Cutting Stickers From Autocad 2d .dwg File

[ozsamurai]

I would like some stickers cut using my AutoCAD files, but every shop I ask, says they need an .ai format or such as most of them use Adobe. I don't. Plus I want to ensure the finished product is mm accurate, can this be achieved in Adobe PS? I have googled this of course, but the responses are as clear as mud, most ending with a poorly rendered iage that they want to use for brochures, not what I need. Does anyone have a clue?

Cheers

Oz

[Guest Reimar]

I would like some stickers cut using my AutoCAD files, but every shop I ask, says they need an .ai format or such as most of them use Adobe. I don't. Plus I want to ensure the finished product is mm accurate, can this be achieved in Adobe PS? I have googled this of course, but the responses are as clear as mud, most ending with a poorly rendered iage that they want to use for brochures, not what I need. Does anyone have a clue?

Cheers

Oz

Normally it should be ok if you can save the pics as PDF file. Most of the Print Shops can use PDF formats. And it's easy for you to check the format and/or size is correct!

Cheers.

[Tywais]

Use the Plotter Manager and Add New Plotter. The wizard will come up and you can select either an Adobe Postscript or a PDF output. If your drawing units are in mm then set plot scale 1mm = 1unit. This will print to the files in the correct scale.

[A_Traveller]

Not sure that will work if the desire is for mm precision. PDF's out of AutoCad are OK for review, but for reasons that I find difficult to fathom, though I assume they are related to the Postscript functionality, True Type fonts are not always rendered 100% accurately {often thicker for example}.

There a number of AutoCad print shops, in Bangkok, though I don't use one myself, which could accommodate the source file.

Regards

Edited July 25, 2008 by A_Traveller

[Veazer]

I would like some stickers cut using my AutoCAD files, but every shop I ask, says they need an .ai format or such as most of them use Adobe. I don't. Plus I want to ensure the finished product is mm accurate, can this be achieved in Adobe PS? I have googled this of course, but the responses are as clear as mud, most ending with a poorly rendered iage that they want to use for brochures, not what I need. Does anyone have a clue?

Cheers

Oz

You would not want to do this as PS is a raster (pixel) based program and the files you are working with are vector files. You would be better suited to use Tywais's method or finish them in illustrator. If it were me, i'd do it in illustrator and convert all fonts to outlines... illustrator can import the autocad files fine.

[ozsamurai]

Tywais, Thanks for helping. I took your advice and set up the plotter, but in the plot of course it wants to open the file with Adobe, as I mentioned I don't have it, don't really want it either. I use JASCPaintShopPro for that kind of work.. Do I have to install it and then learn how to use it? All I really want is an accurate file format that I can give to a cutter, no fonts, just shape outlines....

Hmmmm.... what is the learning curve for Adobe anyway..

Oz

[Guest Reimar]

Tywais, Thanks for helping. I took your advice and set up the plotter, but in the plot of course it wants to open the file with Adobe, as I mentioned I don't have it, don't really want it either. I use JASCPaintShopPro for that kind of work.. Do I have to install it and then learn how to use it? All I really want is an accurate file format that I can give to a cutter, no fonts, just shape outlines....

Hmmmm.... what is the learning curve for Adobe anyway..

Oz

May you try a PDF Printer Driver like PDF995 or other which are freeware. After installaing just go to to print/plot and choose as output ther PDF Printer Driver whioch will create a PDF doicument and that you can print with any printer.

Cheers.