{"course":{"slug":"vector-and-print","title":"Vectors, Logos and Things That Get Printed","url":"https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print","level":"beginner","track":"create"},"lesson":{"slug":"vinyl-cutting-end-to-end","title":"A vinyl job from file to wall","url":"https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print/vinyl-cutting-end-to-end","position":66,"of":73,"minutes":8,"answer":"A plotter cuts outlines, so text must be curves, strokes must be outlined and overlaps welded, and the real constraint is weeding.","keyIdea":"A plotter cuts outlines, so text must be curves, strokes must be outlined and overlaps welded, and the real constraint is weeding, which sets a minimum feature of about 2 mm and makes every counter a separate piece held only by the transfer tape."},"body":{"format":"markdown","text":"## What the machine is\n\nA cutting plotter holds a small blade in a swivelling holder and drags it over material on a roll while the roll moves back and forth under it. It does not print. It cuts outlines, and the colour comes from the vinyl you loaded.\n\nRoland and Graphtec are the machines most signage shops aspire to; a large number of small shops run cheaper Chinese plotters with ArtCut, SignMaster or FlexiSign. Cricut and Silhouette are the hobby end of exactly the same technology.\n\n## The materials, because they decide the design\n\n- **Cast vinyl**: thin, conformable, 5 to 10 year outdoor life. For vehicles and curved surfaces. Expensive.\n- **Calendered vinyl**: thicker, cheaper, 3 to 5 years, shrinks a little over time. Flat surfaces: shop boards, shutters, windows.\n- **Reflective**: for road and safety signage. Thick and hard to weed.\n- **Heat transfer vinyl (HTV)**: cut, weeded, then heat-pressed onto fabric. **Must be cut mirrored**, because it is applied face down.\n- **Etch or frosted film**, **one-way vision** perforated film for vehicle windows, **floor graphics** with a textured laminate.\n\n## Preparing the file\n\nFive steps, in this order, and skipping one costs a sheet of vinyl:\n\n> Figure: Preparing a file for the blade. Steps: 1. Text to curves (The shop will not have your font); 2. Strokes outlined (The blade follows a centreline); 3. Weld overlaps (Or buried edges are cut too); 4. Clear the file (Stray points, hidden layers); 5. Set real size (1:1 in mm, and in the filename). In this order, and skipping one costs a sheet of vinyl. The plotter cuts what is in the file rather than what is on screen, so a hidden layer and a stray zero-length path are both cut.\n\n1. **Convert all text to curves.** The shop's software will not have your font.\n2. **Convert all strokes to outlines.** The blade follows the path. A stroked letter is cut as a single line down the middle of the outline, which is the commonest beginner failure.\n3. **Weld all overlaps.** Two overlapping script letters are two closed paths, so the blade cuts the buried edges too and the join falls apart. Union everything that visually touches.\n4. **Remove everything invisible.** Stray points, zero-length paths, objects outside the artboard, hidden layers. The plotter cuts what is in the file, not what is on screen.\n5. **Set the real size.** Build at 1:1 if the software allows. Put the size in the filename.\n\nThen check the node count and simplify any traced artwork. The plotter decelerates at every node; a 4,000-node letter takes minutes instead of seconds and comes out rougher.\n\n## Weeding sets the minimum feature size\n\nAfter cutting, a person picks out the waste vinyl by hand with a hooked tool. This is **weeding**, and it is where design meets physical reality.\n\n- Anything narrower than about **2 mm** tears while being weeded.\n- Fine serifs, thin script connectors and small counters are not a stylistic risk, they are physically impossible.\n- The counter of an `a` or the middle of an `o` comes out as a **separate piece**, held in place only by the transfer tape. Below about 5 mm across, they get lost.\n- A design with hundreds of small holes takes an hour to weed, and that hour is on the quotation.\n\nFor a complex job, add **weed lines** (extra cut lines through the waste, dividing it into manageable sections) and **weed boxes** around groups of letters.