Embedded Files
Engraving/Rastering and Vectoring
Prior to creating and cutting my logo, I first had to understand the difference between rastering and vectoring. Raster images are constructed of a set grid of resolution-dependent pixels, meaning that they will not sustain a clear and high-quality image once resized; rasters are photos with lots of colors and shading. Files under rastering include PNG, GIF, JPG, and TIF. On the other hand, vector images are rendered by a computer using a mathematical formula and are made up of points and lines. These, in comparison to raster, will maintain a smooth, un-pixelated, and sharp image no matter what size (quality is constant); they often contain simple shapes with minimal colors and shading. Files under vectoring include EPS, SVG, and PDF. Both types of graphics can be laser cut, and both can be accessed through Inkscape/CorelDRAW. Once I discerned the two types, I downloaded a logo .png into Inkscape and traced the bitmap with the "brightness cutoff" setting. Then, I opened a separate document in Inkscape and traced another bitmap of the keychain, this time only tracing the edges. After that, I copied and pasted my logo into my keychain outline file; I cleaned it up and centered the logo, saving it as a plain.svg. I reopened the file in CorelDRAW, where I removed the inner lines of my bitmap in the "wireframe" display; I did this so that I would have more space for my leather keychain in the final raster. Once I adjusted the thickness of the outline to hairline, I used the x and y coordinates (based off the center of the cardboard) to position my keychain; because I was number 17 on the sheet, I set my x for 9.5 and y for 2.5. Subsequently, I exported my outline and logo as a .cdr (CorelDRAW) into the engproj google drive. On the separate computer, I changed the printer preferences to the appropriate settings (for both raster and vector) and hit print. The only difference between my cardboard test cut and the final leather was the vectoring/rastering settings on the preference page.
Image of the logo (.png)
Image of the traced bitmap in Inkscape
Tracing a bitmap in Inkscape:
I first looked up and saved an image from the internet in the form of .png and .jpg and imported it into Inkscape. Then, under the "Path" drop-down menu, I selected "trace bitmap" and clicked apply on the brightness cutoff setting; I chose that setting because the original logo did not contain many layers or different colors. The images on the left show the before and after the traced bitmap of the image.
Image of the leather keychain used for dimensions: 4.425" (length) x 2.241" (width of longer area), .106" thickness
Image of the traced bitmap on the keychain outline in Inkscape (red to show vectoring): In order to create the outline, I traced a bitmap of the leather keychain and fixed it with the pen tool. After that, I changed the color from black to red and imported the traced bitmap of my logo.
Image of the traced bitmap and the hairline outline in CorelDRAW. To delete the inner lines, I went under "View" and selected wireframe (hides fills and solely displays the bitmap), before using the virtual segment delete feature to remove the line.
Image of the vector and raster test cut on cardboard
My Movie 3.movVideo of the test cut with raster and vector (on cardboard)
My Movie 4.movVideo of the final cut with raster (on leather keychain)
Image of the final raster on leather keychain
Problems Encountered and Solutions
One issue I had was positioning my design on a specific area of the board. Initially, I approximated the length and height of the board to the center of my cutting area and changed the x and y coordinates of my file; however, based on the final positioning of the keychain, my measurements were not precise. There wasn't an exact solution to this as it did not impact my test and final cut, but I could've been more careful in my edits, making sure to measure the exact positioning rather than approximating
Another issue I encountered was when I traced the bitmap for my keychain outline. Originally, the traced bitmap turned out really messy and incorporated parts of the image outside the outline. I solved this issue by taking a photo that emphasized the outline; I placed the beige-colored keychain on a blue surface to contrast the colors. Additionally, I also selected the edge trace option when I imported it into Inkscape, allowing it to solely detect the outline. Later on, I found that another solution to this problem was to remove the background manually before tracing the bitmap - a lot of people in my class did the same with their outline.
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