Thank you so much for doing this!! I was trying to make a t-shirt for a friend of a loved ones handwriting and couldn't figure out how to make it not bumpy!
Wow you are a master on this software. I purchase the software just a few days ago to use with the glowforge. I purchase the business edition but for some reason just the basic edition is what I see. This there something I need to do see the business edition? I also tried to get in touch with silhouette put I haven’t been successful. Any segments on what I can do?
Charging appropriately for the time? What is a standard charge per hour would you say, I feel like I can do all the editing you have shown, and would get faster with time, as i am familiar with the techniques already. BUT In the beginning, I would, of course, be slower so my charge per hour or length of time to do it would be large perhaps out of industry standard. What would be industry standard pricing for this type of editing?
Hey Amy! That's a good question, I don't have a set in stone answer for you, but I'll explain my decision making process. With my handwriting conversions, I price my items to account for basic converting. For example, the same board with a standard design is $20 less than my handwriting boards. It takes anywhere between 10-30 minutes (for me) to get a good photo converted over for engraving, so if you had to average it, my time is about $40 an hour. I have a registered business and expenses, so you know that actually is a lot less take-home in the end. For particularly difficult designs, I will send an invoice for an additional fee. One example that I am working on the video for, was taking a sheet of writing from someone and splicing words/letters together to have a phrase written in that person's writing. Since it wasn't a simple conversion, I invoiced for an additional $20. To make sure customers are aware, they must check a box when ordering that states "I understand I may be charged an additional design fee for my handwriting conversion." As far as industry standard, everyone's demographic and clientele are different. I have chosen to factor an additional $20 to the base cost when customers order, then go up $20 additional for difficult designs. This might be a bit low if you are just now starting, but it will become more profitable once you are proficient in tracing. You could take a small hit now, but will make it for it soon and you won't have to adjust your pricing much. Let me know if this helps and if you have more questions!
Oh my goodness I did not know silhouette had all these tools. Thanks so much for this. I’ve been using several apps to clean up image before I uploaded to silhouette.
It will take some manual editing, but it can be done. You can find a video of me doing that in my live video playlist. I did it around the holidays last year.
I have a question. I use procreate and trying to trace a recipe. I find my lines look jittery. How do you avoid that and make perfect curves so it doesn’t look like it was traced?
You should be able to adjust sensitivity in procreate. To be honest, I have a hard time with those programs. I find it easiest to manually adjust the points like I did in Silhouette. Remember - you lose some detail in engraving so some of it evens out.
I would get used to the fonts and the modify panel! Those are the most used functions. Learn things like offsets, welds and font modifications. I go over a lot of them in my videos while designing :) You will need the Business Edition upgrade to export as an svg, you can find a link to it in my bio or follow my Facebook page for a great Black Friday deal 😉
I can't wait for your GF to arrive! The heart board was masked because I turn the power up on it, and it can char. Bamboo can have a lot of inconsistencies, so increasing the power helps offset that. The other boards are coated, so I can wipe it off easily with a baby wipe. There's also some types of wood that I have practiced with enough that I can figure out the settings without charring. I absolutely hate peeling masking. 😂
Your videos are amazing! I will be getting a Glowforge in a couple of months after I move to my new house. But was wondering about the smell, how bad is it? Is it really strong? And is the air filter worth it?
The air filter from GF is NOT worth it. However, you will find my inline fan setup in my description. It helps a lot with smell and the noise. Most days, you can't smell anything in my office. You can smell residue after cutting acrylic, but once I have that, I run an air purifier in my office. It's very tolerable!
Thank you so much for doing this!! I was trying to make a t-shirt for a friend of a loved ones handwriting and couldn't figure out how to make it not bumpy!
It definitely takes a bit of time, but I love the clean look you get from a manual trace!
It's easier to copy in Procreate on your iPad with an Apple Pencil. :)
I do that on occasion sometimes too. There's always multiple ways to do something 🤷♀️
Wow you are a master on this software. I purchase the software just a few days ago to use with the glowforge. I purchase the business edition but for some reason just the basic edition is what I see. This there something I need to do see the business edition? I also tried to get in touch with silhouette put I haven’t been successful. Any segments on what I can do?