\n\n## Application\n\nWorth understanding even if somebody else does it, because it changes the file.\n\n1. Cut, then weed.\n2. Lay **application tape** (a low-tack transfer paper) over the design and squeegee it down.\n3. Peel the design away from its backing; it comes up on the tape.\n4. Position on the surface: wet application with soapy water gives you repositioning time on large pieces.\n5. Squeegee from the centre out, then peel the tape back at a sharp angle.\n\nWhich is why the counters matter: the tape holds them, and the design must keep them large enough to survive.\n\n## The free path\n\n- **Inkscape** exports SVG and DXF; most cutting software imports both. Set the document to millimetres at 1:1.\n- **Inkcut**, a free Inkscape extension, drives many plotters directly over USB or serial, handling HPGL output and weed boxes.\n- **LibreCut** and **`vpype`** are other free options for plotter workflow.\n- Hobby machines (Cricut, Silhouette) mostly need their own software, which will import SVG.\n\n## The question to ask before you draw\n\n> What is the smallest stroke you can weed in this material, and what is the sheet width?\n\nSheet width decides whether a 1.4 m sign is one piece or three with a join, and the smallest weedable stroke decides your typeface. Both are one sentence, and both change the design."},"check":{"question":"A shop cuts a script wordmark in vinyl. The letters were drawn with a 3 mm stroke on a single connected path and the file was sent without further preparation. What comes off the machine?","options":[{"text":"A single cut line down the centre of each letterform, because the blade follows the path.","correct":true},{"text":"The letters cut correctly, but with the overlapping joins cut through, so the script separates into pieces.","correct":false,"tempting":"This is the welding failure, which happens once strokes have been outlined. With a live stroke the machine never sees the letter shapes at all."},{"text":"Nothing, because plotter software rejects files containing strokes rather than closed paths.","correct":false,"tempting":"Cutting software accepts the file and cuts what it finds. Silent wrong output is the normal failure here, not a rejection."},{"text":"Each letter cut twice over, once along each side of the stroke, leaving nothing but a thin ribbon of vinyl.","correct":false,"tempting":"That is what happens after stroke-to-path is applied. Without it there is one path and therefore one cut line."}]},"prev":{"slug":"paths-that-cut-and-stitch","title":"The paid vector work is mostly machines, not posters","url":"https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print/paths-that-cut-and-stitch"},"next":{"slug":"print-and-cut-registration","title":"Print and cut, and the marks the machine looks for","url":"https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print/print-and-cut-registration"},"authorship":"Founder and series editor: Dr Mustafa Mun. Written by AI models to a written standard. Exam keys checked blind by a second model: 3,665 of 3,666 agreed. Academic review invited.","review":{"status":"Draft, open for academic review"},"cite":"Addaly (2026) 'A vinyl job from file to wall', in Vectors, Logos and Things That Get Printed. Edited by M. Mun. Addaly. Available at: https://addaly.com/learn/vector-and-print/vinyl-cutting-end-to-end (Accessed: 13 October 2026).","licence":{"name":"CC BY-NC-SA 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"},"reader":{"schema":1,"title":"A vinyl job from file to wall","courseTitle":"Vectors, Logos and Things That Get Printed","module":{"index":8,"slug":"machines-that-make-things","title":"Machines that cut, stitch and burn"},"answer":null,"keyIdea":"A plotter cuts outlines, so text must be curves, strokes must be outlined and overlaps welded, and the real constraint is weeding, which sets a minimum feature of about 2 mm and makes every counter a separate piece held only by the transfer tape.","hero":{"kind":"figure","figure":{"t":"figure","label":"Figure","figure":{"type":"flow","steps":[{"label":"Text to curves","detail":"The shop will not have your font"},{"label":"Strokes outlined","detail":"The blade follows a centreline"},{"label":"Weld overlaps","detail":"Or buried edges are cut too"},{"label":"Clear the file","detail":"Stray points, hidden layers"},{"label":"Set real size","detail":"1:1 in mm, and in the filename"}],"title":"Preparing a file for the blade","caption":"In this order, and skipping one costs a sheet of vinyl. The plotter cuts what is in the file rather than what is on screen, so a hidden layer and a stray zero-length path are both cut."