Silhouette PDF Archives

Posted on May 16, 2021October 2, 2021 by silhouettesecretsplus — 1 Comment

Let’s Explore v4 – Opening a PDF

Opening a PDF file with Silhouette

Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Tutorial written in Silhouette Studio v4.4.472

With the Designer Edition upgrade or higher, a PDF file can be opened directly in the Silhouette software.

This is a great option to expand the file types that you can use in Silhouette. Most users are familiar with PDF files, but it isn’t a common cut file when referencing Silhouette. We typically use programs like Adobe Reader to open a PDF document to read it as they are usually text files. However, you may find things like patterns and designs in PDF format as well. This was one of the ways that we “hand-cut” templates prior to cutting machines. The file came as a PDF that you printed and then cut around with scissors.

This is a great option now for the cutting machines too! With the Designer Edition upgrade (or higher) you can open a PDF direct in the Silhouette software. Depending on the data that is included in the PDF document will depend on if it’s ready to cut or if it might need to be traced to get cut lines.

For today’s tutorial, I am using a Leather card holder pattern by
Make Supply Leather Craft Company found HERE.
I downloaded the 8.5″ x 11″ template as I work with Letter size most often.
I suggest downloading the file and go through the steps to see how it works in Silhouette.

For a PDF document, the best way to open is to use File > Open in the Silhouette software.
Locate the file and then click Open.

By using the File > Open method, the software then brings up a window on how you want to treat this file.
Note: the drag and drop method for opening files may not prompt this PDF window to appear

If the PDF document is multiple pages, you can choose which page you want to open on the design mat. The Silhouette software can only open 1 page of the PDF file on each design mat at a time.

What if you want multiple pages on the same design mat?
Open each page on separate design mats and then copy and paste all into one file.
Just keep in mind the more you add to one file, the more data is involved.
Depending on how the PDF was created, they can be heavy in data.

Next, you will choose how you want to Import the PDF – as a vector or as an image.
Depending on the selection you choose, the options will also change on this window.

Open as a Vector

This will ultimately depend on the PDF you are working with, but I always start with the vector option. This is because some PDF files contain cut data already and by importing as a vector you can see if that is the case with the file you are working with.
This is dependent on how the PDF was created on whether it has cut data or not.

When opening as a vector you can choose to have it open “grouped” or not by checking or unchecking the box. This means that the cut lines will be grouped together or if they will all be separate pieces that can be moved individually.

Select Import in the bottom right corner.

The document will open onto a new design mat.

Now, how do we know if it contains cut data or not?
Click on the Send tab and if it has cut data, bold red cut lines will appear around the images.

Each document is going to vary in what you see next. Most times it will place bold red cut lines around all the objects on the PDF document as you see here. If you send this to cut, it will attempt to cut every single bold red cut line, including that small text.

Most times you do not need that, you only need the file outline itself.

Click back on the Design tab.

I then move the file off the cutting mat to work with it. Since I chose to open as “grouped” the entire file moves as one piece. If you unchecked Grouped, then make sure to selected everything prior to moving or it will move individual pieces.

Right click and choose Ungroup.

Now, I can select individual parts that I want to keep. Each file will be different.

In this case, when I grab the outline, it only moved the top section of the file. This is all in how the document was created. Since it was created as a file that was meant to be printed and used as a template, the files may need a little bit of work to make them a good cut.
If it only moves individual parts, make sure to click Undo to send it back to it’s position.
Ctrl+z is the keyboard shortcut for Undo.

To select multiple parts together, click on one and hold the Shift key down and click on the next piece. This will select more than one piece at a time.
Move those pieces on to the design mat.
With both parts selected you will see a gray selection box around each piece

The next steps may vary depending on your design.

In this case, I have 2 separate line designs that need to be combined into one.
With both selected, right click and choose Make Compound Path.

Double click on the outline and it will bring up the Edit Points.

Red edit points mean that there is a broken line. Just choosing make compound path does not completely “join” the design together. We have to also close the path as well.
Click on the red dots to close the path.

If the edit points are not close together, you may need to move them to “connect the dots”.

For more information on Edit points, check out this post HERE.
Edit points are a great tool to have in your toolbox and understand how they work.

Click on Send and the bold red cut lines will now show around the outline of the design.

Each file is going to vary in what it might need to get to the point of being ready to cut. In this case, I was using it to cut leather with the Cameo 4 and 3 mm Kraft blade, so all I needed was the outline of the card case.

