaReT eR 86 A ee vg etapa able ng lace ahs E A EAT 87 OWI WOOT NAAA EA AAA aR AEEA 87 9 4 CUTTING FABRIC AND PELT incsialmcsidondustutindiintahd vosssdnsntaianbntadictetiasite nnsentdendaaniiestacticdesisitd io colada dd in deta 87 9 CUTTING CHIPBOARD APP ondene oes endesa ordea dann OSERE e o RO E EOI A 88 9 6 USING BANNER FILL FOR EMBOSSING ENGRAVING OR DRAWING IN COLOR cccccssccsscssscsesesesssesesecesecsueseresueseueceusceuscauseusenseneeneeneys 88 9 7 USING THE ENGRAVING EMBOSSING DROPSIN TOO sitiada 90 9 8 USING INSTANT REPLAY AND THE STORAGE BIN cctsdindvczasbsarsbacnndianativandeadindsonastvandvecnatiung tivaidasduatoased aai iiia id i 90 LI BLOCK NESTING tada a a a 90 TIELE SONES ON Sata addons 91 CONVENIO AMO ADS MA O 91 Converting from PDF to ADS and Vice V rSa ssccscsssssssessssssssessssssssssesssssessesessacssesesssssesssessacsesssssausesscssasacssssssacsessesessacasesessacaeseseasacasesessacseases 91 CONVerting TOIT PADS LO F DF aie a ie ec ia A AR AA RA 93
138. nce the user will need to have the same font installed on their computer and you will want the text to be easy to read Welcome pop up card Folds to 4 x 6 Pounce red and blue lines Cut black lines Font Used Bookman Old Style Bold Fold Lines are in red and blue WYLO 78 9 1 Preparing Images for Rhinestone Applications In rhinestone applications the first step is to create a pattern of circles which will be cut from a template and 9 Special Topics then filled with the rhinestones The details of the actual cutting transfer and application process are covered in the following Section 9 2 Cutting Motif Template Rubber and Setting Rhinestones Rhinestones come in specific sizes with a minimum to maximum outside diameter Always note the maximum diameter when selecting the sizes of your circles and calculating settings in ACS Studio For example an 11 SS 23 PP rhinestone will have a diameter range of 2 9 3 0 mm Then when designing or modifying a pattern to cut you will want to make the circles slightly larger Therefore for the 11 SS 23 PP rhinestones set the diameter of the cut circles at 3 1 mm Refer to the chart below for the industry standards on rhinestone sizes Important warning All glass rhinestones have some lead content so keep away from children The content is very low however the US Government has restrictions on anything with lead content for children At www buy acs com we specif
139. ng happened during welding CISLLAAA AAA AA CAMAALAA A ADA AO Before welding After welding 3 Delete the outline and then the border can be cut and arrange inside the stenciled opening in the word LAN RVD AMIA A LA IA MUA Outline deleted Heart border positioned Final design 19 8 11 Clipping Clipping can be used to fill letters or images with a bitmap image In the following example a vector heart has been drawn and a bitmap image of roses imported Note that the image you place over the bitmap must have fill turned on use Alt S to toggle the fill on and off VEVE Y y 1 Draw heart and 2 Duplicate heart and 3 Select bitmap and heart and go import bitmap image arrange on top of to Arrange gt Clipping gt Clipping bitmap image o 4 Perform a Transform gt Inline on the 5 Select both hearts and 6 Select pink heart and use Ctrl B black heart to make the shape slightly use Alt 7 to center one with to send to the back Add smaller to cut just inside the bitmap the other registration marks The image is heart An inline color of pink was picked ready to print and cut 8 12 Creating Lattice Designs 1 Draw a square and make it 25 on both sides 2 Select the square and go to Layout gt Array Duplicate the settings shown here Then click on Close EE grid t 0 200 a w fy 38 Total 10 y Cloze ft ak e 0 200 Total 10 E H Curent Settings 3 Use Ctrl A to select all of the boxes and go
140. ng Poll Plotter Pounce Select Mode Sort and Cut All Colors Cut E LL Se AS ZA Mirror Tiling Weed Border Sort JOO Filter by Color Barner Fill CETA Rotate 19 When you are ready to cut click on the Cut scissors icon on the far right of the Cut Toolbox window Or you can click on Cut Preview and then Cut Now on the Smart Bar 20 If you are using a serial connection you may receive any of several popup error messages At the time of this writing you can click on Cancel and the cut will proceed normally If the ACS does not proceed to cut then verify you have changed the BAUD rate to 9600 on both the ACS and in the software refer to the Port Setup subsection of Section 2 1 If the problem persists contact your ACS Supplier 21 If anything goes wrong during the cut press the Pause button on the cutter to stop the cut This is your panic button Turn off the ACS and then turn back on again Take the necessary steps to begin your cut fresh 4 4 Cutting by Color If you have images of varying colors and wish to cut some of the colors at once but not all then you can select which ones to allow and which ones to ignore There are several methods to achieve this Method A Sort and Cut All Colors 1 Select your images in the main document window and then click on the Cut Tools icon to open the cutting window 2 Inthe Cut Toolbox window click on the second icon from the right This will open the Sort Cut O
141. ng or selling your designs consider a few of the following options 17 If you ve created lettering with any particular font the users of your file will also need that same font installed unless you first convert the text to a graphic If they do not have the font available they will receive a message to replace the font with one already installed before the file will open To prevent this from happening select your text and go to Arrange gt Text to Graphics If you ve already welded your text then this step is not necessary If you ve creating lettering consider sharing the name of the font you used in case the user wants to journal in the same font or create additional text from the same font to cut To do this use the Notes feature mentioned below All files should be test cut to make sure the final product is exactly as you had planned in your design and the cutting is smooth and relatively fast Photos or scans of the final product are also a worthy inclusion with your file Instructions may also be necessary if your file involves folding or it s a detailed paper piecing Again the Notes feature allows you to easily add text to your file text that won t be cut If you want your instructions in a separate file be sure to create them in a format that most users can open such as txt doc or pdf If you wish to place images on separate layers or even on different pages within the same file refer to the information on Sheet Laye
142. ng vertically through These settings can be ee VC lt M the image as it redrawn tested when retracing as Brightness to reflect changes in the needed T HE settings KN o Click on OK to go A to next window _ x o 4 When you click on OK a progress bar will appear across the bottom of the screen Then a new window will open in which you will link each color in the top image to a color number on the right 91 Tolerance om _ nmm On nmmn IN _ nmm CI B js Black will already be assigned Check ll A the next Color in the list and then Li Je i click on another color in the upper Boece oe image on the left That color will then o a appear in the lower image Continue Mos oo until all desired colors are filled GE a Morro m Morro onam a Mora ua s y s s 9 s s y y 9 s y s s y 9 5 The next step is to adjust the Brightness and Contrast until the image in the lower window is as clear as possible Zoom in as indicated below and note that the segments no longer have lighter shades along the black borders JE A ee ee eo ee ee ee A i id Scroll the Brightness and Sa Contrast bars to get a clean filled in appearance Y oo EE ES E Click here to zoom in close You can then pan the When satisfied with the lower area by dragging your mouse over the image image click on OK 6 Upon clicking on OK a progress bar will appear at the bottom of the sc
143. ng window lt Measure Tools add dimensions and notes Text Tools compose text kern underline spell check and replace text Zoom Tools zoom in and out zoom to selected image or Sign Blank pan screen Weld Tools Basic AND and XOR welding of images 4 Shape Tools basic shapes registration marks weeding stencil Graphic Edit Tools freehand drawing arc edit and node edit drawing ENABLE Scan Tools various auto tracing tools Stroke and Fill Tools line style and fill style selection Ginsu Knife Tools cutting images into parts 2 R e For those tools with a tiny black arrow in the lower right corner a pop out menu will appear when the tool is selected Note you must have large sized icons selected to see these tiny black arrows e Each tool will have a different Smart Bar appear at the top of the screen The Smart Bar will contain individual settings used for that tool e The tools with pop out menus can be moved into the main screen area by holding the mouse over the two pale vertical lines on the left side of the pop out menu To close a pop out menu that has been moved click on the Tools toolbar icon again 3 3 Managing Files Opening a New Document Sign Blank Setup 1 When you launch the ACS Studio software a new blank document will appear You may or may not wish to work with that particular size so there s a document setting window y
144. o Welded Title double click any line o Unwelded Title select title and select Arrange gt Text to Graphics Then double click any letter to edit o Imported Vector File such as wmf eps double click any line It may be necessary to first select the entire image and perform a Ctrl J to break the path o Shape created within ACS Studio e g a star Select image and go to Arrange gt Convert to Curves Change Allowable Error to 0 Click on OK and then double click the image o ADS File double click any line o Auto traced image in ACS Select the entire image and perform a Ctrl J to break the path Then double click on any line Besides double clicking a line you can also use Edit gt Edit Path or Ctrl E to show the individual nodes A vector image can be either polyarc all nodes are curved nodes or polygon mixture of three kinds of nodes To convert from one format to the other go to Arrange gt Convert To The advantage to the Polygon mode is that images will cut faster The advantage to the Polyarc mode is there are more editing tools available It is perfectly fine to switch from one to the other as needed Note that if you have straight lines created in Polygon mode those lines will remain straight in Polyarc mode To edit more than one path at a time double click the first path then hold down the Shift key and click once on a second path Nodes on both paths will appear There are three kinds of nodes in Polygon mode