},"alt":"Figure: Preparing a file for the blade. Steps: 1. Text to curves (The shop will not have your font); 2. Strokes outlined (The blade follows a centreline); 3. Weld overlaps (Or buried edges are cut too); 4. Clear the file (Stray points, hidden layers); 5. Set real size (1:1 in mm, and in the filename). In this order, and skipping one costs a sheet of vinyl. The plotter cuts what is in the file rather than what is on screen, so a hidden layer and a stray zero-length path are both cut."}},"blocks":[{"t":"h2","id":"what-the-machine-is","runs":[{"text":"What the machine is"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"A cutting plotter holds a small blade in a swivelling holder and drags it over material on a roll while the roll moves back and forth under it. It does not print. It cuts outlines, and the colour comes from the vinyl you loaded."}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Roland and Graphtec are the machines most signage shops aspire to; a large number of small shops run cheaper Chinese plotters with ArtCut, SignMaster or FlexiSign. Cricut and Silhouette are the hobby end of exactly the same technology."}]},{"t":"h2","id":"the-materials-because-they-decide-the-design","runs":[{"text":"The materials, because they decide the design"}]},{"t":"ul","items":[[{"text":"Cast vinyl","b":true},{"text":": thin, conformable, 5 to 10 year outdoor life. For vehicles and curved surfaces. Expensive."}],[{"text":"Calendered vinyl","b":true},{"text":": thicker, cheaper, 3 to 5 years, shrinks a little over time. Flat surfaces: shop boards, shutters, windows."}],[{"text":"Reflective","b":true},{"text":": for road and safety signage. Thick and hard to weed."}],[{"text":"Heat transfer vinyl (HTV)","b":true},{"text":": cut, weeded, then heat-pressed onto fabric. "},{"text":"Must be cut mirrored","b":true},{"text":", because it is applied face down."}],[{"text":"Etch or frosted film","b":true},{"text":", "},{"text":"one-way vision","b":true},{"text":" perforated film for vehicle windows, "},{"text":"floor graphics","b":true},{"text":" with a textured laminate."}]]},{"t":"h2","id":"preparing-the-file","runs":[{"text":"Preparing the file"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Five steps, in this order, and skipping one costs a sheet of vinyl:"}]},{"t":"ol","start":1,"items":[[{"text":"Convert all text to curves.","b":true},{"text":" The shop’s software will not have your font."}],[{"text":"Convert all strokes to outlines.","b":true},{"text":" The blade follows the path. A stroked letter is cut as a single line down the middle of the outline, which is the commonest beginner failure."}],[{"text":"Weld all overlaps.","b":true},{"text":" Two overlapping script letters are two closed paths, so the blade cuts the buried edges too and the join falls apart. Union everything that visually touches."}],[{"text":"Remove everything invisible.","b":true},{"text":" Stray points, zero-length paths, objects outside the artboard, hidden layers. The plotter cuts what is in the file, not what is on screen."}],[{"text":"Set the real size.","b":true},{"text":" Build at 1:1 if the software allows. Put the size in the filename."}]]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Then check the node count and simplify any traced artwork. The plotter decelerates at every node; a 4,000-node letter takes minutes instead of seconds and comes out rougher."}]},{"t":"h2","id":"weeding-sets-the-minimum-feature-size","runs":[{"text":"Weeding sets the minimum feature size"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"After cutting, a person picks out the waste vinyl by hand with a hooked tool. This is "},{"text":"weeding","b":true},{"text":", and it is where design meets physical reality."}]},{"t":"ul","items":[[{"text":"Anything narrower than about "},{"text":"2 mm","b":true},{"text":" tears while being weeded."