When a PDF file is opened as a vector, if there was cut data it will open like this. However, not all PDF files are created with that cut data. But, the only way to know is to open it as a vector to find out.

If the file does not have bold red cut lines when the Send tab is activated, then the file would need to be traced to get cut lines.

For more information on the Trace Panel, check out the
Let’s Explore v4 – Trace Panel HERE.

Import as Image

The other option for opening a PDF document is to import as an image.

When this option is selected, you can choose the DPI settings that it opens as. This option may be a better option if you are opening a PDF document that is heavy on graphic images.
Again, each file is just going to vary on what works best.
Also keep in mind that the file can only open with the data that the file was saved as. For instance, if an image is low resolution and low quality, no matter what you choose under dpi, it can only open with the data it was saved with. It cannot generate new data to make it higher quality.

Click Import to open as an image.

When a PDF is opened as an image, it is a photo of the file.
So in this case, it is a photo of the 8.5″ x 11″ because that is the size of the PDF file.

This is easier seen by moving the image off the cutting mat. You can see it is a white page that is 8.5″ x 11″.

Also something to mention is the yellow triangle that may appear in the top left corner. This means that it is saying that the image may be low resolution to print as is.
Since I left it at the default of 72 dpi, it is low resolution.
If I change the dpi to 300, the yellow triangle does not appear when the file is opened.
The image quality could affect the trace, but you will just have to test with each file.

The next step is that the image will need to be traced to get a cut line.

Open the Trace Panel on the right side and draw the trace box around the design.

The trace options may need to be adjusted to get the best trace. The entire design that you want to be trace should be as solid, smooth yellow as possible. I start with the threshold and increase that first and it usually gives me the best trace.

You may need to zoom in on the image to see how the yellow is showing up, this can depend on the screen size you are using.

Once everything is as yellow as possible, click the Trace option at the bottom of the panel and then move the trace back onto the design mat.

Now here is where the next steps can vary depending on what you need for the file. Since we traced it, it will trace the inside and outside of the black lines. In this case, I only need the outer edge of the design.

Right click on the trace and choose Release Compound Path.

This will break the design up into pieces.
Click off the design to deselect it and then click back on the outer edge to move it away.
All the other pieces of this file could be deleted as they are not needed for my project.
But, each design will vary. If you were to cut this out of cardstock, you may want to keep the score lines or to draw new ones.

Double click on the trace line and take a look at the edit points. Since it is a trace, it may have a lot.

Simplify the design as needed in the Edit Points panel.

The file may need more cleanup such as these corners with several edit points still in them. You can try Simplify again or start deleting edit points as needed.

Click on the Send tab to see how it will look and cut.

I find I will always start with importing a PDF as a vector file just in case it already contains cut data because it will save me a bit of work to tracing and cleaning up the file.

But, no 2 files are created the same and the more you know how to work with the tools in the Silhouette software, the easier it will be to figure out what is needed for each file.

I love to see what you are creating with your Silhouette machines!
Feel free post on the
Silhouette Secrets+ Facebook Group.

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.

Enjoy!

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Posted on December 21, 2020October 2, 2021 by silhouettesecretsplus — Leave a comment

Holiday decor with Silhouette

This year has definitely been an interesting one. I haven’t really felt like pulling all of the Christmas decorations out, but still wanted to do something.

While cruising on Pinterest one night, I saw this and thought it would be perfect for a bit different look on our buffet in our dining area this year.

Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

This is a Christmas village that is constructed out of black cardstock and the window inserts on printable vellum. So it was fairly easy to put together.
The file can be found HERE – on the Adventure in a Box website.
I purchased the full file so I was able to get right to the project instead of creating my own images.

Now, they hand cut all of the files, but I’m not much up for that. Since you can open PDF files in the Silhouette software directly with the Designer Edition upgrade or higher, you can bring it right into the Silhouette software to set up to cut for you.

Let’s take a look at how that is done.

Make sure you are using the PDF file for this design. I used the png images for the silhouette parts and it was not the same size as the PDF file silhouettes, so they were a little bit big for the cutouts of the houses.

First, like I said above, you will need at least the Designer Edition upgrade or higher to open the pdf file.

Download the file, save it to a safe place, and then unzip/extract the file.
Next, in the top left corner of the software choose File > Open in the Silhouette software and choose the PDF file.

