BG-01 · Nester · v0.20.0

Stop nesting by hand. Stop wasting material.

Nester packs your real shapes, the actual outline rather than the bounding box, across as many sheets as it needs, up to 64, and the Effort control sets how hard it works at the layout. Letters, logos, cut parts, inside Illustrator.

Download Nester free See pricing

Free to download. One activation code unlocks it for good.

Adobe Illustrator Windows

macOS and CorelDRAW · on the roadmap

Requirements: Adobe Illustrator 2024 onwards, on Windows.

Help guide · Requirements and install · Release notes

Four ways to nest. One plugin.

True-Shape Nest

Packs the real outline of every part, rotating and interlocking them so the gaps between letters and shapes get filled, not the empty rectangle around them. The space inside an O, between the arms of a K, under the overhang of a T: a bounding box throws it away, and Nester packs into it.

Nest Inside Shapes

Drop parts inside the holes and openings of other parts: letters inside a counter, small cuts inside a frame, a job inside an offcut. Mark the container, drop the parts in, and Nester fills it smallest-first. Nothing wasted, including the holes.

Strip & Grain

Lock parts to the material grain or the roll direction, keep a fixed strip height, and Nester respects it while it packs. For vinyl, laminates and anything where the direction matters as much as the fit.

Grid Nest

For identical rectangular parts such as labels, stickers and panels: a clean, tight grid in rows and columns, far faster than true-shape nesting. Columns and Stagger give you tidy rows or a brick layout.

Built for the shop floor, not just the design desk.

See the cost before you cut Nester's Estimates tell you the material used, the sheets needed and the cut cost before you commit a single sheet. Quote the job from the actual nest, not a guess.
The whole job, across every sheet Most nesting tools fill one container and stop. Nester nests the entire job across as many sheets as it needs, up to 64, and tells you how many that is.
Zero overlaps. By design. The collision engine doesn't let two parts touch. What you see nested is what cuts clean: no manual nudging, no scrapped sheet because two letters kissed.
Works on your real artwork Compound paths stay compound, groups stay grouped, counters stay in their letters. Nester nests what you drew, not a flattened approximation of it.
A fast first layout, on your terms A usable nest in seconds on most jobs, and Effort is the dial: Quick for a sanity check, Balanced for everyday work, Thorough when you can give it twice as long per sheet.
It's yours once you buy it One subscription, monthly or yearly, with every update included. Stop, and Nester drops back to the free version; nothing is held to ransom.
The Nester panel on the Nest tab, showing sheet width and height, scale, quantity, the Nest selection and Place buttons, and a preview of sixteen letters and shapes packed on one sheet.
The Nester panel on the Strip tab, showing the fixed roll width with the length growing to fit, the Grained tick box, and a preview of letters and shapes packed along a single strip.
Placeholder Panel screenshot: Estimates
Placeholder Panel screenshot: presets

No manual required.

Set your sheet size, pick a mode, hit Nest. Width, height, scale, quantities, grain and gap sit on one panel, where you would expect them. Save your common setups as presets and reuse them in one click.

If you cut it, lay it out or print it, Nester's for you.

The job it replaces: nesting by hand in Illustrator, dragging parts round a sheet, eyeballing the gaps, and cutting more material than the job needed.

Placeholder Vinyl & wide-format

Vinyl & wide-format

Squeeze every letter and graphic onto the roll. Less waste per metre, more jobs per sheet.

Placeholder CNC & routing

CNC & routing

Nest real part outlines for the router bed and cut the offcuts down too.

Placeholder Laser cutting

Laser cutting

True-shape packing for acrylic, ply and metal. Fit more per sheet, every sheet.

Placeholder Channel letters

Channel letters & built-up signs

Nest faces, returns and backs together; keep the set on one sheet where it fits.

Placeholder Vehicle wraps

Vehicle wraps & graphics

Lay panels and elements out tight before you commit the print.

Placeholder Stickers & decals

Sticker & decal makers

Pack a full sheet of mixed shapes, kiss-cut ready.

Placeholder Print & prepress

Print & prepress

Gang up jobs, fill the sheet, hand prepress a tight layout.

Placeholder Apparel & merch

Apparel, POD & merch

Nest transfers and prints to get the most off every sheet of film.

Placeholder Engravers & makers

Engravers & makers

Anything you cut from sheet stock packs tighter with true-shape nesting.

Select, set the sheet, nest, place.

Placeholder A selection of parts in Illustrator

Select your parts

The vector shapes you want to cut, in Illustrator. Live text is outlined first: Type, then Create Outlines.