145. o smooth out the curve and reduce excess nodes X AM 4 3 6 Click on Apply to close the Polyarc Editing window Notice that everything looks fine except for the very bottom part This will be addressed in the next step Right click to bring up menu and select curve icon Needs editing gt tad 1 1 1 d 4 7 The other icons in the Segment Edit popup menu also allow straight lines corners and even guide lines to be created 63 Corner Arc Segment is Segment aten Y Guide Segment Line For example the bottom portion of our path below can be corrected using either the arc segment again or the corner segment for a sharper look hh 3 TEN Arc Segment chosen Thus the final image can look like either of these two choices A more rounded tip gt 7 5 Delete Tools in Polyarc Editin Corner Segment chosen _ A more pointed tip e There are two trash can icons on the Smart Bar which can be used to erase portions of a path 01 mozas e Indent the Delete icon the left trash can You can now click on any path between two nodes and it will be erased Click here Path is erased e indent the Delete Segment icon the right trash can You can now click on any two locations incorporating more than two node and the path will be erased Click here And click here e 4 dd
146. of degrees that need to be corrected For example a setting of 5 degrees will correct lines that are off by that amount If the Degrees cannot be set high enough then the document should be scanned again or the bitmap can be rotated on the workspace e Small Shape Accuracy assess the ratio between the largest bitmap objects versus the smallest o Small shape accuracy 3 l Increase if o IE smaller o Decrease if ead gt B shapes aa smaller shapes Eu ea needa OD are wobbly 5 LA better fit After tracing the overall image may be fine however small parts may not have traced accurately Too low Too high Setting is correct Small parts not accurate Small parts are wobbly for this image Center Line Trace Settings e Tolerance Same as Line Fit Tolerance above but scale is simply from Loose to Tight e Speckle Same as Speckle Filter Factor above but scale is only from 0 to 4 pixels e Resolution As part of the Center Line trace process the original vector or bitmap based object undergoes rasterization to the set Resolution value and then a trace is performed The default value of 300 DPI dots per inch is adequate for most cases e Corner Sensitivity Same as Line Cornering above but the scale is from 1 to 15 e Detail Level The Detail Level setting controls Center Line Tracing detail recognition ability O Ifa bitmap contains a lot of detail set the Detail Level to a higher value o lfita simple image set the Detail Level low
147. on in this example 8 points were selected and then drag the semicircle handle along the side of the polygon Also experiment with settings in the Smart Bar Add a circle in the final image to create a flower Note the third and fourth images can be drawn but may not be suitable for cutting based on the design Modifying a Polygon Modifying a Star Ye ae G8 SS FE From the Shapes Tools draw a Star in this example 6 points were selected and then drag one of the semicircle handles along one side of the star Then drag the other semicircle de if desired Experiment with settings in the Smart Bar Add a circle in the final image to create a flower Modifying a Fan a ER From Shape Tools draw a Fan Drag one of the end handles to form a circle frame Drag the handle on the inner circle to make the frame thinner Type a letter and resize to overlap Use Basic Weld to create a Kh af From Shapes Tools draw a Monument Vary the Bulge and try with and without the Arch box checked Modifying a Monument 70 8 3 The Three Welding Tools There are three welding tools in ACS Studio with some very specific uses for each In the following examples these are used for creating some basic designs However there are many situations in which welding can be used to achieve other results such as welding to the interior of shapes or creating lattices R Circle pentagon heart Overlap shapes Use Basic Weld Tools toolbar Re
148. on from the Tools toolbar 16 In the Cut Toolbox window click on the Enable Jogging icon 7 icon from the right Check Full Axis jog and click on OK Then click on the Cut icon far right icon in that same window Click Cut to being jogging Indent to activate jogging process Cut Toolbox 17 Upon selecting Cut a new window will open Note which registration mark is flashing This indicates the first mark to set on your printout On the screen locate the circle with the cross in the lower left corner of the screen 38 This is the first ae registration mark A MN that will be flashing This is the Target to be moved to the flashing registration mark 18 While holding down the Shift key RIGHT click in the center of the registration mark The ACS will respond and move the laser light alignment pin to the approximate location of that registration mark on the printout 19 At this point you must use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the light pin to the exact center of that registration mark The following diagram shows how the keys move the light pin You might also find it easier to simply rotate your keyboard 90 degrees counterclockwise and the keys will then be oriented the same as how the light pin will move Moves the light pin GAS the left Moves the Moves the light pin 4 light pin forward back Moves the light pin to the right _ _ 20 Once the laser light alignment pin i
149. ontour Object 44 Contrast 54 Convert to Curves 61 Copy Style 42 Copying 23 Corner Node 61 Corner Sensitivity 107 INDEX Corner Styles 43 Curve Node 59 61 Curved Line Tracing 59 Customize 19 Customizing Hot Keys 97 Cut and Pounce 33 Cut by Color 27 Cut Distance 94 Cut Tool Usage 93 Cut Toolbox 32 Cutting 31 Cutting by Color 32 Cutting Defaults 27 Cutting Order 34 Dash 33 34 Dashed Lines 33 Decorative Border 74 Defaults 14 Delete icon 64 Delete Segment icon 64 Deleting 23 Desired Distance 81 Detail Level 107 Die Cut 40 Dimension 78 Dingbat Images 46 Display at Startup 21 Display Sort Dialog 35 Display Units 20 Divide 74 Dongle 1 Drag Knife 27 Duplicate 23 Duplicates 15 Edit Guides 69 Edit Path 61 Embossing 27 88 90 Enable Jogging 38 Enable Pounce 34 End Point 86 Engraving Fonts 81 Engraving Tool 90 Error Locating Security Device 17 Export 22 Fabric 87 Fabric Blade 87 Fan 70 Felt 87 Felt Strip 90 File Conversions 91 Fill Angle 89 Fill Overlap 89 Fill Style 89 Fillet Round Corner 72 Filter 50 Filter by Color 33 Fit Object to Path 72 80 Fit Text to Arc 44 Fit Text to Path 45 Fitting Text to Curves 44 Fitting Text to Paths 45 Flipping 24 Flower 70 Font Detective 50 Fonts 41 Frame Text Compose 42 Free Edit 45 77 Freehand Drawing 77 Ginsu Knife 65 68 G
150. ools Toolbar gt Shapes Tools The Photo Machine tool converts a bitmap into a line traced drawing format that can be cut routed or engraved Tools Toolbar gt Scan Tools A Polyarc object is composed entirely of curve nodes A Polygon object is composed of a combination of corner curve and tangent nodes Photo Machine Same as dashed or perforated lines Pounce can be used to make cuts of a specified length and spacing useful for fold up projects or adding detail to a die cut image Cut gt Plotting Defaults or Cut Toolbox window A Power Weed is like a weed border except that mid weed lines horizontal and vertical may also be created These mid weed lines will improve the ease of pulling the finished vinyl from its backing especially if detailed objects are being cut Tools Toolbar gt Shapes Tools U U U U U U O o lalo d 5 S lt lt D F 9 Q o cz O ola Y 5 10 TS D D Q When the Proportional Scaling icon is locked the aspect ratio is held constant if the length or width of an object is changed When unlocked the user can independently change the length or the width without altering the other On the Smart Bar after clicking Select on the Tools Toolbar Raster Images Refer to Bitmap Images Redo Navigator Refer to Undo Navigator Registration Marks are special extra marks placed in three corners surrounding an image to be printed and Proportional Scaling Registration then cut o
151. ope will be used as the example The exterior red lines will be cut and the interior blue lines will be pounced cut as dashed lines Select the entire image for cutting and click on the Scissors icon on the Tools toolbar In the Cut Toolbox window click on the sixth icon from the right Li to indent the box and Enable Pounce Right click on this icon and the settings window will appear Try a value of 0 07 or 2mm for Dash and a value of 0 15 or 4mm for Space Click on OK Now click on the second icon from the right E which is Sort and Cut All Colors In this example you would uncheck the Red color and leave the Blue checked and then click on Cut The Blue fold lines will be pounced When it is completed click on the Enable Pounce icon again to un indent and turn off pounce Then click on Sort and Cut All Colors again uncheck Blue check Red and then click on Cut to cut the exterior red lines In general it is recommended that pounced lines always be cut first and then the solid lines cut 4 6 Controlling the Order Start and Direction of Cuts Sequence The order in which individual paths will be cut can be rearranged by going to Layout gt Sequence gt Start Sequence by List This window shows all the paths in the cut order where the top item will cut last and the bottom item will cut first the opposite to how it instinctively should work The buttons to the right of the list can be used to move individual paths up or down i
152. or your vector images and the Job Palette which tracks all colors that have been used in the current file To activate a palette click on the name to check it 14 e Show Sign Blank Go to View gt Show Sign Blank makes document boundaries visible e Tool Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults and under Tool select Drag Knife Note that you must click on Apply to lock in a change in this window Then you can click on Close e Axis Swap Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults checking Axis Swap will cut your images left to right as you see them on the screen similar to a portrait orientation Un checking Axis Swap will rotate images and cut them front to back on the cutter similar to a landscape orientation Refer to Section 4 1 for a clearer understanding of where images will cut Again click on Apply if you make a change in this window e Page versus Sign Blank Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults checking Page mode will cause images to be moved to the origin to be cut Checking Sign Blank will cut the images in the same location as shown in the Sign Blank Again refer to Section 4 1 for a clearer understanding of where images will cut and click on Apply if you make a change in this window e Machine Limits Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults click on Setup These are the maximum and minimum length and width for cutting Set the Length to at least 15 or longer If you plan to cut vinyl then you may wish to make it as long as 48 although there
