Making scroll saw patterns laser-ready

I use a scroll saw to cut out Christmas ornaments for sale. I have a good market for my products but am limited in the amount I can produce using my scroll saw. I am seriously considering buying a laser, probably an Epilog 45 watt Mini-24. My question is: how difficult is it to convert scroll saw patterns so that they can be vector cut on a laser. I know the lines need to be very smooth. I have Corel 11 and have tried to use it with some of my patterns, but I haven't gotten good at it at all. The sales reps talk like it's really easy, but I haven't found it to be so. I need to be efficient at this before buying a laser so I can be up and running as soon as possible after the machine comes in. I'll appreciate any help.

Buy or make your patterns in vector format. Then it is easy.

Show us one of your patterns. Then we might have a better idea of how difficult it is to work with. There is a person, Pete Bartran, who will convert it to vector format for $9.

I think I can find his web page if you want it.

Take a look at LaserImageArts.com to see some examples of ornaments I have laser cut.

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Originally Posted by David Sparks

My question is: how difficult is it to convert scroll saw patterns so that they can be vector cut on a laser. I know the lines need to be very smooth. I have Corel 11 and have tried to use it with some of my patterns, but I haven't gotten good at it at all.

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I'm assuming you have hardcopy patterns and a scanner, yes? It's actually pretty easy...and once you've done it, scaling and manipulating the patterns (e.g. to personalize the items) is trivial.

Step 1 is to get really good, clean scans: very high contrast and as little "noise" as possible. Spend some time getting familiar with the "dust removal" function of PhotoPaint or whatever photo/bitmap program you're fond of: that function will be your best friend when dealing with scans of less-than-perfect artwork.

Step 2 is to upgrade to Corel X3: the trace function is integrated (as opposed to a separate application) and works a lot better than the one in earlier versions. There are settings to allow you to adjust the smoothing and detail on the trace.

Of course the good news here is that (1) you already are somewhat familiar with Corel and (2) you can do all of this preliminary stuff before getting the laser.

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Originally Posted by Pete Simmons

Buy or make your patterns in vector format. Then it is easy.

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Well, yeah, that too.:p

But that's a good point: there's a lot of repetition and symmetry in things like Xmas ornaments. Once you get up the Corel learning curve (or Adobe AI or whatever), these are a lot easier to deal with on the computer than on paper, regardless of whether you're using a scrollsaw or a laser to cut them out.

And BerryBasket.com has some nice designs in pdf formats which can be used in Corel. I consider them to be bargain priced.

Here's an example of the patterns I use.

http://home.wi.rr.com/bertrandart/vector_art.html


Send it to Pete Bertrand.

$9 and it done.

No I am not a salesman for Pete nor do I get any kick back. I have used him a few times and I know he does good work.

David,

For that sort of image the Corel Trace you have in Corel 11 will work, it's just going to take some time to learn. I suggest that when you scan you save as a .tif file, they seem to trace better than other bitmaps.

See if this helps.

http://www.letterhead.com/ubb-cgi/ul...0;t=000049;p=0

Beautiful work, Pete. How long did it take you to learn how to produce such high quality work?

David

Believe it or not 99.999% of everything I learned came from right here -SMC. I am just over 1 year now. I have a Epilog Mini-18 35 watt. It is a magic machine.

This site has a tremendous amount of info and talented people ready to help out. Study the laser posts.

Keith not only runs the place but he has been a great help to getting me going in the right direction in this world of lasers.

Thanks for the nice words about the work posted on my site.

I also use Pete Bertrand for vector conversion. He can't be beat
$9 and its done. 24 hour or less turn around.
Some day when I get everything else to work right I will learn to do this to, but for now if it don't scan right off it goes.

Just a happy customer no affiliation.

I looked on his web site. I couldn't find any reference to $9.00 everything was a little more.

I think his price used to be that. It's $12 now.

Pete's price is up to $12. It's still an incredible bargain. I haven't used him but I probably will very soon. I haven't had a need. The folks on Engraving Etc all rave over his work and also the lead time is so short. Twelve dollars is a bargain if you can't duplicate his work in a couple of hours. I know I can't!!!