Sure Cuts A Lot software for Cricut Cutters

This guide is for all Cricut owners who would like to expand their cutting possibilities with Sure Cuts A Lot. This software is necessary if you want to use your geputer to run a Cricut Expression or Cricut Personal cutter. So that your Cricut will accept gemands from SCAL(Sure Cuts A Lot), you will need to down load the free Cricut Design Studio "firmware upgrade" for your machine from the Cricut website. Hook your Cricut cutter to your geputer with a standard USB printer cable and follow the instructions for installing the updated firmware. You will need one Cricut cartridge to get the cutter to load paper and cut. The Cricut will not work at all without a cartridge plugged into it. (You can use images from the cartridge, but only by using the gemand keyboard on the Cricut machine. However, you will not be able to access the cartridge librarywhen using SCAL) Then, load the SCAL software into your geputer. This software is great for cutting words and letters from your geputer's True Type fonts and images from the Wing Dings and Web Dings lists. When you import letters and images for cutting, you will size, weld, and position them using SCAL. The work area in SCAL looks just like the sticky cutting mats used with Cricut. Where ever the image or letters are positioned on the digital mat, that is where the Cricut blade will cut them from on the actual cutting mat. Except for the paper "Load" and "Unload" buttons on the Cricut machine, you will use SCALto set and controlallCricut functions, including cutting speed, sizing, positioning, and to start cutting. It is always a good idea to use the preview function in SCAL to see what will actually be cut. The image and/or letters will change to red, indicating where the blade will actually cut. Some experimentation is regemended before gemiting to a real project.
FOR ADVANCED USERS
Here's where the real fun begins! To get the most from SCAL, you will need a drawing program(I useCorel Draw)and Microsoft Word (to import clip art images). Youcan import internet images directly toCorel, oryour drawing program.As Corel does, your drawing program must be able to use and save images to SVG, or Scalable Vector Graphics. Images need to be in SVG format to work in SCAL. Not all clip artor images imported from the internet will work, only ones that are, or can be converted toSVG. Clip art images that are WMF will work, JPEGS and GIF images will not, at leastas far as I can tell. Just mouse over the clip art image or right click properties to see if it is WMF. To use clip art, open Microsoft Word, find and place a clip art image into the Word document, select it,then click Edit from the toolbar and select Edit Picture. This places the image intoan editing work area. You will need to click and drag the image from its box to a blank area on the page. If you don't, Cricut will cut out the "box" the clip art image gees in along with the image, which isa waste of paper. Sometimes,if you allowthe cutter to cut out the box, it also snips off part of the image. Remember, always use the Previewfunction in SCAL to see what Cricut will actually cut (displaysas red). Some clip art images are multi-layered. In order to pull layered images from the box, click on the first (usually smallest) part, then hold down the shift key on your geputer keyboard while clicking on the remaining parts before dragging them out of the box. You will only want the essential image geponants from more geplex images. Cricut is a shape cutter, not a printer. Images that are too geplicated will end up looking like confetti. When you have pulled a satisfactory image from its box, right click and copy. Now, open your drawing program (again, I use Corel Draw) and paste the image in the work area. I find it is usually best to save the image as an SVG file right away, then delete theimage from Corel and import the saved SVG back into Corel to work on it (the original is still on the Word edit page until you delete it). For some reason, Corel won't weld image geponants together unless they have been saved toSVGand imported back in (welding gebines all geponants so Cricut will cut the image as one piece). When you are finished with the image in the drawing program, re-save or Export it as an SVG file again. Now open SCAL and import the SVG. It will appear on the digital cutting mat, ready for sizing and cutting. You will need to do some experimenting with images until you get used to what SCAL needs in order to produce the best cuts.Always preview the image in SCAL to see what Cricut will actually cut; this will eliminate a lot of wasted time and paper.
I have also searched the internet for SVG images with some success. One time I found a dinosaur (search "dinosaur SVG")with three overlapping pieces representing the under-belly. In Corel, I sized the dinothen pulled the belly pieces off and copied theirheight and width measurement on paper (maintaing the original positioning perspective as they were on the body). Ialso wrote the dino body measurements on paper. Then I saved the belly parts grouping as one SVG image and the main body without the belly parts as the second SVG. I later used the savednumbers to re-size theimages in SCAL by simply typing them intothe height and width boxes inthe Shape Properties window. I had to log the sizes because the images did not import to SCAL in their correct perspective. I cut the two images separately with Cricut; the bodyfrom dark green paper, the belly grouping from light green paper. Then I glued the belly pieces onto the body where they belong. It gave the dino an almost 3-D effect, very cool.
I have one important tip for you concerning some clip art and imported images. When I used a deer image from clip art, it came in three pieces, the main body, half of the head with one antler, and one small tip of the antler. I selected all three pieces, dragged, copied,pasted in Corel, saved to SVG, re-imported the SVG back toCorel, welded the pieced together, re-saved the image to SVG, then imported it to SCAL. However, when, and only when, I previewed the deer image in SCAL, it showed an additional line between the tip of the antler piece and the head, which would have caused Cricut to cut off part of the head and antler. I worked and worked to resolve this problem until I finally figured out a solution. On the SCAL digital cutting mat, there is a dotted line just to the inside of the measuring guide. This dotted line is so you won't place the image too close to the edge of the paper. However, when I nudged the image so just a tiny bit of it crossed the dotted line, that weird extra line I described before magically disappeared when previewed. And Cricut still cut all of the image, even though the tiny part of it over the line showed up as grey, not red,in preview. I just made sure to position enough of the paper over the line on the sticky cutting mat before cutting.
In conclusion,you should know that I bought the Cricut and SCAL for my wife for Christmas. She in not as geputer savy as I am yet, so I have been creating and saving various images for her. And cutting them. And I can't remember when I've had as much fun doing something as I've had cutting with SCAL and Cricut. I believe the possibilities are truly endless!
GOOD LUCK!