153. osing the dongle requires repurchasing the software e DO NOT insert the dongle into the USB Port on your computer until you have completed the initial installation of the software Further do not remove the dongle unless the computer is turned off e Use the enclosed pen and pen holder during at least the first day of operation as you become familiar with operating the ACS Place scrap paper into the cutter and simply draw images rather than cut them This will prevent possible damage to the blade mat and cutting strip as you learn where images will cut and the basic operating procedures e DO NOT unplug the USB cable from your computer or from the cutter unless you first turn off the cutter Doing so can cause power fluctuations that in turn can damage the cutter e Always turn off the ACS when not in use Leaving the cutter turned on for extended periods of time can possibly damage the machine e The final printing of this user manual may not have the same color quality as intended by the author If you need clearer photos and diagrams please refer to the paf version of this user manual Additions and revisions to the manual will also be provided in pdf format and these can be downloaded from http www buy acs com downloads htm 2009 Accugraphic Sales Inc All Rights Reserved Contents INTRODUCTION TO TIRAS sn 5 IMENSTO NIE PLEASE READ oncisaamesanai rinitis 5 iZ CONTENTS ODO aei A A E A E A ia eii 5 1 3 PARTS DIAGRAM is
154. ot Found Choose Replacement Font A The file you are opening has text created from a font not installed in your ACS Studio Choose any replacement font from your list and see if the choice of the font is important to the file If so you will need to contact the file designer to find out which font was used and install the font if you have it B The file you are opening may have all text already converted to a graphic Again choose any replacement font and do not worry about the error message Invisible objects are present Do you wish to cut them Sometimes images are imported as invisible even though you can see the trace lines on the screen Turn on the Job Palette and note if it contains any white or invisible lines that you may miss seeing before cutting Select the items and change to another color from the Shop Palette Operational Issues Misc The mat kicks out of the machine and falls on the floor when finished cutting The Endpoint can be reset Go to Cut gt Plotting Defaults click on Setup Indent the same corner under Endpoint as under Origin want to set the knife so it will stop near the end of the last cut rather than returning to the origin The Endpoint can be set under Cut gt Plotting Defaults click on Setup Indent the far right bottom corner under endpoint Then make sure the last item cut is the one closest to the end point Refer to the end of Section 4 6 The rollers are ripping the top layer of my material I
155. ote that more details about Center Line Tracing are covered in Section 6 2 Center Line Tracing i Click on Center Line icon Click Trace Settings icon and e adjust settings as shown below 2 Click on Vectorize icon after adjusting the gt ht Eje settings Options Centerline trace only C Centerline and outline trace Path creation Tolerance Loose 4 mi gt Tight El Speckle 1 E Resolution DPI 150 Corner sensitivity 1 El F aj Detail level 0 00 E Truncate endpoints mmm E 4 After clicking on the Vectorize icon click on Close Then separate the original from the tracing The result will probably look something like this Leen 5 You have the option to edit the image refer to Chapter 7 Editing or just apply the circles and then tweak the positioning of the circles In this example some excess nodes were deleted first Then 82 Arrange gt Make Path was applied and the circles were added using the same steps as described in the first tutorial Then some tweaking of circle locations was performed to create the final result on the right Leo o o o Filling Images for Rhinestone Applications The following tutorial shows how to fill images with circles for rhinestone applications A Using Hatch Fill 1 A raster image of a cat was imported and traced using the steps presented in Section 6 1 Auto Tracing Using the Prepare to Vectorize Wizard Origin
156. ou can now move the image to another location on the screen If you hold down the Ctrl key while moving the object it will be forced to move only horizontally or vertically e You can also move a selected object in small increments by pressing the arrow keys on the keyboard Further if you hold down the Shift key while pressing these arrows keys the object will move in larger increments with each keystroke e While an object is selected the Smart Bar at the top allows you to specify an exact location for your image under x and y which corresponds to the Origin selected under Layout gt Blank Size Image Image Box Corresponding Image Proportional Scaling Rotate Image Current Current Type To Location Dimensions Locked Unlocked Line Color Fill Color o 41 eee x 300 few 359 100 e oo lt P 6 231 12 681 e z A E n so noe E 4 E J A ri Mouse Cursor Anchor Nub Image Location in Sign Blank Change Size by Location e Note the tiny array of boxes to the left of the Image Location settings The red box indicates which particular location of your image corresponds to the x and y settings You can click on another box of your choice to use in positioning The Anchor Nub can be used to move objects to a particular location Click on this icon and an anchor will appear on your selected object Move the anchor to any part of the object such as the center or an outside line Type in new values for x and y and the anchor and the im
157. ou can set up to open every time the program is launched or every time you go to File gt New 20 Go to Layout gt Blank Size A new window will open Click on Advanced at the bottom to expand this window 0 0 Origin for Orientation for Menu of Blank Sizes Click to change to the Enter name of Enter dimensions of x y locations screen only Blank Sizes NOT in menu window on the right new Blank Size new Blank Size Blank Size s Origi selection Orientation Customize blafik list Customize blank Ist el f me e Portrait Create and Add New Blank Size Gl gt A Landscape 2 3 24 00in X 36 00in Name 3 x 4 36 00in lt 48 00in 3 x 5 36 00in lt 60 00in Width 12 000 4 s 4 48 00in lt 48 00in y 4 x 8 48 00in x 96 00in Height 12 000 H Units Dimensions Add to List Delete Metric Blank rm Width Height Standard Blank in al 32 x 48 32 00in x 48 00in 1 2000 x 12000 inch A4 210 00mm X 297 00mm A5 148 00mm lt 210 00mm Add New Blank Cancel Add B4 257 00mm lt 364 00mm Material selection BS 182 00mm 257 00mm Legal 8 50in lt 14 00in Letter 8 50in lt 11 00in Default Remove From List inci sear te F Sign blank object AAA E Iv Display at start hp T Sign blank object Resize objects proportionally ok Y cancel j J Click here to Material Current Blank Sizes which Check if you want Blank Size Adds new Blank Draws
158. ox with the tables Be sure to keep the four screws relatively loose until all four have been inserted Then tighten down but not too tight or you will risk stripping the threads Repeat this for the other side of the ACS 12 2 Installation and Setup 2 1 Installation of the ACS and Software The ACS comes with two CD s an ACS Studio software installation CD and a Clipart and Fonts CD with 3900 ADS files and 1100 fonts 1 2 Close all programs not needed and insert the ACS Studio installation CD into a CD Rom drive Follow the menu directions to begin installing the program When asked to install your Windows fonts do so After these are installed you will be prompted to install the Clipart and Fonts CD This is optional and these fonts and clipart can be installed at a later time if desired by copying the files from the CD into the c ACS Design Studio folder Refer to Section 5 1 Installing Uninstalling Fonts for instructions on installing these fonts Refer to Section 3 3 Managing Files Subsection Opening an Existing ACS File for instructions on using the Clipart Viewer The program will notify you that the driver will be installed If you are using XP you will probably receive pop up windows in which you will need to click on Continue Anyway In Vista you may immediately see an option to click on Finish Wait a moment to allow the driver to finish installing Then click on Finish Restart Windows If you are us
159. plied to objects These operations can be edited and removed A set of operations can be saved and later applied to another object Options gt Use InstantReplay and View gt Show InstantReplay Group Viewer QO jg S o 5 Mm InstantReplay The Job Palette shows the colors that are being used on the workspace This palette is also used to perform global color substitutions such as instantly replacing all shapes of a given color with another color View gt Show Palettes gt Show Job Palette 09 Use the Jog feature when an image is printed first and then cut out based on setting registration marks in three corners outside the image Cut Toolbox window or Cut gt Plotting Defaults On Screen Kerning is used to make manual adjustments to text using kerning nubs This is the process for merging letters to make welded titles Tools Toolbar gt Text Tools or AB icon in Smart Bar during Text Compose Line Style refers to the color and thickness of the external line of a vector image It may be visible or not depending on the setting of View gt Show Line Style and whether it is set to No Line Hairline or Thick Line in the Line Style window under Stroke and Fill Tools Lock Object The Lock Object command is used to prevent the given object from being resized scaled rotated or slanted However a locked object can still be moved or deleted Arrange gt Lock Object Machine Limits Use the Machine Limits to set the maximum length
160. r Palette under Arranging in Section 3 4 Manipulating Images in ACS Studio and the information on Page Control in Section 9 11 Features for Professionals There are five tools under the Measure Tools icon on the Tools toolbar Some are useful during the design phase while others can be used to make your file look more finished and professional o Measurement Similar to using a tape measure obtain the length for any two points on the screen Click once and then drag the mouse to any location The distance is shown in the Smart Bar o Dimension Use this tool to label the distance between any two points on the screen Select line type from the Smart Bar and click start and end points The dimension in chosen units will be added to the screen o Object Dimension Similar to Dimension but specific to the selected object Drag from any of the red targets on the object and upon releasing the dimensions will be marked along with arrows see diagram below o Arrow Draw Drag from any point to create an arrow Double click and a text box will open where a custom label can be created This is useful for indicating fold lines in a project or labeling images in a paper piecing see diagram below o Notes Textin any size and font can be added to the screen This is useful for adding a title and instructions to a project The text created by Notes will not be cut It s advisable to use a common simple font such as Arial or Times New Roman si
