Cut/engrave

Community Support
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I’m a newbie. I have a Aura. Is there a way to get svg files all ready to cut amd engrave. I bought some from a different site and they only save as engraved or cut. I can’t do both. The only time i was able to was when I had Premium. Anyine else able to make products without having Premium?
Please and thank you

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This really doesn’t have anything to do with having the Premium subscription. SVG files are container files that can contain both raster and vector elements. Vectors will cut or score while rasters will only engrave. SVG files can have parts that are engraveable, elements that are scored and items that are cut. As you have already discovered, buying files can be challenging until you identify some reliable designers. Glowforge files are usually tested for laser use, but some designers can be pretty sloppy. I suggest you click the Learn button and read some of the items regarding file types and file designs.

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Just a slight addendum to this – you can also engrave enclosed vector shapes. I personally prefer it that where practical.

Regardless, you need to learn how to set the print steps, and the suggestion to click the learn link is a good starting point.

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I think you would benefit from two free programs. One is Inkscape that can show you how the files you have are put together and add or change parts that are linked. Vectors that can cut, can also be set to engrave or score in the Glowforge user interface.
While Inkscape is great for manipulating vectors, it is pretty weak on dealing with images. For that you need Gimp. With Gimp you can do things that can improve how a photo works for engraving and even how to create vectors from images (which Inkscape will also do, but Gimp has more control).

You can find many videos on holw to do stuff on You-tube, and there are great deep details in the manuals found where you get the programs.
Premium has many features that you don’t need the extra programs, and many that the other programs don’t do, like AI and the catalog, but I use all three myself.

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