Acrylic Notebook
For this project, I used the raster (engraving) and vector (cutting) capabilities of the Epilog Laser Cutter to create a comb-bound acrylic notebook.
Reflective Log:
1/22/19
Today I started using CorelDRAW to design my notebook cover. Although I have never used this software before, it was similar enough to Silhouette Studio that I was able to learn it quickly. For my notebook design, I started with the notebook shape. The shape I decided was to be 5mm longer than the paper we would be putting in our notebook on the top, right, and bottom sides. With these added dimensions, I also rounded the corners of the notebook cover to prevent sharp points. I then added holes for the bindings. The dimensions and locations of the holes were done by measuring the pre-cut paper. Next, I inserted a fox with "qui vivra verra" underneath, meaning "only time will tell." When sending this initial design to the laser cutter, I realized I accidently made 20 holes for the comb binding instead of the exact 19 holes. Taking out one hole in CorelDRAW and adjusting the spacing accordingly, I was able to correct this mistake. Good thing cardboard was used for practice.
1/23/19
Today I made additions to my notebook cover by putting a fitting time-themed background beyond an oval border. As for my sticker, I considered some kind of Santa Clara University logo to give credit to the place of this notebooks creation. With this in mind, I decided on the black and red "SC" logo.
1/26/19
Today I made the final adjustments to my design in CorelDraw. These adjustments included slight resizing and alignment corrections. I also had to denote which elements of my design were to be cut and engraved. Since the outline of my notebook and the rectangular holes needed to be cut, the line thickness of these elements was set to “hairline.” For the other designs such as the fox, text, and background, line thickness was set to 0.5 to signify rastering. After these final adjustments, I was able to finally print my final acrylic notebook covers. Once this was complete, I headed back to Silhouette Studio and the vinyl plotter to make my 2-colored sticker. Since I wanted to make the black and red “SC” logo, my approach to create this was to make two different layers, one for the black outline and one for the red fill. I accomplished this by copy-and-pasting the logo and erasing the red fill on one and the black outline on the other. Tracing these designs, my sticker was now ready to be printed. However, due to the nature of my 2-colored sticker, aligning the red fill sticker correctly within the black outline sticker would be a challenge. My solution to this problem was to create guides to the left of both stickers, such that by aligning these guides, my Santa Clara University logo would also be aligned.
Conclusion:
Finishing this project, I feel that I now have a good grasp on using both CorelDRAW and the Epilog laser cutter. Through only three prints on the laser cutter, I believe the steps of turning on the exhaust fan, adjusting the bed height (focusing the laser), changing the print settings (power, speed, and frequency), and sending to the cutter have now been memorized. Discussing my sticker, implementing my teacher’s “sticker guide” suggestion allowed me to now have 2-colored vinyl sticker making under my belt. As far as flaws in my final product, I noticed that my notebook ended up having slightly more extra space at the top than at the bottom. This could have been easily fixed by adjusting the height of the holes.
Reflective Log:
1/22/19
Today I started using CorelDRAW to design my notebook cover. Although I have never used this software before, it was similar enough to Silhouette Studio that I was able to learn it quickly. For my notebook design, I started with the notebook shape. The shape I decided was to be 5mm longer than the paper we would be putting in our notebook on the top, right, and bottom sides. With these added dimensions, I also rounded the corners of the notebook cover to prevent sharp points. I then added holes for the bindings. The dimensions and locations of the holes were done by measuring the pre-cut paper. Next, I inserted a fox with "qui vivra verra" underneath, meaning "only time will tell." When sending this initial design to the laser cutter, I realized I accidently made 20 holes for the comb binding instead of the exact 19 holes. Taking out one hole in CorelDRAW and adjusting the spacing accordingly, I was able to correct this mistake. Good thing cardboard was used for practice.
1/23/19
Today I made additions to my notebook cover by putting a fitting time-themed background beyond an oval border. As for my sticker, I considered some kind of Santa Clara University logo to give credit to the place of this notebooks creation. With this in mind, I decided on the black and red "SC" logo.
1/26/19
Today I made the final adjustments to my design in CorelDraw. These adjustments included slight resizing and alignment corrections. I also had to denote which elements of my design were to be cut and engraved. Since the outline of my notebook and the rectangular holes needed to be cut, the line thickness of these elements was set to “hairline.” For the other designs such as the fox, text, and background, line thickness was set to 0.5 to signify rastering. After these final adjustments, I was able to finally print my final acrylic notebook covers. Once this was complete, I headed back to Silhouette Studio and the vinyl plotter to make my 2-colored sticker. Since I wanted to make the black and red “SC” logo, my approach to create this was to make two different layers, one for the black outline and one for the red fill. I accomplished this by copy-and-pasting the logo and erasing the red fill on one and the black outline on the other. Tracing these designs, my sticker was now ready to be printed. However, due to the nature of my 2-colored sticker, aligning the red fill sticker correctly within the black outline sticker would be a challenge. My solution to this problem was to create guides to the left of both stickers, such that by aligning these guides, my Santa Clara University logo would also be aligned.
Conclusion:
Finishing this project, I feel that I now have a good grasp on using both CorelDRAW and the Epilog laser cutter. Through only three prints on the laser cutter, I believe the steps of turning on the exhaust fan, adjusting the bed height (focusing the laser), changing the print settings (power, speed, and frequency), and sending to the cutter have now been memorized. Discussing my sticker, implementing my teacher’s “sticker guide” suggestion allowed me to now have 2-colored vinyl sticker making under my belt. As far as flaws in my final product, I noticed that my notebook ended up having slightly more extra space at the top than at the bottom. This could have been easily fixed by adjusting the height of the holes.
1 Likers
Comments