161. r greater O For bitmaps that are composed mostly of curves use a setting of 4 or less O For bitmaps that have a mixture of curves and sharp corners use a setting of 5 or 6 Decrease if corners are too sharp or pointed gt o iy Too low Too high Sharp corners are too rounded Rounded corners are too sharp Increase if corners are too rounded Corners 1 10 Sharp Setting is correct for this image Speckle Filter Bitmaps that have been scanned often contain speckles due to a dirty or scratched scanner bed Also poor resolution images will often have random speckles of color that are not to be traced To ignore these imperfections the Speckle Filter may be applied as part of the trace Don t hesitate to increase this value to a high number especially if the image doesn t contain any tiny details that need to be traced Decrease if small parts are not being traced ie 7 Speckle filter 30 Pixels fi Increase if too many speckles are showing up in tracing Degrees 106 Too low Too high Setting is correct Too many tiny specks Parts of the image are missing for this image e Snap Long Lines to Vertical Horizontal When using a scanner to create a bitmap the original document may not be perfectly aligned As a result lines that were intended to be precisely horizontal or vertical will be slightly incorrect Set the value to the number
162. racter Picker ideal when using dingbat fonts and more When done either click outside the text area or click on the Select icon on the Tools toolbar If you need to edit your text after leaving text mode double click the title If you wish to use your entire Sign Blank as the text window then select the Frame Text Compose icon after clicking on the Text Tools icon in the Tools toolbar The Text Justification choices and the Vertical Alignment choices on the Smart Bar may now be of interest depending on your project Also available under the Text Tools icon on the Tools toolbar are Text Kerning Spell Check Text Underlining and Text Search and Replace 5 3 Copying Text Style from One Title to Another If you have several different text titles with differing formats it s possible to copy various characteristics of one title and apply them to another 1 2 3 Select the title with the format you wish to copy right click and select Settings Check which format settings you wish to copy Click on OK Right click again on this same title and select Copy Style Select the title s to change right click and select Paste Style 5 4 Connected Letter Title with a Mat 1 Using the instructions from Section 5 2 Text Basics type the letters of your title In this example Lucida Calligraphy has been selected Winter To overlap your letters click on the On Screen Kerning button AB on the Smart Bar Now you can shift
163. raphics Edit Tools 45 57 58 59 74 77 Grid 15 Grid Size 15 Group Viewer 92 Grouping 26 67 Guidelines 20 69 Hair Line 25 Hatch Fill 83 Heart 73 Hot Keys 97 Image Location 23 Import 51 56 57 Inline 36 43 Insert New Object 94 Install New Fonts 41 Installing Uninstalling Fonts 41 Instant Replay 90 Job Palette 19 23 25 33 Job Tracking 93 Job Cost Notes 94 Jog 27 Kerning 42 Keypad Panel 7 Krylon 11 Label Font 69 Labeling Images 78 Laser Alignment 35 Lattice 76 Line Cornering 106 Line Fit Tolerance 106 Line Style 25 40 Locking 25 Machine Limits 15 86 Making Paths 61 67 Manual Tracing 57 Mat 11 Material 15 Measure Tools 78 81 Measurement 78 81 Message Board 1 Metamorphosis 72 84 Mirror 27 Mirroring 24 Monogram 70 Monument 70 Motif Template Rubber 85 Move 28 108 Moving 23 Multi Cut 27 Multi Pass 88 Multiple Instance 15 Multiple Page Option 20 94 Multi Registration Mark 36 New Document 19 20 No Objects to Cut 17 Node Edit 58 59 74 Node Editing 61 Nodes and Distance 80 Notepad 48 94 Notes 78 Object Dimension 78 Object Start Point 35 On Screen Kerning 42 Open Path 65 Order 25 Order of Cutting 34 Orientation 21 Origin 30 86 Origin Adjust 35 Outline 36 Outline 43 Outline 43 Overcut 15 Page 28 31 Page Control 94 Palettes 19 Parts 6 Paste Style 42 Pau
164. rder by Color window You can check off which colors to cut or uncheck the colors to ignore Then click on Cut to proceed with the cut E Note that you can drag and drop the colors in the list to change the order in which they will cut 3 If you have used many colors or if you wish to link a color to the name of the object being cut go back to Sign Blank Select your first object and double click on the color box on the Smart Bar Enter whatever you wish under Color Name For example if you had an apple design with a red apple brown stem and green leaf you could double click on the red outline and name it Apple Then you can similarly name the green Leaf and the brown Stem Click on Change in each window to save the name Then when you enter the Sort and Cut All Colors window these names will appear next to the colors and may help you better identify which parts you wish to cut Note that these name changes are specific to the current file only which makes this feature all the more useful 32 Sort Cut Order by Color x Method B Filter By Color 1 Select your images in the main document window and then click on the Cut Tools icon to open the cutting window 2 Inthe Cut Toolbox window click on the fifth icon from the right This will open the Filter by Color window One of the colors will appear in a small rectangle Click on Select and then click on Cut to cut the images of that color OR click on the do
165. reen When it reaches 100 your enhanced image will appear along with a popup window saying your image is ready to be vectorized 7 Click on OK and then either double click your new image or select the first icon Accuscan ee under the Scan Tools menu on the Tools toolbar The following Smart Bar will appear at the top of your screen 92 11 Vectorization Trace Setup xy al e E 5 y Brush TD Y k el Current Settings h SFO N A Y Paete Ej fa 0 00 E Close The first step is to select the best settings for the vectorization Click on Trace Setup and select settings based on your image Refer to Appendix D for a complete understanding of these settings and note that after vectorization you can also double click your image to try again with different settings As a first test from the drop down menu try Logo Long Lines and Curves Trace Setup Y MT LOGO Long Lines amp Curves v Cancel Save Delete Line fit In general first try either Logo Long Lines and Curves or Logo Complex with Detail depending on which better describes your image Decrease to get smoother tracing but accuracy will be lost Tolerance 1 10 8 Loose 4 1 gt Tight Corners 1 10 6 Round 4 J gt Sharp Increase to eliminate tracing random small speckles Select based on look of image Lower value for curved images higher value for sharp corners Options Pixels ae F ol lA
166. roud Cutting Blade Blade Cap 3 Blade holder Shaft raro Adjustment Ring F nn 1 Disassemble the blade holder by rotating the top part of the blade holder counter clockwise until the shaft separates from the black plastic exterior 2 Remove the small plastic cap from the blade 3 Gently slide the blade dull side into the shaft until it stops Do NOT tap the blade on a table Be careful to not cut your finger 4 Carefully slide the black plastic exterior over the blade 5 Rotate the shaft clockwise Stop when the blade protrudes from the bottom You will want to only see enough blade as needed to cut through the thickness of the material to be cut This is less than you probably think So err on the conservative side first and you can always extend the blade as needed 6 Turn the brass ring until it is firmly seated against the black exterior This locks the blade in place Setting the Blade Length Getting the blade length set correctly for the cut is just as important as setting the cutting pressure If you have too little blade exposed then it cannot cut all the way through the material If you have the blade too long then the tip of the blade will be cutting into the mat which will dull the blade sooner damage the mat or cut through a backing sheet and typically result in worse cutting rather than better md U Perfect Length Too Long cuts into mat Too Short will not
167. s dead center of the registration mark click on the Set Position button in the Jog window 21 Check the next box in the Jog window called Skew Point A different registration mark will begin flashing Again hold down Shift key and click in the middle of the flashing registration mark You may prefer to click in the same relative location as resulted from the first setting as shown Note how the Target ended up slightly outside the registration mark after pinpointing the light pin on the actual printout Clicking approximately here will result in a closer positioning because it corresponds to the same offset shown in setting the il first registration mark KM 39 22 Again use the arrow keys to precisely position the laser light alignment pin with the center of the registration mark on the printout Click the Set Position button Then finish the process by checking the next box called Stretch Point Again move the Target to the center of the third registration mark Align perfectly on your printout with the arrow keys and click on Set Position You have now set the positions of three registration marks The fourth is not needed 23 Click on OK The image will be cut If you do not wish to cut the registration marks press Pause on the control panel after the image has cut and then turn off the ACS 24 Extra notes on Print and Cuts O If using the Inline method is not suitable for your image another alternative is outlining t
168. s of corners Depending on the blade you are using and the intricacy of the cut these values will need to be altered for the Drag Knife only The following table shows recommended values for these parameters Overcut Trailing Blade 45 Standard Blade 15 20 60 Thick Materials Blade 20 30 Large Shapes e g 10 circle 80 20 Small Intricate Shapes e g lt 1 lettering 5 10 Enter more values based on future ACS blades or your own experiences with certain designs or materials e Inthis same Cut gt Tool Options window the values above can be stored under Material Enter values for Overcut and Trailing Blade and then click on the Add Material button Enter a name for the listing such as Red Capped Blade or Large Shapes and then click on OK This menu list is then available in the Layout gt Blank Size window where you also select the dimensions for your Sign Blank 2 3 Quick Draw Testing to verify communication New owners tend to be VERY eager to try out their ACS It s also important to test your cutter to ensure that data is being sent properly from your computer to the cutter The following steps will allow you to do some testing with the pen tool But note that the following steps are for DRAWING not cutting Before inserting 15 the blade tool into the ACS please read the following Sections 1 4 Keypad Panel 1 5 Blades 1 6 Mat and 4 3 Cutting Procedure 1 2 10 Firmly
