CUSTOM Outlines for Stickers

Non-Geometric Outlines

AKA, any image that's not a rectangle or circle.

(This tutorial assumes you've read the "generic" sticker instructions to familiarize yourself with the process.)

If you are making stickers from actual art, your image may not have such easily defined outlines. Here is how to generate a custom border.

BEFORE YOU START— make sure that:

-Your image must be a transparent PNG. There can be no background, or the software will not be able to trace the outline.

---> if it is Not a PNG, don't worry; we will be fixing it either way. But this will significantly reduce the prep time.

-Ensure there are no stray pixels, artifacting, etc! It will ruin the outline, and thus the cut. Follow the photoshop guide to learn more.

To learn how to prep your image to be a transparent PNG in Photoshop, please follow this guide.

Formatting in Illustrator

If you already have a clean, transparent PNG, you can start in Adobe Illustrator.

If you don't remember how, refer to the basic "How to Make a Sticker" for more instructions on importing your image. In brief:

File > Place your image.
Embed
Crop (if necessary)

STEP 1: Appearance Tab

Open the Appearance tab under Window > Appearance. (We will not use the one under the Properties sidebar)

We will mostly be dealing with the STROKE property, which is the outline of your sticker-- the cut path.

STEP 2:

In the bottom left, select the outline box image ( ☐ ) to add a Stroke.

THE STROKE WILL NOT IMMEDIATELY SHOW ! THIS IS OKAY!

STEP 3: FX > PATH > OUTLINE OBJECT

To make the Stroke show, select fx at the bottom, then Path > Outline Object.

This will generate the actual, visible outline around the edges of your PNG.

STEP 4: FX > PATH > OFFSET PATH

Offset the stroke to give your image a border. It will initially look jagged, don't worry. Adjust offset until you have suitable space.

The offset is optional if you want to cut right at the edge

STEP 5: JOINS: MITER --> ROUND

Change [Joins: Miter] to [Joins: Round] to soften the edges of the stroke. The miter limit is not used for Round.

STEP 6: Set cut contour

Select cut contour by clicking on the stroke color box then clicking the Swatch Libraries Menu (books) in the bottom left corner.

Next select the Roland Versaworks swatch library. (If you don't see this go back to the First Sticker guide and import the swatch).

Select the Magenta color, aka Cut Contour.

If you've selected the correct color, you should see the small triangle on the corner of the magenta stroke color.

If you do not see that, do not proceed to cut out your stickers. Retry the last few steps or ask a staff member for help.

Ready to Cut!

If everything looks good, then size your image, crop your artboard and save your file as a pdf. You can then bring it to the computer connected to the vinyl printer-cutter and follow the instructions on the first sticker guide to print it out!

Uh Oh!

This is what happens when you have floating pixels! DON’T DO THIS. Minimize bad cutting by making sure your art’s edges are clean at the start.

You can manually delete these extra strokes by separating the vector from the image by selecting Object > Expand Appearance. You will need to ungroup and may need to release the shape to individually select the inner shapes that you want to delete. You may want to combine the shapes by using the Pathfinder Unite feature. These steps can be a bit complicated so please reach out to a staff member if you need help.

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