When you open a PDF file, it will give you a couple of options. I always try the
“Import as vector” first because in some cases, depending on how the file was created, it may open up with cut lines already done. The only way to know is to open as a vector and click on the Send tab to see if the cut lines are there.

If the PDF file has more than 1 page to it, you will want to choose which page to open first.

In this case, the first 3 pages are instructions, so we don’t need those at the moment. They can be handy for assembly if you need them. I chose Page 4 and then click on Import in the bottom right corner to open the file.

Now, use the Basic Trace, increase the threshold until it turns as smooth of yellow on the black as possible.

Now click Trace and then move the original design away. Since the original design does not have “score” lines to fold the building on for it to stand up, I added those in myself.

Using the Line Drawing tool on the left side, hold the Shift key down and draw a line that almost touches from one end to the next. I didn’t want the score line to cut edge to edge, so I made the line a little bit smaller.
Next, on the Line Style Panel on the right side, change the Style of the line to a dashed line. This will act like a score line and not be fully cut through and the cardstock can easily be folded on this line. Adjust the line between the outer cut lines as needed.

Select the entire design and the score lines and then right click and choose Group, so the entire design moves as one piece. Using the Transform Panel – Rotate Tab, rotate the design 90 degrees on the page.

Fill it with color to see what it will look like when cut. Now, save the design.

You will do this for all of the pages with the house designs.
Then I cut each out of black cardstock.

Next, we will open the next page of the PDF file for the silhouettes in the windows. Using File > Open once again, choose the PDF file, then page 5, and choose open as a vector.

This is how it will open up.

Next, using the Draw Rectangle tool on the left side, draw a rectangle around each of these window images. We do not need all of the black grid lines to print, only the images.
Make sure to give yourself some clearance around the images so there is area to add glue to.

Now, select the entire design and drawn rectangles.
You can either hit Ctrl+A to select all on the page or left click and hold the mouse button down and drag it across the entire design touching each object you want to select.
Then open the Modify Panel on the right side and choose Crop.

Now, let’s use the Transform Panel – Rotate Tab to turn the designs to work with a little bit easier.

Now, save this file.

I then opened up all of the silhouette files and cropped the images down. Then copied and pasted them all onto one design mat. And then we can set this file up as a Print and Cut project. I would suggest saving each Print and Cut page as a new design, just in case you have to go back and recut the pieces for some reason.

For tips on setting up a Print and Cut projects, check out this Print and Cut Basics post HERE.
I recommend printing using all of the defaults for the print and cut, for the best results.

Once you have the page setup with the registration marks, print each page on printable vellum. I used this I found on Amazon HERE.
I printed using the photo quality for matte paper. Printing at photo quality allows the ink to be laid down on the paper at a slower rate and allows it to dry better when working with specialty papers.

The first 2 pages I cut with had no issues what so ever and then the 3rd page would not cut correctly. I ended up printing it 5 times, just trying it over and over.
When I should have done this little trick in the first place.
Place white paper underneath the registration marks in each corner. This allows the optical eye a better chance at picking up only the registration marks printed and not other interference. Make sure the white paper is cut large enough that it would be the same size as the cross-hatched area for best results.

Keep in mind that the Silhouette optical eye is just a laser that turns on when you have registration marks on your page. This laser eye is looking for black marks on the page. However, it’s just a laser eye, it will pick up any black marks on the page. This includes the Silhouette grid lines if the paper is translucent or clear. This is also why the cross-hatched area around the registration marks is so important! And why, for the best results you should not have your design or cut lines in the cross-hatched area. As I said, it worked for the first 2 pages, but it didn’t like that 3rd page.

And that little trick was all it took for it to pick up the registration marks and cut accurately. Again, this is only something that might need to be added if the paper you are using is translucent or clear.

Once it’s all cut out of the black paper and the printable vellum, I used a bit of Scrapbook tape runner adhesive to glue it to the backside of the black cardstock, folded the score lines, and set it up.

I added some tea lights behind the designs to let it shine through and I have a new piece of holiday décor in our dining room.

Supplies used:
Christmas Village file – Adventure in a Box
Black Cardstock
Printable Vellum
Scrapbook Adhesive tape runner
Tealights

Whether you create the same file, design your own silhouette images to fit in the Christmas Village, or follow the same techniques as I used above for another project; I hope you will share that on my Facebook group here
Silhouette Secrets with EllyMae.
If you have questions feel free to post below or on the Facebook group too!

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.