169. s with equal spacing Layout gt gt Align to Sign Blank gt Equal Spacing 96 Keystroke Function Editing Vectorized Images Outside Node Edit Mode Ctrl E Edit path Ctrl T Edit path Ctrl H Make path Ctrl J Break path Alt B Convert text to graphics Alt C Clipping Alt U Clear clipping Inside Node Edit Mode A Add node at current location B Break contour at the select node C Change node cycle through types D Deselect nodes G Resize grid dimensions based on node H Snap to nearest horizontal grid line l Insert nodes equally spaced J Join to selected nodes with a line K Select node under the mouse cursor L Reset origin at selected node O Create perfect circle from oval contour R Remove selected node S Snap to intersection T Toggle start point U Unselect half of the selected nodes V Snap to nearest vertical grid line Miscellaneous F1 ACS Reference Guide F2 Disable all shop colors except current Ctrl F7 Text compose Ctrl F8 Frame text compose Alt P Open the cutting window SpaceBar Return to select mode F10 Select the menu bar Shift F2 Simplify Customizing Hot Keys Menu or Screen Location Edit gt Edit Path Edit gt Edit Path Arrange gt Make Path Arrange gt Break Path Arrange gt Text to Graphics Arrange gt Clipping gt Clipping Arrange gt Clipping gt Clipping Clear Help gt Index On left Tools toolbar select Text Tools then select 1st icon from left On left Tools toolbar select Text Tools then select 2nd icon from
170. sasrainenenanannna nannaa RP O PES PU COS PEO PR O A 6 1 4 KEYPAD A O e E e e OS ES PO OU III A T 1 5 BLADES AND ACCESSORIES ooo 9 Udo Smee emererererre rerererer Er E EEE OO rer er rrr errr SS nr ere 9 Blades Included Wilh ACS PUICNAS On dial 9 EIEE ERT E 1110 4 task Oo ue e EE e PE CE Soo SE 5 o a 9 Serna o Blade CONN errar iia EA E EEE 10 FOMATO ARRIER SHEET usa 11 1 7 ATTACHING THE ACS BOLT ON TABLES aa ic cis 11 Ze INSTALLATION ANOS UP 13 2 1 INSTALLATION OF THE ACS AND SOFTWARE cccccccscsssssssesssessesssesssessessseessesseusanesanssanesauesanesanesaessaeesausseesseesseussensssaeseusseesseusseeevaneaas 13 Port Setup communication between your computer and the CULES cccccsssssesesesssssesssssssssessscsssescsssssssssssssssssscessssssseecscasaseecesssaseeeesscaseeseesasans 13 2 2 IMPORTANT DEFAULTS TO CHECK cccccccccssccsscssssesssessseessesssesssesssesseesseeseeseesaeesaeavanacanacaussanssauesaessausseusseesseusseuseusssesasaesensseesseessensaaes 14 2 3 QUICK DRAW TESTING TO VERIFY COMMUNICATION sisssiscaxeddvstencutivssacaitwviancnsltslaxeddandaneshiaiacaiianius oxedaiunalasnivnceiesncalanneenanloiiazstianizeasvaviees 15 ZA CALIBRATING THE ACO nanira e aes ended ogee ota kana 17 PACS STUDIO DASG a 19 o ariaa aAa A NE EAN EAE EA EE ENA EDEA AA EA EAE AEA SEATA O 19 3 2 TOOLS TOOLBAR WHERE THE GOOD STUFF RESIDES ccscsssssssssssessssssssesesesesescsssssscsesasesesessssesesesesesesaseseasacesesssesesesasaseseaca
171. se 30 PDF 91 Pen 27 Pen Diameter 89 90 Plotting Defaults 27 Polyarc 61 62 63 Polyarc Editing 64 74 Polygon 61 70 Port Not Available 17 Port Setup 13 Pounce 27 33 34 Power Supply 5 Power Weed 87 Pressure 29 Print and Cut 35 Punch 27 Re Coloring 25 Rectangle 70 Redo 26 Reducing Nodes 62 Render to Bitmap 72 Repeats 26 31 Replacement Data File 48 Resizing 24 Resolution 55 Rhinestone 81 85 Rhinestone Applications 79 Rhinestone Fonts 81 Rhinestone Transfer Tape 85 Rotating 24 Round Corner 71 74 77 Rounded Rectangle 70 Ruler 20 Saving and Exporting 22 Scan Tools 56 Security Key 1 Segment Edit 63 Select By Size 23 Selected 28 30 selecting 22 Sequence 34 Sequence by List 34 Sequence by Vector 34 Serial Connection 13 Settings for Your Materials 28 Shadow 72 Sheet Layer Palette 25 78 Shop Palette 19 23 25 Show Fill 15 22 Show Filter 50 Show Guide Labels 69 Show Line Style 40 Sign Blank 15 19 28 31 Skew Point 39 Slanting 24 Small Shape Accuracy 107 Smart Bar 19 20 Smoothing 28 Snap Line Degree 107 Snap to Grid 20 Sort 27 35 Sort and Cut All Colors 32 34 Sort Dialog Box 35 Space 34 Spacing 33 Speckle 107 Speckle Filter Factor 106 Speed 29 Spell Check 42 Stack Repeats 26 Star 70 Stencil Tool 75 Stenciling 75 Stenciling Letters 49 Storage Bin 90 Straight Line Tracing 57 Stretch Point
172. select and go to Arrange gt Convert To gt Polyarc Double click to show the nodes Drag the top to form an arc and click on Apply Add a circle for the hole in the tag TOO Y 4 Draw a Convert to Polyarc Double click on Drag new Drag between each Click on rectangle and double click to paths to add 4 nodes node to curve the Apply Result edit nodes nodes outwards paths Holly Leaf Another example Use the first tool under the Graphics Edit Tools on the Tools toolbar to draw a straight line Go to Arrange gt Convert To gt Polyarc Then double click to bring up the nodes Click on the Divide tool A on the Smart Bar and click once on the line enter a number for example 6 and click on Divide 2 gt Draw a line Convert to Polyarc Use Divide tool to add 6 nodes Click on the Node Edit tool gt Now drag the path between each pair of nodes alternately up and then down to form a wave Click on Apply and then use Transform gt Round Corner as described in Section 8 7 Transform Functions to create a wave border to cut out Use Node Edit tool to drag the paths up down to form arcs Use Transform gt Round Corner to create the final design 8 7 Decorative Border Go to Layout gt Decorative Border In the Smart Bar there are four choices for the exterior style With each additional settings will modify the interior and exterior shape and proportions Below are just a few examples of the many styles you can d
173. sult Balloon Basic Weld Also refer to Section 5 4 Connected Letter Title with a Mat Section 5 9 Incorporating Dingbat Images in a Title Section 5 10 Welding Text to Frames and Section 5 12 Stenciling Letters AND Weld a LU D WM Circle 15 point star Overlap shapes Use AND Weld Tools toolbar Result Crown Or Fern XOR Weld oa Two overlapping circles Use XOR Weld Tools toolbar Separate the images 2 Moons 8 4 Transform Functions The following functions are all located under the Transform menu Experiment with these features as the samples shown are a small representation of what can be achieved Round Corner WT Y Transform gt Round Corner Setting of 0 1 Transform gt Round Corner Setting of 0 08 Note round corner can be applied to interior as well as exterior corners as shown in third star 71 Fillet Round Corner Unlike with the previous Round Corner which is applied to all exterior or interior corners Fillet Round Corner can be applied individually to any or all corners Click on the specific locations you wish to apply the effect In the following example only the top point was selected Transform gt Fillet Round Corner Setting of 0 08 middle image no miter right image miter checked Individually click on which interior or exterior corners you wish to fillet Metamorphosis g i Z o Transform gt Metamorphosis Start with two Rectangles After Metamorphosis middle image is cr
174. t s important to keep the rollers clean of adhesive Use Un Du or Goo Gone to thoroughly clean the wheels Then either make sure the wheels are always over the material you are cutting or place strips of paper where the wheels will be crossing the mat At low pressures the blade doesn t touch the surface That is correct Simply increase the pressure as necessary to get a good test cut The ACS stops cutting when the screen saver comes on This can happen with some computers Turn off the screen saver before cutting 102 During a cut the ACS stopped and went into the Pause mode The blade is trying to reach a point outside of the available cutting width Turn off the cutter and click on Cancel Answer Yes to quit Then turn the cutter back on Set your origin closer to the far right limit so that you have the full cutting range width available Sometimes while the ACS is turned on but not cutting there s a faint whistling sound being emitted This is due to what is called micro stepping It is a high pitched noise caused by idling between 2 veins on the encoder but shouldn t be of concern to the user Operational Issues Incomplete Cuts When cutting letters that are several inches high they aren t cutting all the way through The result is the letters have little nibs on them as if they were punched out from a sheet A Make sure you aren t using the Pen tool as it does not have an overcut setting The Drag Knife tool uses o
175. t a single line You can continue to click at various points on the screen to create multiple cuts gt ie Further note that you can hold down the mouse after the first click and draw any shape of line to create the breaking point however this only works with the Close Path tool 65 One idea for using the Open Ginsu Knife tool might be to design a flower to cut from the front of a greeting card or a layout Use the Open Ginsu Knife function to cut each petal so that it stays attached to the card and the petals could be folded outwards Design a Use the Each petal will still flower from a open path be attached after star Refer to Ginsu on PEA cutting Gently fold Section 8 2 each petal IN forward One idea for using the Closed Ginsu Knife tool might be to split a title horizontally through the center and then cut each half a different color JIE HELKO HELLO Create a title welded or not Use the closed path Ginsu Cut the top and the bottom from two through the center different colors of cardstock 7 Additional Editing Tools Connect Path Some imported images may contain numerous disconnect paths The paths are close or overlapping but not actually joined to form a single path In cases such as these you can try selecting the object and using Arrange gt Connect Path to have the adjacent nodes in these gaps welded to form a continuous path A value for Allowable Error will need to be entered Try 0 5
176. t a text object into a path This is important when creating a non welded title to share with others who may not have that particular font installed on their computer Arrange gt Text to Graphics Setting the Trailing Blade allows for movement of the knife edge which is offset from the center of the tool Without this routine objects with sharp corners would not be cut properly Cut gt Tool Options Transformations are used to apply special effects and distortions to selected objects Transform gt Transformations Ungroup a grouped set of objects so that the objects can then be individually selected and modified Refer to Group Layout gt Ungroup Undo Navigator list all operations performed and the user can choose a point after which all operations will be reversed Layout gt Undo Navigator Note there also is Redo Navigator to reverse Undo operations Vector Images use mathematical equations vectors to define an image s shape color position and size Manually or auto tracing a bitmap image in ACS Studio creates a vector image which can then be cut A Weed Border is an additional rectangular cut around the outside of the object being cut Cut Toolbox window or Cut gt Plotting Defaults or Tools Toolbar gt Shapes Tools Refer to Basic Weld AND Weld and XOR Weld A Welded Title consists of merging the individual letters and then welding to remove the overlap so that the title will cut as one piece The XOR Weld Ex
