A Tall Request.

[Bradster941]

I apologize for asking this, but;
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
I have photo shop 7, and just can’t figure out how to take a bitmap, jpeg, etc., and automatically trace them and then save them as a EPS or AI file or anything else so I can Import them into Flexi for cutting.. Flexi just says no cuttable objects selected.
<o></o>
Instead of going over all the things I’ve tried, perhaps it would be easier to follow your instructions instead of trying to troubleshoot where I’m messing up.
<o></o>
Any help via the KISS, (Keep It Simple for the Stupid) method would be Greatly appreciated.. I’m totally clueless but sure am trying to understand….
<o></o>
Many Thanks… :U Rock:

 

[nxtremesign]

Do you have Flexi. What version ( if sign, expert, or pro) you should be able to trace it there , if its some thing you need done quickly , better to use awwe i can't think of the dot com, vectordroctor.com or somthing like that
somebody help.

 

[Bradster941]

Thanks Nxt...

No, I have that Flexi Starter addition and trace isn't avalible.
I simply am trying to figure out how to make a cutable file I can use in Flexi via PhotoShop 7...

 

[iSign]

adobe streamline for $139
...or with a background on an image that can be selected with the magic wand, select background, then invert the selection, then make that selection a "clipping path" or a "workpath" then export "paths" to illustrator.

I have streamline, so I don't use paths in photoshop, so my instructions are vague (& probably slightly innaccurate)... but "paths" are part of one of the best solutions you will get using photoshop 7... so you can look around the program while waiting for more concise replies... & you just may figure it out!

 

[stickitco]

convert to trace

I would be happy to attempt convert it for you if you want to email it to me.

 

[Kevin Newby]

Doug what you do you think of Streamline? Ive asked others but never a sign
guy...my old casmate still vectorizes great. Ive tried the vectorizing in Draw and in Xara, and thought it was very unintuitive and complicated so didnt spend much time as I could not get results. I can do it by hand faster.

 

[iSign]

Streamline is good. Many things get tweaked after... I also trace many things first, rescan & then vectorize to get a better starting place (& better result)
My Casmate stopped vectorizing when I bought a new scanner 5 years ago, are you using an old scanner, or did you figure out something I missed?

I've finally retired Casmate this past year after resisting for a long time knowing it would be inevitable

 

[Kevin Newby]

casmate was originally set up to work well with
HP scanners...getting the program *itself to recognise a
different scanner driver was very difficult, so I just gave
up trying to scan into casmate direct. I scan into another
program (irfanview is my workhorse for this) then just save
as tiff and use the INSERT bitmap option in casmate. That
will do it for you.

 

[Kevin Newby]

PS...depending on how old your casmate is (whether its a
16 or 32 bit program) it may not run under xp at all. My
doesnt, and the option to run older programs in xp does not
work for it. I have a dual boot 98/XP setup just so I can keep my casmate running...heck, i paid 2,000 for it and im
gonna run this baby till its useless.

 

[iSign]

my casmate was upgraded before scanvec bought out Amiable & dropped it. I think version 6.52... but I don't recall hearing about a 32 bit version, are you sure about that? Yes, I tried a long time to find a way to run on XP & ended up using a KVM switch to just run an extra CPU dedicated to Casmate. 2 keystrokes switches the monitor keyboard & mouse to run the alternate CPU, so I could do my design work on newer software running on XP w/ newer printers etc. but I could toggle over to the 98 machine in seconds. I tried the dual boot thing, but I hated closing out of programs & rebooting, so when I had that set-up I virtually never bothered using the XP side anyway.

 

[Kevin Newby]

no, i dont know that there was ever a 32bit version...just
speaking hypothetically.

 

[Bobby H]

CASmate 6.52 had a patch which provided WindowsNT 4.0 compatibility. Overall, the program was a hodge podge of 16-bit and 32-bit code libraries. I think some of that same code survives in current versions of Flexi.

CASmate will not operate under WindowsXP (if it does, I would be surprised). Further, it's not even supported under Windows98 Second Edition. Our shop switched our three CASmate locks to Flexi in 1999 due to that problem. Flexi 6.6 ran well under Windows 98SE and Windows 2000. But the irritating problem of compatibility came back into play with WindowsXP. Gotta have Flexi 7.x for that.

