SVG? SCUT? WTF?

If, like me, you’re living in Cricut Newbie Land, and you’ve seen all those cool projects on the Internet but you’re not sure how to do them, you’ve probably been doing some reading. 

And, like me, you might find that after checking out a few forums you’re more confused than ever because there’s all this shorthand out there.  SVG.  SCUT.  SCAL.  CDS.  All you want is to be able to make those cool projects but you can’t seem to decipher the code.

 I might be able to help. 

A little. 

I’ve been doing LOTS of reading.  And distilling LOTS information.  I’ve begun compiling a glossary of all those terms we keep running across, and you can find it on another page here on my blog for your reference.  

In this post I’m specifically going to talk about Sure Cuts A Lot (aka SCAL) and the files this very cool program uses.  And trust me, if I can make sense of it, anybody can.

I’m no rocket scientist.

BTW, if you’re not using Sure Cuts A Lot and you’re not interested in using it, don’t bother reading the rest of this post.  Go check out The Frugal Crafter and her HUGE collection of stamps (and when I say HUGE, I mean HUGE…SCARY huge!)  She’s also got an awesome freebie for both CDS (Cricut DesignStudio) and SCAL users for making heart cartons — perfect for the upcoming Valentines Day.

Anyway…back to my original topic.  SCAL and what kind of files SCAL uses.  What’s a SCUT?  What’s a SVG?

In a nutshell, a .scut file is a file that’s created with SCAL.  As far as I can tell, it’s a proprietary format — meaning that it’s a type of file format only used by SCAL.  Like Microsoft Word documents have the file extension .doc, all files you save in SCAL will have the .scut extension. 

So if  SCAL uses .scut files, what’s all this we keep reading about .svg?  What is an .svg?

An .svg file is a scalable vector file.  Unlike .jpeg and .gif files which are bitmaps (the images are based on a pattern of dots), .svg files are based on geometrical formulas — in other words, they’re based on shapes, not patterns.  The advantage of vector files (like .svg) is that they can be resized and reshaped without losing their integrity.  They also often require less memory than bitmap files.

Many users of SCAL have discovered an awesome free program (yes, you heard me — free!!) called Inkscape which can be used to convert .jpeg images to .svg.  You can also use Inkscape to create .svg files from scratch.  You can then import these .svg files into SCAL.  So now not only will SCAL cut any true type font or dingbat available on your computer, you now have a wealth of shapes you can import for use.  Because of this ability, the creative possibilities for SCAL and your Cricut are infinite. 

Do you want to know the very best part of Inkscape, .svg files, and the SCAL community? 

You don’t have to be a computer genius or an Inkscape pro to fully realize the potential of your Cricut.  There’s a boatload of SCAL and Inkscape users out there who share their knowledge and their files — for free!  Yes, you heard me, for free!!!

Man, I love free!!!

In another post, I’ll include links to some of the best blogs, websites, and forums I’ve found for SCAL.  It’s unbelievable what’s available and how friendly and helpful this group of people are.  If you can’t wait a couple days for my list, just Google “scut file” or “svg file”.  You’ll be amazed at what you find.

In the meantime, happy Cricut-ing!!!