That’s what I suggested… but it’s a bit more complicated than that… what if a piece lacks a grainline? At any rate… This has to be resolved in the future if we’re to be able to generate a cutting marker - not to be confused with a layout.
If it doesn’t have a grainline, then its orientation in the layout doesn’t matter.
Yes the output of patterns isn’t simple, and we need more fine grained options to meet professional requirements.Most of these options have been submitted as issues already, except for the current discussion.
The actual solution to @caychochang’s issue is a nested-pattern output based on the currently open multisize table. Not sure if a nested-pattern feature has been added to the current issues list in vpo2.
2 Likes
Honestly, given the limited number of pieces in a typical garment, I’m sure that, like me, most users would be more than happy to place the pieces themselves, as long as they can hold <SHIFT> while rotating a piece to lock it to 15-degree increments, based on the grainline if there is one, and the orientation of the workpiece if there isn’t.
3 Likes
If you’re placing the pieces yourself, then you’re basically making a marker.
2 Likes
You say that like it’s a bad thing. 
No… that’s a good thing. While I’ve never had the need to use a cutting marker in the usual manner - that is to print out the marker and lay in on top of multi layer spread instead of drawing out the pieces with chalk, I do draw out a scale marker for each pattern we have and keep a binder of them so I can easily reference the layout of pattern pieces. It would be nice to create a marker - either by hand or automagically - and then be able to make a scale printout.
3 Likes
has there been any progress on this? i’m planning to project the patterns i make and it would be great to have layout make a marker. or at least be able to have pieces not rotate. have all grainlines align.
2 Likes
Actually we’ve had some recent discussion on addressing the whole layout workflow. We’re looking at eliminating the Layout mode entirely, where you will be able to manually create a marker in Piece mode. This would include being able to control the rotation of pieces. It won’t happen for a little while as I need to address some more pressing issues, but when I do it will be a step by step thing. Once all the abilities from the current Layout mode are incorporated, we’ll remove it.
2 Likes
When I’ve used a projector, I’ve always either used it from the Piece mode, or if I needed rotation, exported to SVG.
To have a good projector experience you need a cutting surface that won’t wiggle, & your projector in a position where you won’t be getting in the way of your light. The more wiggle & light-blockage, the worse.
2 Likes
thanks! i have it mounted to the ceiling and and am planning on having a steel surface under my cutting mat so i can magnetize fabric to mat.
3 Likes
I’ve only used the viviMAGE model c490. It stopped projecting after about four years of ownership, & I haven’t looked into getting it fixed because at around 4ft/1.3m projection length it only projected at about A1 size. I’m waffling between upgrading to an ultra-short cast projector, or a wide-format printer of some sort, & have been primarily working on small-piece patterns recently.
2 Likes
What about a vinyl cutter / plotter? You can pick up a 34" one for under $300. Way quicker to plot than to print, and no ink carts to deal with. Besides… they also cut vinyl. 
3 Likes
i just bought a yoton off amazon which was very inexpensive and mounted to ceiling. the facebook group projectors for sewing is super helpful. there’s a guide to help select depending on your desired projected image size and ceiling height to surface measurements, etc. finally got it calibrated and set up last night but hopeful this will make things faster. eliminates the paper completely.
3 Likes
All depends on what you’re using it for. Projection would never have been efficient in my costume business. It was common that I never knew what the fabric width would be… and more often than not I’d be cutting 2 - 3 different sizes of suits, or minimum 5 yards for a jacket and pants. Then there’s issues like adjusting the layout for matching stripes or plaids, or nap, or maybe grading a pattern on the fly on the fabric. After 42 years laying out pattern was something that came easily for me using paper or tagboard pattern pieces. Dealing with all these issues using a projector would just be time consuming. Plus I still question the accuracy of projecting a pattern? I can easily see curvature aberrations of the lens causing pincushion or barrel distortion. Would be interested to see the results of projecting a grid to see what the distortion is with a given projector.
On the other hand I can see the advantage of using a projector at home or a small workshop that doesn’t have a 6’ x 40’ cutting table like I did, where a single garment is being cut can be a useful tool. In this regard it’s not surprising to see JoAnn fabric stores now selling a projector. Pojecting is also less tedius than taping togther dozens of printer pages together… been there done that.
2 Likes
The recommendation is to set up your projector with a known square, such as 2"x2", near each corner & the middle in order to minimize distortion.
1 Like
Hey @Douglas,
That vinyl cutter/plottter looks like I might want one. OK so I see “plotter” just means it moves the medium forward and the cutter side-to-side. They have a 53" wide model:
I used to have an old 36" wide HP 360 black-pen plotter that I loved. I networked it with an external ethernet dongle into it’s serial port! But HP stopped supporting the drivers, and it stopped being able to support roller paper and could only print to sheets 36" long or less. I then bought an Epson Sure Color 7000 series, but Epson within the year (2015) stopped making updates to the drivers to match changes in Windows. So I gave it to a scrap electronics company when we moved about 2 years ago 
Epson still sells thie SureColor printers but most of their features can’t be utilized because the drivers are 8 years old.
I’d love to have a new plotter/printer, but a plotter/cutter would be very cool. I’m tempted to get this one.
2 Likes
We had a 36" cutter / plotter at the shop where I had the same issue… it didn’t support Windows 10. I couldn’t use my laptop , so I had to export the Seamly patterns to dxf, load those into Corel on an XP desktop we had, and plotted from there.
1 Like