177. te that you can also access just the Super Size feature to improve your original bitmap by selecting your imported bitmap and going to Image gt Super Size Image Select a new Resolution e g 200 and then click on Apply Pixel Resolution Image ee 512 Toa TF 11 60 File Size Percentage MEA 768 00 i len 512 en dd ea 17 60 He 100 3 Cose Increase Resolution to a higher setting such as 200 or 300 19 You will then see the Super Size window open as in the earlier examples and settings can be tweaked to achieve a better quality image In the following image the Contrast was increased and the Soft option was checked The final results show a much sharper image The image was zoomed in on the stem and leaves for better viewing 55 Original Image Image after Super Size 6 2 Center Line Tracing An ideal application for Center Line tracing is a pattern scanned from a magazine or downloaded from the Internet Another great application is for fonts that are hollow In this example we have a pattern of shirt which was scanned from a magazine 1 Use File gt Import to place the image in the Sign Blank area Highlight the image and select the Scan Tools icon from the Tools Toolbar Pick the third icon from the left Center Line A 2 The first step is to go to the Trace Setup window Vectorization Trace F Setup Brush ie T E Y ooo a piad F Falette o zE Bu E Else 3 In this window are sett
178. tern will be 2 Hold down Ctrl key and click to actual diameter needed resized to new diameter bottom center of circle J 5 Start xy 220 44 375 08 dx 000 J4 A 90 00 N Desired distance Apply iis Endixy 220 44 366 78 dy 830 J4 e B30 33 y Close Word of caution when resizing using this method ALL objects on the screen will be proportionately resized Using Regular Fonts in Rhinestone Applications There may be occasions where you prefer to use a regular font versus an engraving font You have two options A Apply the circles to the outside border of the font 81 e Type the font and create the appropriate sized circle Use the same method described in our first tutorial to place the circles onto the path of the lettering NWN CoCo ey Wy Seeder ene Wee de ode Type title and insert small circle Select title and circle and go to Delete original lettering leaving only the sized for hole needed Transform gt Fit Object to Path circles Tweak the positioning of the circles as needed B Center line trace the font to create single path lettering 1 Type the title in the font of your choice 2 Select the title and click on the Scan Tools from the Tools tool bar and select the third icon Center Line sz Scan Tools A Click on Scan Tools gt A 3 On the Smart Bar first click on Trace Setup and make the following settings followed by clicking on the Vectorize icon n
179. the bottom of the screen to lock in your choices before clicking on Close With the exception of Multi Cut most of these settings can be overridden in the Cut Preview window Note the following settings under Options and what they mean O O Mirror Image is flipped both horizontally and vertically before cutting Sort Checking this box allows you to pick from four ways to order the objects on the screen to cut For more information refer to Section 4 6 Controlling the Order Start and Direction of Cuts Axis Swap Checking this box will change the orientation of your cut With it checked the objects will cut in a Portrait orientation which you will prefer unless you are cutting images wider than your machine s cutting range width Refer to the figures on the next page Weed Border A rectangular border will be cut around the image Note that if Sign Blank versus Page is checked then the size of the border will be the entire Sign Blank Otherwise the size is set under Options gt ACS Setup gt General Preferences Cut by Color Checking this box will cause only images that match the color you specify later to be brought into the cutting window For example if you select 3 objects that are red yellow and green and then click on the Cut Tool icon a query window will immediately appear You then select which color to cut and that particular image then appears on the screen After cutting that color the same query window appears and you p
180. the following procedure to calibrate your ACS 1 Open a new blank document and specify the size to match the paper you plan to use for your test 2 In this tutorial inches have been used If you prefer to use mm which may actually be easier if you have access to a ruler marked in mm then change units by going to Options gt Toggle Units 3 For the purpose of calibrating the cutter turn off Axis Swap by going to Cut gt Plotting Defaults and unchecking the box next to Axis Swap Also switch to Page versus Sign Blank Click on Apply before clicking on Close 4 Click on the Basic Shapes icon on the Tools toolbar to draw a rectangle of any size 17 5 Select your rectangle and at the top of the screen change the width and the height to be exactly 6 0 These are the middle sets of entries Note that the little lock icon to the right needs to be unlocked in order to separately change the width and height Click on it to toggle back and forth between lock and unlock modes 6 Click on the Cut Tool icon on the Tools toolbar 7 Place a sheet of paper into the ACS and set the origin in the front right corner and load the pen tool into the blade holder seat 8 Click on the scissors icon to draw the square BEFORE removing from mat note which side is the X axis and which is the Y The Y side runs from left to right as you face the cutter X measurement Y measurement Front of ACS 9 Use a ruler with at least 1 16
181. the time Note that if you have it turned on when using the blade it will most likely chop up the material on your mat 88 At the time of this writing there is a slight glitch in Windows Vista in which there can be a delay when turning on Banner Fill When clicking on the Banner Fill icon wait for it to indent It may take as long as 10 seconds to become indented Several settings are involved in getting the Banner Fill to produce the results you want Thus it is recommended that you experiment before using it on your nicer paper cardstock or vellum o Speed Because you are using either pens or the engraving tool AND the fill in typically takes much longer than a simple cut you may wish to increase the speed to at least 400 once you are confident with the other settings below o Pressure For pens use the same lighter pressure setting you use with the pen tool such as 30 For embossing you will need to experiment For example with vellum both lighter pressures and heavier pressures can be used and both will work A lighter pressure produces a fainter white look on the vellum which can be just as beautiful as the brighter white produced with a heavier pressure Refer to the guidelines in Section 9 7 Using the Engraving Embossing Drop In Tool for recommended pressure settings for several common materials o Pen Diameter In the Cut Toolbox window right click on the third icon from the right called Banner Fill A new windo
182. to with the current filter selection Click on OK Then click on Select under Group Close the Font Detective You will now see the True Type Fonts group in the Font Selection window S Note that you can also create groups and select individual fonts to add to the group or start with the entire contents of another group as indicated in the Add New Group window a Font Detective ES AABBCCODEE p Group Click on Options and then Add Group All Fonts Select Mark this box m Add Group Add New Group s Name the to a Ex gt Select oa a Group name _ group WINGQOW SJ _ True Type Fonts V Show filter Show font properties s Create new group i C which is initially empty Select this Type General with the current filter selecti Uncheck all Font Type Language Italic Style Fill Style C with the contents of option to boxes but True C Adobe Type 1 Select All use the 7 tapie ca Click on Filter to fonts from ype Bal TrueType select only True the filterin EA Cancel 9 ype tonts process 50 6 Tracing 6 1 Auto Tracing Using the Prepare to Vectorize Wizard ACS Studio has a built in vectorizing wizard which allows images to first be enhanced using a function called Super Size then mapped by color and then auto traced using another function called Accuscan This is a detailed but fun process for converting your raster images to
183. to Arrange gt Make Path With the array of boxes selected enter 45 under Rotation on the Smart Bar Click on the Enter key and the array will be rotated 45 degrees The boxes may look somewhat warped but when you zoom in close you will see that they are still perfect squares ooo Of m O poooooocoo0o00o J JO J IOOL JO 10 Before rotation After rotating 45 degrees 4 Use Ctrl D to make a duplicate of your array Set aside for the second example below 5 Draw the shape you want to fill with the lattice and arrange exactly how you want the lattice to look Notice how the edges of the rectangle go through the centers of the diagonal boxes This will make it look more uniform 76 6 Marquis select the grid and the rectangle From the Weld Tools on the Tools toolbar select the middle AND Weld tool The surrounding grid will disappear leaving the middle rectangle Draw a rectangle around the perimeter Marquis select and go to Arrange gt Make Path This is the image that will now be cut Again the warped squares are an oddity from the computer monitor The results will be perfect FAA AAA Fo aa MN SENSE SENDO PS SS PL bo 4 Sos oes PO 4 o A AS pS og POO OOO Oo PRA bo A SAA AA Immediately after Add a rectangle to Apply Arrange lt Make Path AND Weld the outsi
184. to have the ave blade holder Ha L vinyl roll forward at EPE HR Y move to end of oon Additional move at end the end to make 16 00 E Additional move at end the cut rather trimming easier than the Origin Default Settings Proposed Vinyl Cutting Settings The best way to combat marks in the vinyl is to have the pinch wheels on the outer edges of the vinyl and cut your images on the inside of the pinch wheels Thus position the vinyl so that the origin will be set just inside the right pinch wheel Adjust the Sign Blank dimensions accordingly Only use two pinch wheels versus three so that there will be no marks in the middle of the material After cutting remove the waste first Then apply transfer tape across the cut images repeating rows of tape to completely cover the images Lift the tape and images from the backing paper and press the sticky side of the images to the target location Press smoothly and firmly Use a credit card if desired to get even better adhesion Gently peel away the transfer tape e For easier removal of the waste from the backing either regular weeding or power weeding can be set up prior to the cut To do this Weed e Select the image and then under the Shape Tools on the Tools toolbar pick the Weed tool On the Smart Bar one can increase or decrease the size of the weed border Alternatively the Weed tool can also be invoked in the Cut Tools window or even set as a default in Cut gt Plotting Defaults Note