}],[{"text":"Fine serifs, thin script connectors and small counters are not a stylistic risk, they are physically impossible."}],[{"text":"The counter of an "},{"text":"a","code":true},{"text":" or the middle of an "},{"text":"o","code":true},{"text":" comes out as a "},{"text":"separate piece","b":true},{"text":", held in place only by the transfer tape. Below about 5 mm across, they get lost."}],[{"text":"A design with hundreds of small holes takes an hour to weed, and that hour is on the quotation."}]]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"For a complex job, add "},{"text":"weed lines","b":true},{"text":" (extra cut lines through the waste, dividing it into manageable sections) and "},{"text":"weed boxes","b":true},{"text":" around groups of letters."}]},{"t":"h2","id":"application","runs":[{"text":"Application"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Worth understanding even if somebody else does it, because it changes the file."}]},{"t":"ol","start":1,"items":[[{"text":"Cut, then weed."}],[{"text":"Lay "},{"text":"application tape","b":true},{"text":" (a low-tack transfer paper) over the design and squeegee it down."}],[{"text":"Peel the design away from its backing; it comes up on the tape."}],[{"text":"Position on the surface: wet application with soapy water gives you repositioning time on large pieces."}],[{"text":"Squeegee from the centre out, then peel the tape back at a sharp angle."}]]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Which is why the counters matter: the tape holds them, and the design must keep them large enough to survive."}]},{"t":"h2","id":"the-free-path","runs":[{"text":"The free path"}],"role":"free"},{"t":"ul","items":[[{"text":"Inkscape","b":true},{"text":" exports SVG and DXF; most cutting software imports both. Set the document to millimetres at 1:1."}],[{"text":"Inkcut","b":true},{"text":", a free Inkscape extension, drives many plotters directly over USB or serial, handling HPGL output and weed boxes."}],[{"text":"LibreCut","b":true},{"text":" and "},{"text":"vpype","b":true,"code":true},{"text":" are other free options for plotter workflow."}],[{"text":"Hobby machines (Cricut, Silhouette) mostly need their own software, which will import SVG."}]]},{"t":"h2","id":"the-question-to-ask-before-you-draw","runs":[{"text":"The question to ask before you draw"}]},{"t":"quote","runs":[{"text":"What is the smallest stroke you can weed in this material, and what is the sheet width?"}]},{"t":"p","runs":[{"text":"Sheet width decides whether a 1.4 m sign is one piece or three with a join, and the smallest weedable stroke decides your typeface. Both are one sentence, and both change the design."}]}],"check":{"question":[{"text":"A shop cuts a script wordmark in vinyl. The letters were drawn with a 3 mm stroke on a single connected path and the file was sent without further preparation. What comes off the machine?"}],"options":[{"text":[{"text":"A single cut line down the centre of each letterform, because the blade follows the path."}],"correct":true,"tempting":null},{"text":[{"text":"The letters cut correctly, but with the overlapping joins cut through, so the script separates into pieces."}],"correct":false,"tempting":[{"text":"This is the welding failure, which happens once strokes have been outlined. With a live stroke the machine never sees the letter shapes at all."}]},{"text":[{"text":"Nothing, because plotter software rejects files containing strokes rather than closed paths."}],"correct":false,"tempting":[{"text":"Cutting software accepts the file and cuts what it finds. Silent wrong output is the normal failure here, not a rejection."}]},{"text":[{"text":"Each letter cut twice over, once along each side of the stroke, leaving nothing but a thin ribbon of vinyl."}],"correct":false,"tempting":[{"text":"That is what happens after stroke-to-path is applied. Without it there is one path and therefore one cut line."}]}],"order":[2,3,0,1],"why":null},"prev":{"slug":"paths-that-cut-and-stitch","title":"The paid vector work is mostly machines, not posters","minutes":10},"next":{"slug":"print-and-cut-registration","title":"Print and cut, and the marks the machine looks for","minutes":8}}}