How to Save a Silhouette File as an SVG for Any Laser

If you're trying to figure out how to save a Silhouette file as an SVG file so you can use it with your laser or another cutting machine - it's just a few clicks to convert.

Co2 lasers,laser business,laser cutter,laser engrave,laser engraver,laser engraving,silhouette software,Silhouette Studio 4,xtool laser,xtool studio,

One of the biggest benefits of Silhouette Studio is that it can be used to design for so many other types of equipment and software and you don't even need to have a Silhouette machine.

In this tutorial I'll show you step by step how to convert a Silhouette file to an SVG.

The one thing you need before you can save an SVG

You'll need to have the Silhouette Studio Business Edition upgrade to save an SVG out of the program. The free basic Silhouette software cannot open or export SVG files at all, so if your Save As menu does not give you an SVG option, that is almost always why. This is true regardless of if you are using V4 or V5.

If you are going to move designs to a laser regularly, the Business Edition upgrade is well worth it. It's a one time paid upgrade that you can use on up to three computers.

How to save your design as an SVG in Silhouette Studio

Once you have activated Business Edition, saving files as SVG is quick. Select the design in the work area and go to File > Save Selection > Save to Hard Drive.

In the save window, change the file type to SVG, give it a name, and select your location to save it.

Importing SVG files into Laser software

Move over to your laser software and find the import option. I'm using xTool Studio in this example.

Your laser software can now open that SVG file directly, and the vector lines come along with it.

Why an SVG beats a PNG for your laser

Lasers like SVG files because unlike a PNG file, the SVG has vector paths, which means your laser reads it as actual lines it can follow. It also can treat each path or line as a different layer. That makes it easy to use Silhouette Studio to prepare laser files to be engraved, scored or cut - or a combination of all three.

How to use Silhouette Studio to laser engraving

If you have a laser file that will require more than one processing type, before you export the file from Silhouette Studio, you can organize it by designating which lines should engrave, cut, and score.

It will then import into the laser software ready to process.

I have the full step by step tutorial on Silhouette U on how to set up cut, score, and engrave lines so that the SVG opens with those layers in your laser software. Watch a free preview of the video here.

Bonus: Free Laser Settings Finder Tool

If you're tired of guessing your settings or wasting material testing, check out the free laser settings finder on Silhouette U. No membership is required.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

No comments

Thanks for leaving a comment! We get several hundred comments a day. While we appreciate every single one of them it's nearly impossible to respond back to all of them, all the time. So... if you could help me by treating these comments like a forum where readers help readers.

In addition, don't forget to look for specific answers by using the Search Box on the blog. If you're still not having any luck, feel free to email me with your question.