The Nester panel on the Nest tab, showing sheet width and height, scale, quantity and the Nest selection and Place buttons.

Set your sheet size

Width and height in millimetres: the material you are cutting from. Pick the mode that matches the job.

Click Nest selection

A preview of the packed sheet appears in the panel, with the sheet count and how long it took. More than one sheet? It spills onto as many as it takes.

One of our own jobs, nested and placed by Nester: letters and shapes packed on one sheet, drawn as cut lines.

Click Place

The nest drops into your document, grouped, on its own layer, ready to move or cut. Locked, this is the one button that waits for the activation code.

What it needs, and what it takes.

Adobe Illustrator Windows macOS Roadmap CorelDRAW Roadmap
Illustrator
Requirements: Adobe Illustrator 2024 onwards, on Windows.
Platform
Windows. macOS and CorelDRAW are on the roadmap and do not run it today.
Artwork and files
Any vector artwork open in Illustrator: paths, compound paths and groups, in any file Illustrator opens. Live text is outlined first (Type, then Create Outlines). Nester works on your selection; it does not open files itself.

The licence, in plain words.

The long version is on the licence page. This is all of it that matters when you buy.

The subscription You subscribe, monthly or yearly, for the seats and machines your tier allows. The yearly price is the one most shops pick.
Seats and machines Solo: 1 seat, 2 machines; Shop: 5 seats, 10 machines; Site: 20 seats, 40 machines. One seat covers two machines, for example a desktop and a laptop. The number of seats is how many people can be signed in at the same time.
When it ends Stop paying and the subscription ends at the close of the period you paid for. Nester drops back to the free version, which still nests and prices but will not place; Setout shades over until you come back. Nothing is deleted and your files are untouched.
Updates Every update is included for as long as you subscribe: fixes, speed-ups and new features alike. There is no v2 to pay for and no upgrade fee.
Before the code goes in Nester nests and prices your artwork but will not place the result on your artboard.
Off the network A machine that is off the network keeps working for 30 days, then needs to reach the licence server once to carry on.
Placeholder Nester in use on a live job

Built for our own work. Proven on real jobs.

Nester runs every week at a working manufacturer, on live production jobs. It earned its place on our own floor before it was sold to yours, and because we use it every week, it does not get abandoned.

See it work.

Placeholder Gallery: true-shape letters
True-Shape Nest Channel-letter faces packed onto one 8x4 sheet
Placeholder Gallery: nest inside offcuts
Nest Inside Shapes Small cut parts dropped into the offcuts of a routed sign blank
Placeholder Gallery: strip and grain
Strip & Grain Vinyl letters locked to the roll direction, packed down the strip
Placeholder Gallery: mixed acrylic job
True-Shape Nest A mixed acrylic job interlocked across two sheets
Placeholder Gallery: sticker grid
Grid Nest Kiss-cut stickers in tight rows on one sheet
Placeholder Gallery: letters in counters
Nest Inside Shapes Letters nested inside a counter, nothing wasted

One subscription. Every update included.

Monthly or yearly Every update included Stop whenever you like Free to download first

Pay yearly and pay half.

Solo

£90

a year · 1 seat, 2 machines

£15

a month · 1 seat, 2 machines

  • Sole traders and single workstations
  • Every mode, the full engine
  • Estimates included
  • Every update included
Download free

Most shops pick this

Shop

£210

a year · 5 seats, 10 machines

£35

a month · 5 seats, 10 machines

  • A working sign shop
  • Every mode, the full engine
  • Estimates included
  • Every update included
Download free

Site

£540

a year · 20 seats, 40 machines

£90

a month · 20 seats, 40 machines

  • Bigger shops, everything under one roof
  • Every mode, the full engine
  • Estimates included
  • Every update included
Download free
What you get, and what changes
Nester tier Solo Shop Site
Price Differs £90 a year£15 a month £210 a year£35 a month £540 a year£90 a month
Seats Differs 1 5 20
Machines Differs 2 10 40
True-shape nesting: real outlines, turned and interlocked Included Included Included
Nests parts inside holes and cut-outs Included Included Included
Locks parts to the grain or the roll direction Included Included Included
Grid nest for parts that are all the same rectangle Included Included Included
The whole job, across as many sheets as it needs Included Included Included
No overlaps. The collision engine will not allow one. Included Included Included
Keeps compound paths, groups and cut-outs whole Included Included Included
Effort dial: a quick check, or the best pack Included Included Included
Material used, sheets needed and cut cost, before you cut Included Included Included
Saved presets for your materials and your machines Included Included Included
Free download. See a full nest before you buy. Included Included Included
Every update included while you subscribe Included Included Included
Monthly or yearly, stop whenever you like Included Included Included
Works offline for 30 days at a time Included Included Included
Answered by the people who wrote it Included Included Included

Every tier is the whole tool. The only differences are the price, the number of seats and the number of machines.