185. to penetrate the material B Decrease the speed and don t use more pressure than necessary C Make sure the material is pressed firmly and evenly to the mat and the mat is clean no residual small waste pieces Why is the cutter making random cuts slices on the page during or after it has cut the design Random cutting is caused by communication issues between your computer and the cutter Please post for helo at our support forum at www buy acs com support or contact your ACS dealer There are a number of possible fixes to this problem such as switching to a serial connection instead of USB The image moves after entering the Cut window Under Cut gt Plotting Defaults check the box next to Sign Blank Page will then be unchecked Click on Apply before clicking on Close Also not that the Sign Blank rotates 90 degrees in the cut window but the actual images have not moved unless Page is checked In this case the images are moved to the Origin for cutting When set the Sign Blank to letter size and then click cut the cut screen shows 12x12 why The green lines represent the machine limits The blue lines represent either the boundaries of your selected image in Page mode or the boundaries of your Sign Blank in Sign Blank mode When I cut pounced lines they are offset from the solid cut lines Under Cut gt Plotting Defaults check the box next to Sign Blank Page will then be unchecked Click on Apply before clicking on Close
186. to rotate the image manually Alternatively you can specify the number of degrees of rotation in the Smart Bar and then press the Enter key on your keyboard A positive number rotates clockwise a negative number rotates counter clockwise Mirroring and Flipping Select the image and go to Layout gt Size Move gt Mirror Or you can right click on any of the little squares surrounding the image and select Mirror from the list Then select either Vertical or Horizontal to flip the image accordingly The vertical mirror function is also an icon on the Operations toolbar To flip an object go to Layout gt Size Move gt Flip and choose to flip the object either horizontally or vertically Note that a guideline will appear which can be moved to set the location of the flipped object There is also an option to keep the original image Note that this is the same as Mirroring but with a little more functionality and can be very handy in designing Slanting To slant an object go to Layout gt Size Move gt Slant and either drag one of the two handles which will appear on the selected object or change the setting on the Smart Bar Note that either a horizontal or a vertical slant can be chosen Slant is also an icon on the Operations toolbar 24 Locking Select one or more objects and go to Arrange gt Lock Object This will lock in the size rotation and coloring but not the movement To unlock objects select and go to Arrange gt Unlock Object
187. to set the Text Enter any text you desire The sample being used now appears like this Note that when you save this file under a new name these settings are now saved as shown To start with a new date time set for example you must reopen the template file Job Tracking Under Cut gt Cut Tool Usage you can set up tracking for both the distance a tool e g blade will travel in a cut as well as the amount of time spent on the cutting job You can also track the history of cutting used by a particular tool in both number of days and distance cut 93 Estimating Cut Distance e Even before a cut is made selecting Cut gt Show Traveled Distance will indicate how many inches will be required to cut a particular image on the screen Note that objects need to be located within the Sign Blank boundaries when using this feature or the distances will only include what is inside Also you must turn off Axis Swap under Cut gt Plotting Defaults to get an accurate measurement Job Cost Notes e Under File gt Job Cost Notes you can create a database of customers and customer information and then enter information about each job including all the parameters associated with a particular job such as materials used and their cost cutting time delivery date etc Insert New Object e ACS Studio has the capability of inserting other popular Windows applications as needed into the workspace area for reference Go to Edit gt Insert New Object and
188. turned on and off by going to View gt Toolbars and checking or un checking the toolbar from the menu You can also right click on any toolbar and check uncheck any of the toolbars from the menu By resting your mouse over any of the toolbar icons a popup will appear indicating that icon s name function More information about the Tools toolbar is presented in Section 3 2 Tools Toolbar e Similarly there are three palettes which can be turned on and off by going to View gt Palettes Only the Shop Palette and Job Palette are shown as they are the most useful to paper crafters Use the Shop Palette to select colors for the objects in the Sign Blank Use the Job Palette to track which colors have been used in your current file This makes it easier to keep using the same colors rather than having to remember which particular shades you previously chose e Any of the toolbars or palettes can be dragged to a different location On the horizontal ones hold down the left mouse button on the gray dots on the left side and drag On the vertical ones drag the gray dots at the top e To create your own custom tool bar go to View gt Toolbars gt Customize and click on New In this window you can also select to have large sized icons on the screen If you make changes then be sure to save your configuration View gt Toolbars gt Save s Throughout this manual the terms image and object are used interchangeably to refer to vector images
189. uble click anywhere along a path to add a node 12 To then convert the blue line to a dashed line for perforated cutting called pouncing refer to Section 4 5 Using the Pounce Feature to Cut Dashed Lines Curved Line Tracing 1 The flower image in this example is made up of curves The tracing method is very similar As with the pocket template choose the Graphics Edit Tools and then the first Node Edit icon Since you may need to reenter the menu over and over follow the instructions from step 2 in the previous section to keep the submenu of tools readily available 2 Select a color from the Shop Palette for the tracing line 3 Click once to place your first node Then right click and select the upper right circle icon Curve Node Refer to the popup diagram above From this point forward curved lines will be drawn as you trace around the outside of the flower 4 In general you will need more nodes when tracing around tight curves and far fewer nodes when tracing along gentle curves As you practice this technique you will see that a node only needs to be placed when the trace curve begins to deviate from the original curve of the imported graphic Again do not fret if you see mistakes occurring as you can move add and delete nodes in the editing phase Just focus on click click clicking your way around the image 5 Once you return to the first node press the spacebar to end or click on Apply Note that you
190. ur material so that the pinch wheels will be positioned along the outside edges If using a mat then have both wheels on the material OR on the mat Make sure the blade tip is slightly above the surface of the material so that it will not scratch the material as it moves to begin cutting This slight distance above the material also provides extra downward force for cutting Set the origin on the cutter Set the force to 90 110 and the speed to 250 Perform a test cut to make sure the material is cut cleanly Increase the pressure if necessary It is okay if the test cut is still slightly adjoined at the start as there is no Overcut setting applied during the test cut refer to Section 2 2 Important Defaults to Check Select your image and cut Refer back to Chapter 4 for other information on cutting as needed Lift your cut image from the backing sheet and remove any stray circles that may still be slightly attached to the material If using the motif template rubber place on a clean sheet of paper or cardstock If using an alternative material that is not sticky on the back then apply an adhesive and then stick to a sheet of paper or cardstock Place the cut image into a shallow tray and pour rhinestones over the top Gently shake the tray back and forth The majority of the rhinestones should fill the holes with the adhesive side down Brush the excess rhinestone off to the sides and as needed flip rhinestones until every hole is fi
191. use button and begin moving in any direction away from the point An arc will suddenly appear The direction you move will control the size of the arc This long handle will not be a part of your final arc it is only there to help control the shape The further away you drag this handle the more control you will have Note this part of the arc will also be red The screen shot resulted 4 ___ init turning black 3 Continue to hold down the left mouse button down and when the desired look is achieved press the spacebar to end the construction and the arc will be complete A simpler method is to just click twice on either side of the boundaries of where you wish the arc to stop and end the arc Then edit the image and drag the path to form the arc pa A m rd ad Click twice to plant Click on Apply Double click to show Drag path downwards Click on Apply both nodes nodes to form arc This same method can be use to draw a heart turn on View gt Show Grid and Options gt Grid gt Snap to Grid Then use Arc Edit and the following steps Draw a diamond in four Click on Apply Then double Drag top two paths to intersections of grid click to show nodes form arcs of heart 13 Turn off Snap to Grid Drag center Drag two lower paths Click on Apply node down as desired inward just a bit 8 6 Polyarc Editing In the Polyarc editing mode paths can be dragged to easily create curves To create a quick tag draw a rectangle
