Post on 16-May-2018
Cricut Design Space User Manual
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14. Using your own images
C. Preparing artwork from Adobe® Illustrator®
Cricut Design Space™ lets you upload most .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .svg, and .dxf images and convert them
into cuttable shapes. The tool doesn’t allow you to make modifications to the design itself, which is why
working with Adobe Illustrator to prepare your files is effective. With Adobe Illustrator, you can use the
full range of tools to create and modify your designs, and then upload them to Cricut Design Space.
The two different types of images are Basic and Vector. Adobe Illustrator is primarily a vector program,
which means it saves vector files like .svg and .dxf, but it can also be used to save .jpg, .png, and .bmp
files.
Artwork created in Adobe Illustrator can be used to:
Step 1 Print the image on your home printer and cut it out using your Cricut® machine with the Print
then Cut feature.
Step 2 Cut or draw the outline of the image.
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Step 3 Create cuttable shapes and images. Multilayered images will be separated into layers on the
Canvas.
Tip: Multilayer images can be flattened into a single layer in Cricut Design Space. Use the Flatten
tool to turn any multilayer image into a single layer for Print then Cut.
Preparing artwork The following steps use Adobe Ilustrator CC 2015.3. Although the screenshots will be different in older
versions, the process is the same.
Vector .DXF files
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Step 1 Create or modify an image using any of the Adobe Illustrator tools. The file can be made of single
or multiple layers.
Step 2 Under the File Menu, click Export, then Export As.
Step 3 After naming your file, select AutoCAD Interchange File (.dxf). Accept the default settings if
prompted with additional options.
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Vector .SVG files
Step 1 Create or modify an image using any of the Adobe Illustrator tools. The file can be made of single
or multiple layers.
Tip: Shapes should be filled before saving for use in Cricut Design Space. Use the Outline Stroke
tool found in the Object, then Path menus to convert strokes into shapes. Use the Create Outlines
tool found in the Type Menu to outline text.
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Step 2 Under the File Menu, click Save As.
Step 3 After naming your file select, AutoCAD Interchange File (.dxf). Accept the default settings if
prompted with additional options.
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Basic files .jpg, .png, .bmp
Step 1 Create or modify an image using any of the Adobe Illustrator tools. The file can be made of a
single or multiple layers.
Step 2 Under the File Menu, click Export, then Export As.
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Step 3 After naming your file select any one of the following file types: JPEG (.jpg), PNG (.png), BMP
(.bmp).
Tip Check the Use Artboards box at the bottom of this Export screen to save out individual
artboards or a range of artboards. Checking this will also export the full size of the artboard(s)
rather than just the image size. If you export more than one artboard, multiple files will be saved
out, one file per artboard.
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Step 4 For best results with JPEG (.jpg) files change the Quality setting to 10 (Maximum) and under the
Resolution menu, select High (300 ppi)
For best results with PNG (.png) files change the Resolution to High (300 ppi), and set the Background
Color to Transparent.
For best results with BMP (.bmp) files change the Resolution to High (300 ppi).
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