One seat covers two machines, for example a desktop and a laptop. The number of seats is how many people can be signed in at the same time.

Want Setout as well?

Both tools Setout · Sizes on the drawing, at your scale

Nester and Setout together, on one subscription.

Both tools, Shop: £270 a year£45 a month for 5 seats, 10 machines. From £120 a year£20 a month.

See the Both tools prices. See Setout.

Every tier is the full Nester: same engine, same modes, same Estimates. The only difference is the number of seats and machines: Solo 1 seat, 2 machines; Shop 5 seats, 10 machines; Site 20 seats, 40 machines. Pay monthly or yearly, and every update is included for as long as you subscribe. Stop, and Nester drops back to the free version: it still nests and prices your artwork, it will not place it.

Requirements: Adobe Illustrator 2024 onwards, on Windows.

Read up first: Help guide · Requirements and install · Release notes.

Not sure yet? Download it free and nest your own artwork first. It's below.

Download it free. Nest your own artwork. Then decide.

One file, free, no card and no account. Nester runs straight away, locked: it nests your artwork and prices the sheet, but it will not place the result on your artboard. You see the value; you cannot keep it yet.

Buy a licence, paste the activation code into the panel, and the same panel is the full one. Place stops reading Buy.

No download here yet: the signed installer is not finished. Email hello@bluegrey.ai and we send you the current Nester build by hand.

The five things people ask before they buy.

What does the free download do before I pay?

Nester nests and prices your artwork but will not place the result on your artboard. It is the full engine and the full panel; nothing is cut down. One file, downloaded free by anyone. The activation code you buy opens it. The thing you tried is the thing you bought.

What do seats and machines mean, and how many do I get?

One seat covers two machines, for example a desktop and a laptop. The number of seats is how many people can be signed in at the same time. A machine is one computer with Illustrator on it. Your tier sets how many you can activate at once; on one more than that, the panel says so and stays as it was until an activation is released. Replace a machine and the old activation can be released. Solo: 1 seat, 2 machines; Shop: 5 seats, 10 machines; Site: 20 seats, 40 machines.

Is it a subscription?

Yes, monthly or yearly. You subscribe, monthly or yearly, for the seats and machines your tier allows. The yearly price is the one most shops pick. Every update is included for as long as you subscribe: fixes, speed-ups and new features alike. There is no v2 to pay for and no upgrade fee. Stop paying and the subscription ends at the close of the period you paid for. Nester drops back to the free version, which still nests and prices but will not place; Setout shades over until you come back. Nothing is deleted and your files are untouched.

What if it is not for me?

Do not buy it: download it free and run it on your own artwork first. Once an activation code is issued the purchase is final, unless the software is broken: if it does not do what this page says, or will not run on a setup this page says it runs on, we fix it or refund it. The refunds page says it plainly. Lemon Squeezy takes the payment as merchant of record, handles VAT and emails the activation code. Prices here are in pounds; checkout shows your own currency.

Which versions of Illustrator, and what about a Mac?

Requirements: Adobe Illustrator 2024 onwards, on Windows. macOS and CorelDRAW are on the roadmap. If it will not run on a setup this page says it runs on, that is covered by the refund above.

How support works.

One address hello@bluegrey.ai Read by the people who write the software.

Email hello@bluegrey.ai with what happened and, if you can, a screenshot and roughly what the job was. The person who wrote the thing you are asking about is the one who answers. No phone line, no chat widget, no ticket system.

Read up, if you like: Help guide · Requirements and install · Release notes.

Hear when Nester changes.

One line when a Nester release is worth knowing about. Nothing else.

No spam, no list-selling. A few emails a year at most, and one reply takes you off.

Pairs well with

Setout Sizes on the drawing, at your scale Measures your artwork and writes the sizes onto it, read at the scale you are drawing at. From £60 a year See Setout Fellside business dashboards One place to run the business from One screen your whole team checks each morning: sales, cash, jobs and people, pulled from your own systems and kept current. Priced once we've met See Fellside

Nester, in plain words

Nester is a true-shape nesting plugin for Adobe Illustrator, with CorelDRAW on the roadmap, for sign making, vinyl and wide-format print, CNC routing and laser cutting. It packs real shapes across sheets, fills offcuts, respects grain and shows the cost before you cut.