EveryCutFileThe export settings that matter for cutting
These are in the SVG Options box that opens after File > Export > Export As, with SVG (svg) chosen as the format.
| Setting | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Responsive | Off | Off, the file states the artboard’s width and height. On, it keeps only the drawing’s own units, so the size depends on the program that opens it |
| Font | Convert to Outlines | Cutting software may not have your font or may refuse live text; outlined letters are shapes |
| Images | Embed, and keep pictures out of cut files | A linked picture goes missing in another program, and an embedded one still has no outline to cut |
| Use Artboards (in Export As) | On | The file’s page is the artboard, at the size you set; off, the page shrinks to the edges of the artwork |
Why the size changes: 72 against 96
Illustrator measures in points, 72 to the inch, and writes the drawing in those units. With Responsive off the file also states its real width and height, so any program can scale it correctly. With Responsive on, only the drawing’s units remain; a program that counts 96 pixels to the inch, as Inkscape does and LightBurn does by default, reads 72 units as three quarters of an inch, and the design arrives at 0.75 of its size.
File > Save As, SVG, offers the SVG 1.1 profile that Canva asks for, and its CSS Properties setting has Presentation Attributes, the choice Canva’s help gives for files from Illustrator.
A worked example
Our rounded rectangle pantry label is 76 × 42 mm. Open it in Illustrator and the artboard is 76 × 42 mm, which is 215.43 × 119.06 points. Exported with Responsive on, the file holds only viewBox="0 0 215.43 119.06", and LightBurn at its default 96 DPI places the label at 57 × 31.5 mm. Exported with Responsive off, the file also states its width and height, and the label imports at 76 × 42 mm.
Prepare the copy you cut from
- Save your .ai file; it stays the editable master.
- Select the text and choose Type > Create Outlines (Shift+Ctrl+O), or set Font to Convert to Outlines when you export.
- Turn strokes you want cut as shapes into shapes: Object > Path > Outline Stroke, or Object > Expand.
- Choose File > Export > Export As, pick SVG (svg), tick Use Artboards and click Export.
- In SVG Options, untick Responsive and click OK.
- Import the SVG into your cutting software and check its width and height before you cut.
Find the cause of a wrong size from the number →
Write an exact size into an SVG that has none →
From the maker’s documentation: Adobe Illustrator: supported formats, Adobe: export high-quality SVG from Illustrator, LightBurn: settings and preferences, Canva: upload requirements.