I am just starting to design some projects in advanced. Will the GF take a PSD (or Illustrator file) that has a vector outline to cut out and a raster layer to engrave over the top and be able to do both in one run instead of one at a time?
Thanks!
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This is not something that has been part of the existing conversation. So far all we have heard is that there is a plugin (either written or being written) for the adobe suite, and a way to directly upload SVG and DXF files to the glowforge cloud service. The plugin might be the solution though!
Yeah, I havenāt seen it mentioned yet. Hopefully the Plugin will do this. I think that plugin will just send the file to the server eh?
It would be nice to have the flexibility to do both at once. Iād just assumed youād use the vector for cutouts, then have the GF re-register for a pass with a bitmap. Iād still like to see some sample work on the progress of the bitmap depth / relief carving and to find out what best process will be for doing both the cut and the engrave in one process.
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On the video on the GF main page when the lady makes the wallet you see a vector (cutout) with the map image (raster, I think) places on top - she puts in a solid piece of leather and out comes a cut + engraved piece of leather. I think (and hope) the answer is yes.
Youtube video at 0:52 s
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Youre Right. Thereās hope!
Look at 1:20 in on this vid.
Is this what you are asking?
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Yup!! Perfect. Thanks!
It is easy to forget that the promo video shows actors using mocked-up software, it was made way before the glowforge was finished (* still not finished) and is heavily edited to show what the GF team wants, and are aiming for, but that it is not, strictly speaking, documentary footage of the process actually happening. The Dā«Eā«Cā«Eā«Pā«Tā«Iā«Oā«Nā« MAGIC of Hollywood!
I would imagine, though, that both raster and vector data will be able to sent in one go.
@Jessup3D Cutlines will be vectors, yesā¦ but Vectors will be used for much more than just cutouts. Say you wanted to make a cutting board with a photo of someone and their name underneath. The photo may very well be a bitmap, and the text may well be vector data. The opposite could be true: a vector image with scanned bitmap text like a signature.
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I agree that āpromoā videos tend to embellish, That is why I like to show people the ātestedā video.
But I think you are replying about a different video, not the one I posted. 
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The early videos had āembellishments.ā For example, as Dan mentioned recently:
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ha, noā¦ I was typing away when you posted that. I was referring to @areader154 's comment [quote=āareader154, post:5, topic:1250ā]
On the video on the GF main page
[/quote]
And I wouldnāt even say that they are embellishing anythingā¦ just that the video needed to show how things would eventually work, based on what they knew and had planned for at the time that the video was being made.
Thatās why car ads often have whole volumes of disclaimer textā¦
The vehicle is not yet available for sale. Nissan Canada, Inc. reserves the right to make changes, at any time, without prior notice, in prices, colours, materials, equipment, specifications, and models and to discontinue models or equipment. Due to continuous product development and other pre- and post-production factors, actual vehicle, materials and specifications may vary from this advertisement.
Pre-production model shown. Production model may vary.
(from current nissan canada ads, re: the 2016 titan pickup)
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Oh, thatās surprising. I have faith in the team completely (enough that I spent $2500 on their product) but I have wondered a few times how many of the products theyāve shown us so far (Laser Thurs not included) have actually been made on the Glowforgeā¦
He goes on to say that the chocorockets were laser-cutā¦ just not the one that the little girl ate. And that does not surprise me, as I doubt that they had a food-only Glowforge at that time.
And that does not surprise me at all, considering that most food you see in commercials is fakeā¦ or at least inedible!
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Ohhh There ya go. Faith restored. Haha. Thanks!!
Actually, in the video that @spike posted, at around the 5:20 mark, Dan explicitly says you can tell it to ācut this line and engrave everything elseā. I also remember seeing them playing with the settings in another video (the one where Dan had one of his investors create a file in illustrator and send it to the Glowforge in Seattle) that clearly showed them designating one color as a cut and another as engrave. I am certain there is more than just hope.
Edit: Here is the link to the post with that video I mentioned, and in it (shot with no breaks in real time), they did in fact do the engrave and cut in a single job.
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I used to work for a corporate photographer setting up lighting. One day we needed to photograph ice cream. I kept wondering how we were supposed to surround it with hot lights and get a good shot before it melted. She already had a solution. Mix cake frosting and corn starch and it looks exactly like ice cream without the hassle of melting.
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To answer the original question - yes, you can definitely plop bitmaps all over your vectors and print them all at once with the Illustrator plugin. We do it all the time; works splendidly.
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Thatās a feature Iād like to eventually see in a CorelDraw plugin.
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