Weird artifact on outlined text

[Gregory30460519yxmc]

Trying to get my illustrator prepared for a laser cutter. The laser demands that any cut lines be 100% rgb red and .001.

First I placed a text symbol with the text tool then created outlines. Then removed the compound path. Then gave it a 1 pt rgb red stroke. So far...looks good.

Then I set the stroke to .001pt as required by the laser cutter. Suddenly I am getting weird light red (not really pink but say 50% opacity red) artifacts along the path. When I send it to the laser cutter, these appear as rasters, not vectors.

I have Illustrator 2024 on a Mac, but this also happened on a pc with Illustrator 2022. I recreated the same steps on the laser lab computer and it worked fine, but disappointingly it didn't have the font I really wanted to use.

[Uske_S]

I was also able to reproduce it (Illustrator 2024, Mac).
However, as I was experimenting with different line thicknesses and colors, the bug stopped happening.
It looks like a really bug to me.

[Gregory30460519yxmc]

Yes, it disappears even for a .25pt line, it's just the .001pt line that has the issue.

[Monika Gause]

Does it look better in View > Preview on CPU?

[Gregory30460519yxmc]

Yes but it still come out as a raster image on the laser cutter print app.

[Srishti Bali]

Hi @Gregory30460519yxmc

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you're experiencing. I tried to replicate the issue but wasn't successful. Could you please provide a few more details to help us troubleshoot?

• The exact version of Illustrator and your operating system
• When this issue started occurring, and whether it began after a recent update.

Additionally, if you could share a sample file, it would greatly assist us in replicating the issue and finding a solution.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience.

Regards,

Srishti

[Monika Gause]

Hi Srishti

this is a typical issue of GPU preview. Most important here would be the information about the graphic card and the driver.

[Gregory30460519yxmc]

It only started being an issue when I started learning how to use a universal letter cutter. The protocol for vectors that demark a cut (as opposed to a raster which is for engraving) is that the line has to be .001pt. 

I'm using Illustrator 2.85 on an iMac.

The maker lab where the laser cutter is has Illustrator 2022 and I can use the same settings to create a cut out and it sends the image to the laser cutter app just fine.

[Gregory30460519yxmc]

It only started being an issue when I started learning how to use a universal letter cutter. The protocol for vectors that demark a cut (as opposed to a raster which is for engraving) is that the line has to be .001pt. 

I'm using Illustrator 2.85 on an iMac.

The maker lab where the laser cutter is has Illustrator 2022 and I can use the same settings to create a cut out and it sends the image to the laser cutter app just fine.

I don't know what graphic card is in my iMac. How would I find out? Also, yes when viewed as CPU the image looks great but it still sends a raster to the laser cutter (which tells the laser to engrave) and I need the laser cutter to cut. On the laser cutter any stroke greater than .001pt will result in a raster of the line rather than. I wonder if it has to do with how the path of the text is outlined. I haven't had a problem with shapes I draw.

[Monika Gause]

Does it look OK in View > CPU preview?

If so, then this is nothing you need to worry about.