[scribus] vinyl sign letter cutter

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Hi Frank,

Þann fim 27.maí 2010 18:07, skrifaði Frank Cox:
> I am looking for a recommendation for a vinyl sign letter cutter that is
> supported under Linux, specifically Centos.  My knowledge of these
> machines is nil, but a bit of googling makes it appear that at least
> some of them can be made to work using Inkscape.
>
> However, since the folks that are going to be using this think also
> (currently) know nothing about Inkscape, I'm also wondering if these
> things can be made to work with Scribus, which they do know how to use?
>
> Does anyone have any recommendations, for cutting machine and software?

Interesting question.

I haven't used such machinery from Linux (only occasionally 
Win), so I asked a friend who has used a Roland CAMM-1, 
probably from Ubuntu. He says that drivers for Linux are 
mostly inexistent, but since his machine uses RML markup for 
plots (many use HPGL) he managed to write some scripts for 
it. Communication to the machine was done through USBTTY, 
but it seems that many of the older ones communicate through 
serial ports.

So in theory you need two things;
To make your HPGL/RML file (e.g. foo.plt); how the file 
should be formatted depends on the machine (there are slight 
variations). See 
<http://www.sxlist.com/techref/language/hpgl/commands.htm>.
Then to pass your HPGL/RML file to the plotter/cutter; 
depends on which interface is used.

ps2edit can convert PDF and other formats to HPGL. It could 
also be possible to edit a HPGL-compatible PPD file to suit 
your plotter/cutter's requirements.

I found some explanations and scripting examples, which may 
be of help. Suppose it will always be a bit of trial/error.

TuxPlot is an GUI interface for such scripts, designed for 
HPGL-plotters, it could possibly be adapted for cutters: 
<http://www.securetech-ns.ca/camm-linux.html>

Virtually everybody use a drawing program to handle their 
plots (Inkscape et al), Scribus is known for quirks in 
direct printing. But if you manage to set the cutter up as a 
printer you may be lucky.

Here is an informative discussion:
<http://www.t-shirtforums.com/vinyl-cutters-plotters-transfers/t31482.html>

Here's some scripting info:
<http://www.3x6.nl/inkscape_hpgl/Linux inkscape save as HPGL 
file for pen cutting plotter extension.html>

Hope you have success solving this.

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