Category Archives: regular

Running slow: eliminating wobbles

There is a trade off between speed and quality with x-y laser cutting. This 80# cardstock test shows a slow run on the left and a fast run on the right. To get the best results I run the laser … Continue reading

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Cutting OSBP’s logo: behind the scenes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V3Qbh3C32w?rel=0 I was delighted to have Carina of Crow & Canary swing by the workshop last week to take some photos for a guest post on Oh So Beautiful Paper. Here’s what it took to prepare the OSBP logo, with … Continue reading

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Overriding the ULS interlock

Enclosed lasers such as ULS and Epilog have a safety feature where the beam won’t fire if the doors are open. On my system the front panel shows a blinking red light when the doors are open and a green … Continue reading

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Freshly Cut – Stencil for Behrens Group

Brian of Behrens Group was commissioned by Make Animals and Opus Solutions to make some ”road cases” as part of Intel’s Rock Legend program. He was on a deadline so there wasn’t time to shop for materials; we used some 1/8” acrylic I had on hand. The … Continue reading

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Freshly Cut – Little Floridas for cevd

Cut from Arturo in Grey Christine’s studio cevd designs beautiful custom invitations. These little Florida cut-outs will become part of an invite. The cotton Arturo paper was a dream to cut. There was virtually no odor or surface discoloration from … Continue reading

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Determining what to bridge

Here are three quick ways to determine what portions of your design need bridging. In Illustrator: Select All Object -> Compound Path -> Release This converts all of the closed paths of your design into their own objects. Now we … Continue reading

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Common bridge problems

One of the critical pieces of making a design work in the physical work is paying attention to bridges — paths that cross gaps in your design to hold it together. A potential client is working on a gatefold envelopment … Continue reading

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Freshly Cut – Amanda & Nate’s Wedding Invitations

Cut from Paper Source in White and Stardream in Rose Quartz with coordinating 5 3/4” square envelope. Ink-free etched text. My brother-in-law Nate was recently married to his high school sweetheart Amanda and I was delighted to design their wedding invitations. A … Continue reading

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Freshly Cut – Business cards for Mod My LLC

Cut from Mohawk Beckett Cambric in Blazer Blue/White. Stitch-effect edge and rounded corners. ModMyi is an Apple news site with community forums and downloads. Kyle contacted me about creating cards to bring to the upcoming Apple developer conference in San … Continue reading

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Kerf widths, inside cuts and Illustrator

Cutting art with fine details requires accounting for the kerf of the laser beam. The laser beam’s center follows the center of the vector path. Some material will be burned away; the width of the removed material is called the kerf. … Continue reading

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