AI file for Cameo?

Creative Arts
#1

How can I get an .ai file onto the Cameo 4? I need to do a “print and cut”. I know Illustrator can export to .dxf - is that what it takes?

Trying to figure out the work flow … TIA.

EasySubli HTV - what I learned
#2

Silhouette doesn’t accept .ai files…

#3

  1. The free edition of Silhouette Studio doesn’t directly import .ai files so I’m asking what people are using as a workaround.

  2. Silhouette says their free version imports dxf so I’m asking if anyone is using that workaround and details.

In addition to workarounds, there are three very inexpensive Silhouette options that might have promise. For each, I’m wondering:

(a) Anyone tried it?
(b) Is CA willing to make the one time purchase (IDK how licensing works)
(c) If I buy that edition for my home machine, can I save Silhouette files that the CA machine can use?

  1. The $50 Designer edition imports .svg files or vectorized .pdf and Illustrator exports those.

  2. The $100 Business edition of Silhouette Studio directly imports .ai files

  3. Silhouette has a $39 plug in that allegedly allows you to go directly from Illustrator to Silhouette.

#4

@mreynolds tells me we have this version, so it will directly import .ai files. Problem solved.

#5

OK, so a couple months later I have used the Silhouette software to import my .ai files and I have a couple observations to share.

  1. Illustrator can generate files that are much more complex than Silhouette can understand. AFAICT, this is primarily an issue with layers and groups of layers. It took me a couple hours to tweak my .ai file so Silhouette could interpret it correctly.

  2. Silhouette had trouble interpreting some of the gradients that were created in Illustrator.

  3. My Illustrator image contained a gradient topographical map and it completely (and repeatedly) crashed Silhouette. The solution was to create a solid filled vector in order to retain the cut shape, save the map portion as an image (.png, IIRC), and then insert the map image into the composite Silhouette file after importing the emasculated Illustrator file.

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#6

I use CorelDraw, which Silhouette will directly import, and had the same issues. I’ve found that exporting as a 24bit png file and loading that gives better results and doesn’t crash Silhouette.

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#7

Imagine Silhouette as a cutting tool, not a full-fledged design program. It works best with simpler designs.

As a graphic designer with 10+ years in the sign industry here’s what I would recommend: Try creating a separate AI file specifically for cutting (assuming we have the correct version for importing .ai files, if not .pdf could work). This new file would just include the cut lines on a single layer, separate from anything else in your design. You can then export two different files - one for printing with all the bells and whistles, and a simpler one for cutting in Silhouette that only has the cut lines and registration marks.

By keeping the cutting information simple, Silhouette will have an easier time understanding what needs to be cut.

Even at the sign studios I’ve worked at with leading-edge machines and software, I had separate files all created from a master file each with its own set of data for the job. Think about it like this, the right tool for the right job.

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