Solid letters using Cricut markers and SCAL

One of the common questions on the SCAL forum is how to get solid letters with Cricut markers.    One option is to use a thin, even font such as Learning Curve.  I found a font called Multistroke that also worked well.  Another option is to use Inkscape and make a series of smaller and smaller linked offsets.  This method will work with any font.  My first attempt at this turned out pretty well.  There were a few spots that weren’t filled in, but one more offset would have taken care of that.     Here is how to do this in Inkscape.

1. Change your Inkscape view mode to outline (View/Display mode/Outline)
2. Type your text
3. With the text selected, use the menu Path/Object to Path
4. With the text still selected, Path/Linked offset
5. Click on the little white square that appears somewhere at the top of your text and drag it inside your letters until you think you have a good distance between your offset and original letter
6. With the offset still selected, Path/Object to path
7. Repeat as necessary from step 4 until you have your letters filled in.  See below for an image from my sample file and the results with the markers.

Here is a sample I made using Ariel with the linked offsets, Learning Curve, Multistrokes, and ALS Script.  I set the height at 1″ for all of the fonts.  The dots between the letters on Learning Curve and ALS Script are because I forgot to use Path/Union before importing into SCAL.