Description

The Roland printer/cutter gives users the ability to print on vinyl and cut in one step with one device. This is a high resolution poster printer which can produce print quality posters, stickers and heat-transfers.

Specifications

• Materials: Heat Transfer material or Generic printable vinyl
• Software: Adobe Illustrator
• File types: Adobe Illustrator Ai file
• Production time: dependent on the project scale

Setting Up Your Document in Adobe Illustrator

Creating Document Settings

1. Open Adobe Illustrator. Click ‘New File’ and name the file in the top right hand corner under ‘Preset Details’
2. Make the size of the document similar to the size you want your printed item to be physically. The size of the design in the software will be the same size that the design prints as.
3. Under ‘Color Mode’, choose ‘CMYK Color’. CMYK is the setting used for designs that will be printed (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black), versus RGB is the setting used for designs that are digital (Red, Green, Blue).
4. Click ‘Create’ once the document has been adjusted to the proper settings.

Importing Designs into CMYK Document

Once your CMYK document has been created, import your photo or design into it. You can import it directly, however issues may occur where the Adobe file does not link to the original photo properly. If this happens, the Roland printer may be unable to print the design unless we also have the original photo on the same computer. To avoid this issue, this is how to properly import the design:

1. In Adobe, go to ‘File’ - ‘Open’. Choose your image/design from the desktop and click ‘Open’. The image/design will then open as a separate tab in Illustrator, which is an RGB document:
   
2. Click on the image so that it is entirely selected. On the keyboard, click Ctrl + C [Or Command + C for Mac]. This will copy the image.
3. Go back to the CMYK document that you created by clicking on the tab on top (CMYK/Preview).
4. Click once on the document, then on the keyboard click Ctrl + V [Or Command + V for Mac]. This should paste your image into your CMYK Document.

Resizing Designs for CMYK Document

There are times when the image you copy and pasted into the CMYK document is too big or too small for your set document, and you need to resize it.

• To zoom in and out of your project window, click and hold Ctrl while pressing the + and - symbols on the keyboard.
• To resize an image, click once on the image, then use the small white circles on one of the corners of your image to resize. Hold the shift key as you do this to keep the image proportionate while resizing.
• Make sure that the image is within the document size that was created (within the white square, not going over the edges).

Adding Cutlines to Your Project (Adobe Illustrator)

To Cut a Frame (eg. Circle or Rectangle) Around a Design

Once you have imported the image into the CMYK document, you can add cutlines. These cutlines communicate to the Roland printer where to add cuts in the file, such as around the border. There are a few ways to do this, but the easiest way is adding cutlines around a set shape, using the shape tool:

1. Click on the shape tool (rectangle below the T symbol). You can also right click on the tool to choose a different shape. Add a shape around your design.
   

   
2. You want to have it so that the fill of the shape is transparent and the Stroke of the shape has colour. You can use the colour tool to change it so it looks like this:
   • Fill (square in the top left) is transparent and has the red line through it.
   • Stroke has colour. It doesn’t matter what colour, as this will be changed.

You can then adjust the shape so that it is positioned where you want it around your design. Wherever the coloured border is, is where the Roland printer will cut.

Using the Roland VersaWorks Swatch: Cut Colour

Once the shape has been properly positioned, you will need to adjust the colour and point size of the shape’s outline, so that it can communicate with the printer properly:

1. Make sure the “RolandVersaWorks.ai” swatch is downloaded onto your computer. For most Maker Studio computers, it is on the Desktop. If you need to access it from another computer, it can be downloaded here.
2. In Adobe Illustrator, click once on the shape you created so it is selected. Go to the top right corner of the software under ‘Properties’. There will be a section that says ‘Appearance’, and shows the fill, stroke, and pt size.
   • If this does not show up, go to the top settings under ‘Window’, and make sure that ‘Properties' is selected with a check mark beside it.
3. Click on the coloured box beside ‘Stroke’. A window of colours will appear. At the bottom left of the window, click on the ‘Swatch Libraries menu’ button.
   

   
4. A list of different swatch libraries will appear. Click on the ‘Other Library’ option, and upload the "RolandVersaWorks.ai” file by clicking ‘Open’. It should look like this:
   
5. A small window will pop up and show the Roland VersaWorks colours. You can click once on these colours to change your fill or stroke. Use this to change your shape to the proper colour and size settings:
   
   • Fill: Transparent
   • Stroke: CutContour pink
   • Stroke Size: 0.25 pt
   
6. There should now be a very thin pink outline around your design. Save the Adobe Illustrator Ai File (‘File’ > ‘Save As’), and submit to the MRU Library Maker Studio Queue. If you have saved this document onto a public computer, please make sure to also save a copy of the ai file to your google drive.

Submitting Vinyl Prints to the Maker Studio File Submission Queue

1. Go to library.mtroyal.ca
2. Go to ‘Spaces’ - ‘Maker & Media Commons’
   
3. At the top of the page, choose ‘File Submission’. This will bring you to the File Submission section of the webpage. Click on ‘Submit Vinyl printer/cutter file’.
   
4. Scroll to the bottom of the form and click ‘Begin’. Fill out the information and upload your Adobe Illustrator Ai file. Once you have submitted your design, you will receive an email when your print is ready to be picked up. If there are any issues with the file, someone from the Maker Studio will contact you through the email address submitted in the form.