Can't figure out how to use a vector to cut a stencil

Hi, Newbie with the glowforge and I want to cut a stencil on mylar. However, I purchased a EPS file from shutterstock and I want to use this for the stencil. I am really struggling as when loading the bitmap/vector file it says 9hrs to cut the stencil. I’ve been messing about since yesterday. Do we have any experts that can assist? perhaps a private lesson? I have access to adobe illustrator and inkscape too. Feeling so frustrated at this machine when I know there must be an easy way. thanks

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Welcome to the forum.
Your frustration should be directed at the file, not the machine. Cut/score lines must be vectors. You will need to convert the file so you have vectors. You can trace the file in Inkscape to create the necessary cut lines.

You can also use AI. Here is a link that may be helpful: Tutorial: How to create vector cuts from ordinary B&W graphics using illustrator

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Thank you, I know it’s easy to blame the tools but in this case I blame myself! I’m just getting stressed. I’ll check out the tutorial.

Thanks for the reply

I thik i complicated things as the vector is grey and white. so tried to change it to black and white then trace but it’s not quite right.

If your EPS is vector, and almost all from Shutteretock are, then you shouldn’t need to trace or convert anything. That said it’s pretty hard to tell what the issue might be without seeing what you’re working with. Care to post a screenshot? (Don’t post the actual file you bought, and what do you mean by “bitmap/vector”?)

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We can help for sure. Just give us some more details about the design. It’s a basic skill to learn, how to deal with bitmap/vector transitions. Lots of previous posts on these issues.

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Hi Thank you. I know this is a bit ambitious. I was just testing this to see if I could do it but i know i will need to thicken the lines. That will be my next challenge. Here s the shutterstock listing Geometric Pattern Triangles Texture Vector Illustration Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 491783650 | Shutterstock

I tried to upload the file but its an EPS one. I tried to save it as a jpeg but it was saying 9 hours to cut then pressed some buttons in illustrator and got that down to an hour. I managed to cut this one in 7 minutes by saving it as jpeg. but I think I could get that down. Seamless Pattern Abstract Line Geometric Ornament Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 1075097903 | Shutterstock Thank you

Here s the shutterstock listing Geometric Pattern Triangles Texture Vector Illustration Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 491783650 | Shutterstock

I tried to upload the file but its an EPS one. I tried to save it as a jpeg but it was saying 9 hours to cut then pressed some buttons in illustrator and got that down to an hour. I managed to cut this one in 7 minutes by saving it as jpeg. but I think I could get that down. Seamless Pattern Abstract Line Geometric Ornament Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 1075097903 | Shutterstock

I am not sure how to approach this or what to try to get this to cut. Any help is appreciated. I have watched a ton of videos but most are not quite what I need. I was thinking because the background is grey the machine was finding it hard to know what to cut. so I somehow converted it to black and white. But this is my downfall because I don’t really have a clue what I am doing. thank you for any help or guidance.

A major problem there is that a JPEG is bitmap and the time you’re seeing will very likely be for engraving and not cutting. You need to convert to PDF or SVG and import.

Oh thank you. I tried the PDF option but it aid there was no data to read. Ok. I’ll try that again now.

EPS is a bit old, as in as a graphics professional I last used EPS in maybe the second Bush administration. I’m always shocked to see it. Do you use Inkscape (it’s free)? I’d open it there and export rather than using a web-based translator if that’s what you’re doing.

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How do you want to use it as a stencil? Like for painting?

One of the things about the design you linked is that it doesn’t have a good outline to frame the design. It also doesn’t have a good tiling edge so that you can drop it in next to a previous section.

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The stencil will be used to decorate the side of a cake using Royal icing as my medium. I have passed the design over to a designer to make sure the pattern is seamless for that continuous pattern. Thank you so much for your help with this.

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Hey thank you, seems that most of shutterstock ones I like are in this format. I have access to illustrator and I also downloaded Inkscape too out of despiration. - can’t have too many programs right? haha! Thank you for your suggestion.

thank you. I seriously have no clue what I was doing. Just prayed for the best so quite possible I was on the engraving setting! Doh!

My brain hurts looking at this, but wouldn’t this as a stencil end up simply giving you a stack of triangles? You’d need a double line to create a cut out mesh, this file looks like it would just cut this into tiny bits. Cutting out those triangles would need some thinking, but I’m just guessing here without having the actual file.

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