You probably need to activate it! While in Silhouette, go to file>find activate software key (or something similar) and type in your code there.
Charging appropriately for the time? What is a standard charge per hour would you say, I feel like I can do all the editing you have shown, and would get faster with time, as i am familiar with the techniques already. BUT In the beginning, I would, of course, be slower so my charge per hour or length of time to do it would be large perhaps out of industry standard. What would be industry standard pricing for this type of editing?
Hey Amy! That's a good question, I don't have a set in stone answer for you, but I'll explain my decision making process.
With my handwriting conversions, I price my items to account for basic converting. For example, the same board with a standard design is $20 less than my handwriting boards. It takes anywhere between 10-30 minutes (for me) to get a good photo converted over for engraving, so if you had to average it, my time is about $40 an hour. I have a registered business and expenses, so you know that actually is a lot less take-home in the end.
For particularly difficult designs, I will send an invoice for an additional fee. One example that I am working on the video for, was taking a sheet of writing from someone and splicing words/letters together to have a phrase written in that person's writing. Since it wasn't a simple conversion, I invoiced for an additional $20. To make sure customers are aware, they must check a box when ordering that states "I understand I may be charged an additional design fee for my handwriting conversion."
As far as industry standard, everyone's demographic and clientele are different. I have chosen to factor an additional $20 to the base cost when customers order, then go up $20 additional for difficult designs. This might be a bit low if you are just now starting, but it will become more profitable once you are proficient in tracing. You could take a small hit now, but will make it for it soon and you won't have to adjust your pricing much.
Let me know if this helps and if you have more questions!
Oh my goodness I did not know silhouette had all these tools. Thanks so much for this. I’ve been using several apps to clean up image before I uploaded to silhouette.
Glad I could help! Silhouette is my #1 tool for my vinyl and Glowforge projects.
Is it possible to get rid of the lines under the recipe if it's on yellow paper?
It will take some manual editing, but it can be done. You can find a video of me doing that in my live video playlist. I did it around the holidays last year.
Thank you!!! This video came at just the right time for me!! I just decided yesterday that I want to give this a try!!
Hope you like it! It's been a HOT item for me, just remember to PRICE WELL if you are selling. Some recipes are SUPER hard to edit.
great video for a new be to glow forge cant wait to try on my tile now. thanks so much
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome video! Where can we buy blank cutting boards from?
The heart boards are from Johnson Plastics Plus, and other charcuterie boards can be purchased from Webstaurant Store online!
I have a question. I use procreate and trying to trace a recipe. I find my lines look jittery. How do you avoid that and make perfect curves so it doesn’t look like it was traced?
You should be able to adjust sensitivity in procreate. To be honest, I have a hard time with those programs. I find it easiest to manually adjust the points like I did in Silhouette. Remember - you lose some detail in engraving so some of it evens out.
I've never used silhouette software, any recommendations on what to start with? Great job by the way.
I would get used to the fonts and the modify panel! Those are the most used functions. Learn things like offsets, welds and font modifications. I go over a lot of them in my videos while designing :) You will need the Business Edition upgrade to export as an svg, you can find a link to it in my bio or follow my Facebook page for a great Black Friday deal 😉
Great video! Anxiously awaiting my GF to arrive. Wondering why you masked the heart board and not the other? Thanks for sharing your knowledge🥰
I can't wait for your GF to arrive! The heart board was masked because I turn the power up on it, and it can char. Bamboo can have a lot of inconsistencies, so increasing the power helps offset that. The other boards are coated, so I can wipe it off easily with a baby wipe. There's also some types of wood that I have practiced with enough that I can figure out the settings without charring. I absolutely hate peeling masking. 😂
Your videos are amazing! I will be getting a Glowforge in a couple of months after I move to my new house. But was wondering about the smell, how bad is it? Is it really strong? And is the air filter worth it?
The air filter from GF is NOT worth it. However, you will find my inline fan setup in my description. It helps a lot with smell and the noise. Most days, you can't smell anything in my office. You can smell residue after cutting acrylic, but once I have that, I run an air purifier in my office. It's very tolerable!