192. using difficulty in removing paper pieces dab an old but clean T Shirt over the surface of the mat until stickiness is more appropriate for your material e Avoid direct contact between the pinch wheels and the mat as the rubber on the wheels will tend to pick up the adhesive and then later stick to the material you are cuiting If this happens these rubber wheels may be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol or Un Du Move the wheel away from a grit shaft apply the cleaner to a clean rag or paper towel and rub the entire wheel until free of adhesive e Alternatively silicon spray or silicon grease can be applied to the rubber wheels and then the adhesive from the mat will not stick to the rubber Do not spray the wheels directly instead spray a clean rag or a paper towel and then apply the wet paper towel to the wheels or use a cotton swab to apply the silicon to the wheels 1 7 Attaching the ACS Bolt On Tables The installation of the front and rear tables on your ACS is best done with two people Each box contains 2 identical tables front and rear and 8 screws First lay a soft towel down Next gently turn your ACS upside down to expose the bottom panel Unscrew the screws along one side of the bottom panel 11 Next slip one of the tables into place and put the bottom screws back in Once the screws are tightened turn the ACS back over where the cutter is facing up Insert 4 of the 8 screws that were packaged inside the b
193. ut Manually setting these positions after printing communicates to the cutter exactly where to cut the Marks image Tools Toolbar gt Shapes Tools Render to Bitmap Render to Bitmap will create a bitmap from any selected vector image Transform gt Render to Bitmap Reduce Nodes The Reduce Nodes function will eliminate excessive nodes from a polyarc image Arrange gt Reduce Nodes Use the Round Corner feature to round either the inner or outer corners of objects Transform gt Round Round Corner Corners ecurity Key This refers to the license files associated with a particular installation activation of the software The Segment Edit tool is used to reshape a section of the contour to fit a straight line a corner or a curve Segment Edit third icon in Arc Edit Smart Bar The Sequence feature has two uses Arrange objects on screen and arrange the order in which objects are cut Layout gt Sequence 0 D Q Cc ence The Shadow option creates shadow effects of varying styles depths and angles for objects Transform gt Shadow The basic color palette is the Shop Palette which lists the colors that are available for use on the workspace Shop Palette viewsPalettes gt Show Shop Palette The Sign Blank is a visual representation of the area that is available for printing and or cutting thus it is recommended that the sign blank size be the same dimensions as the material placed on the mat Layout gt B
194. ut gt gt Align to Last Object L R Align to last object left right Layout gt gt Align to Last Object Align to Selected Alt 1 Arrange objects to left side Layout gt gt Align to Selected gt Left Alt 2 Arrange objects vertically Layout gt gt Align to Selected gt Centers Horizontally Alt 3 Arrange objects to right side Layout gt gt Align to Selected gt Right Alt 4 Arrange objects to top Layout gt gt Align to Selected gt Top Alt 5 Arrange objects horizontally Layout gt gt Align to Selected gt Centers Vertically Alt 6 Arrange objects to bottom Layout gt gt Align to Selected gt Bottom Alt 7 Make selected objects concentric Arrange gt 2 objects with equal V Alt 8 spacing Layout gt gt Align to Selected gt Equal Vertical Spacing Arrange gt 2 objects with equal H Alt 9 spacing Layout gt gt Align to Selected gt Equal Horizontal Spacing Align to Sign Blank Alt Delete Align objects to the left Layout gt gt Align to Sign Blank gt Left Alt Insert Align objects to the top Layout gt gt Align to Sign Blank gt Top Alt Page Down Align objects to the right Layout gt gt Align to Sign Blank gt Right Alt Page Up Align objects to the bottom Layout gt gt Align to Sign Blank gt Bottom Alt End Center Horizontally Layout gt gt Align to Sign Blank gt Centers Horizontally Alt Home Center Vertically Layout gt gt Align to Sign Blank gt Centers Vertically Ctrl Q Arrange object
195. vectors for cutting Be patient while learning Be prepared to experiment with settings And remember that it s usually best to only change one parameter at a time to check the effect If you need additional help with the tracing process be sure to post at our message board at http www buy acs com support If you need clearer photos please refer to the pdf version available at http www buy acs com downloads htm 1 Import the image using File gt Import and locate the graphic file When the L shaped cursor appears you can left click once to paste the image into the Sign Blank in its original size Drag a corner to resize for viewing on the screen as desired 2 With the image selected go to Image gt Prepare to Vectorize Wizard Check the original image size shown on the screen and multiply by 2 If the result is less than 2 mb then enter 2 mb as it is the recommended minimum size to use Do not use the default value of 20 Prepare to Vectorize Wizard Double this value and enter the result in window below Enter at least a value of 2 Super Size We recommend that you Super Size the image before vectorization Original image size 0 11 MB 300 DPI Recommended image size 2 MB 4093 DPI 3 After clicking on OK a new window will open and you will see the following Adjust viewing size if desired Leave setting on Pataca neces Super Size V2 Pratt ees a a TN You will see a line Ute ORT Gas passi
196. vercut to compensate for the angle of the blade Verify your Overcut and Trailing Blade settings B Inconsistent cutting can sometimes result if the pressure isn t high enough or if the material is inconsistent in nature or the material wasn t pressed evenly to the mat After cutting try turning over the paper and rubbing lightly with a fine grained sandpaper Then the cut portions will usually separate easily My material is not cutting all the way through have the blade all the way out and I m using the maximum pressure B Refer to Section 4 2 It s important to only have as much blade exposed as is necessary to penetrate the material C Do not use more pressure than is needed If the material is cutting through about 90 of the cut then turn on Multi pass Some materials do better with a second pass D Humidity can greatly affect paper and cardstock as they will absorb moisture from the air Blow dry your materials before cutting if the materials has been exposed to high humidity The ACS will cut two or three words perfectly but anything after that is a surface cut The blade holder is slipping during cutting in the grip on the cutter Tighten the screw on the blade holder seat Operational Issues Incorrect Cuts When cutting paper the corners tear and get snagged on the blade It cuts beautifully with cardstock so the problem appears to be with lighter weight materials A Make sure you are only using as much blade length as needed
197. w of settings will be displayed The Pen Diameter is the size of the mark made on the surface of the material For the engraving tool set this number to 0 02 0 5 mm For markers and gel pens simply estimate the size relative to the engraving tool It s not critical that the number be all that accurate since the other settings in this window will be tweaked to give you the results you need o Fill Style Change from None to Line Sweep or S Sweep The latter appears to work more efficiently but may not give you the look you want o Fill Overlap Adjust either the amount or the percentage These two values are linked and modifying one will alter the other Again refer to the settings in Section 9 7 Using the Engraving Embossing Drop In Tool when working with vellum paper or cardstock o Fill Angle This is the angle of the sweep relative to the horizontal axis Try 45 degrees but any angle will be fine Again select based on the look you want You will observe that Banner Fill automatically produces a double outline of the image To change this color your image to anything but black Then when ready to use Banner Fill go to the cut window and click on the Sort and Cut All Colors icon and uncheck the color you chose leaving only black A single outline and the fill will be performed At the time of this writing there is a bug in ACS Studio which will cause images to revert to a non Axis Swap position after making changes to the Banner
198. will be removed Thus the quality of the tracing will be compromised with smaller settings Try 0 01 and check the results Use Edit gt Undo if necessary and enter a different setting larger or smaller until you are satisfied Yet another method of reducing nodes involves using Segment Edit Refer to the next section 62 7 4 Using Seqment Edit to Smooth Curved Sections segment Edit can be used to make uneven curves smoother and more natural This is our example 1 If necessary use Ctrl J to break the paths of the traced image While there is a Segment Edit function in the Polygon Editing Mode much better results are achieved in the Polyarc mode Thus convert the image by going to Arrange gt Convert to gt Polyarc Double click to bring up the nodes CN Click on the Segment Edit icon on the Smart Bar i Click once at the beginning of the segment you wish to edit and then again at the end of the segment The segment will turn red oN pe Peay Segment turns red f between two points x selected Na oe Ni o 4 Right click anywhere and a popup window of icons similar to the node edit menu will appear Select the top right icon which is the Arc Segment option The curve is now _ smoother and the nodes are reduced 5 You can continue this process by again clicking once along the path and then again further along the path and then right to bring up the menu Repeat around the path as needed t
199. wn arrow to open the menu of colors to select a different one OR click on Select All to go ahead and cut all the images of all colors at once 3 Note that after the first color is selected and the image cut the same Filter by Color window will open and the next color will be shown If you click on the down arrow and go into the color menu the first color will be marked out so that you can track which colors have already been cut Method C Filtering Colors in the Sign Blank Make sure Selected is checked under Cut gt Plotting Defaults Then in the main Sign Blank screen double click on the color you wish to cut from the Job Palette This will select all images of that color You can hold down the Shift key and select more colors if needed Then when you click on the Cut Tools icon only your objects in your selected color s will be sent to the Cut window 4 5 Using the Pounce Feature to Cut Dashed Lines There are two options for cutting dashed or pounced lines Cut and Pounce in One Step 1 In the main Sign Blank window use Ctrl A to select all images and go to Layout gt Ungroup 2 On the Job Palette double click the color you wish to change to a color to pounce within this file This color should then appear at the top on the Smart Bar Note that if you fail to select your images using this method then one or more images may not be changed to the new color that will be pounced 3 Double click on this color s box on the Smart

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