By comparision, I can grab a really old version of Adobe Photoshop (say version 3 or 4) and successfully load it into WindowsXP. That's because Photoshop was compiled from the ground up as a properly coded Windows application. Many software developers take really stupid shortcuts when compiling their applications, often doing so by Frankensteining together public domain code modules and other stuff. They break lots of rules to save money. And then each new release of Windows, or any other major change in sound, video or other device drivers breaks the application.

I have photo shop 7, and just can’t figure out how to take a bitmap, jpeg, etc., and automatically trace them and then save them as a EPS or AI file or anything else so I can Import them into Flexi for cutting.

There's a couple ways you can do it from within Photoshop.

If the scan is high resolution and the line detail is clean (and preferably black and white) you can do this two step method. 1: Go to the Select menu and hit Color Range. Use the eye dropper tool to select a white or black area in the image, use the slider to adjust fuzziness and hit OK to create a selection. 2: Bring up the Paths Palette, click on the little arrow icon on the right edge to bring out the flyout menu options. Choose "Make Work Path". That will bring up a tolerance level dialog box. Usually a tolerance level of 1.0 pixels is good for high resolution scans. Hit OK and you have a vector-based path.

You may have to adjust brightness and contrast levels, play with curves and do some other things to make the bitmap artwork clean as possible before having Photoshop auto-trace paths from it. The benefit of using Photoshop to do this work is it normally generates closed vector paths. Adobe Streamline does not (it often generates open path segments, lots of other vector trash, etc.)

Results are only going to be so good with any auto tracing approach. There is no program anywhere that gives you a clean, professional quality result. But it's not bad if you just need something quick and slightly dirty.

For high quality results, any bitmap to vector conversions must be done by hand. Photoshop has a really good pen tool for manual digitizing, and its keyboard shortcuts for altering paths and doing screen navigation at the same time are superior to all other graphics applications anywhere. I've seen absolutely nothing equal to Photoshop's pen tool. PhotoshopCS2 adds a few more vector object creation tools and better welding options. For technical stuff; however, you'll need to fire up Illustrator, CorelDRAW, etc.

 

[Bradster941]

Bobby H,

Thanks so much for the reply as my original post seems to have gotten hi jacked.
I printed your advice out and will give it a whirl first thing in the morning!
Much appreciated !!!!

Doug Allan, thank you also, I tried your suggestion and while I had limited success, it did point me in the right direction of where to explore to get things done.

Piecing “this and that” together I guess there is no magic solution to take a image and make it something you can cut.

From my NOOB stance, looks like you can use a trace prg. if you have one or put a image on the screen and freehand draw it, then export, save, or convert to path, or something??

I don’t really know either way, that’s why I posted my question as to “How To?” before it went off in some other direction talking about Stream Line and the such.

 

[Bradster941]

Once again a big Thank You to Bobby H.

His instructions were right on and I have a solid platform to start learning from instead of a brick wall to run into.
Next task is to figure out how to smooth the jagged lines in PS7 before saving it.
Really appreciate you taking the time to help me out !.. :U Rock:
Brad

 

[Bobby H]

No problem.

BTW, when it comes to saving the vector artwork you create in Photoshop you go about it in a different manner than just doing the File>Save thing. Go to File>Export>Paths to Illustrator. That will allow you to export the paths created in Illustrator 1.0 .AI format. No need to get rid of jaggies with vector artwork. However, some point editing might be in order.

Here's another thing to be aware about: any path called a "work path" is a temporary thing. If you do another Color Range/Make Work Path operation, it will overwrite the previous work path. Pasting paths from Illustrator will do the same thing.

Double click on the path in the palette to bring up the Save/Rename path dialog box to give it a name. You can have multiple paths in a Photoshop document. But you have to rename them first. On complex large format billboard jobs, I may have several sets of paths from a range of different Illustrator files all for use in building up Photoshopped artwork.

 

[Bradster941]

Thanks Bobby, got it and it works..

New problem I've just spent hours on is how do I get just the outline of an object? I've come close but either get double paths or I get a boarder box as part of the selection.
Attached is what I'm trying to outline only. Driving me nutzs.... :Oops: :

 

[Bobby H]

You need to use the path outline function in Flexi. Other drawing programs have the same kind of effect. In CorelDRAW you use the countour function. In Illustrator you can use Offset Path or Outline to get the effect.

The auto-tracing method in Photoshop is just used to get the basic vector objects generated. From there, dedicated vector drawing programs gain you a lot more function.