Using Illustrator to download and trace an image for Laser or Vinyl Cutting

1) Open Chrome.

2) Search for an image. Include the words silhouette or outline in your search. Photos do NOT work well for this process.

Select a clear image with simple lines. Click on it to get a larger version. Use two fingers on the track pad to open the menu (or Right-Click on a mouse) to select Save Image As...

Give your file a good name, like Red Sox Logo (or something you will remember) and save it in your Downloads folder.

Open Adobe Illustrator.

Create a New File.

For vinyl, create the size that you want your sticker to be. If it is meant for your laptop, think about the size of your case.

A good size for the laser cutter is 24" x 12" as that is the size of our small laser cutter.

File -> Place...

Click on the Downloads folder.
If you click on Date Modified, your files will be sorted by date, with the newest ones at the top.
Click on the name of your file.
Click on the Place button.

Window -> Image Trace

Click in the top-left corner to place your image in illustrator.

If it is very large, zoom out (View -> Zoom Out or command-) to see the whole thing.

Hold down the shift key.

Drag the lower-right corner up and to the left to size it smaller and fit it on the page.

Before:

After:

Window -> Image Trace

Image Trace Preset: Black and White Logo

(There are other options here that you can try if this one doesn't work well with your image.)

Illustrator will convert your image to Black and White.

If you don't like how it looks, try a different Preset, but make sure Mode is Black and White.

When you are happy with how it looks, turn off the check box next to Preview.

Click Trace

To finish the conversion, go to

Object -> Image Trace -> Expand

You should see a blue outline around your logo.

Go to Windows -> Layers and make sure there is a check.

Then switch to Layers and click on the > to the left of your first layer. In there should be a group with all of the lines that make up your image. Select them all.

While your whole logo is highlighted (outlined in blue), do the following:

Click on Properties.
Change Fill to be empty (red line through white box).
Change Stroke to Black and
Change Stroke to be .1pt

File -> Save As...

Save it to Creative Cloud.
Give it a "Good" name (one that describes what it is, has your name in it, and a version number.