Cutting software question

[glassdave]

Hi all, been a member/lurker for a while and had a couple questions i could not find elsewhere on here so i thought I'd post up.

I am looking for some software for a new computer i just bought but first i better give ya a run down on what i have been doing and what id like to do. For the last seven or eight years i ran my Graphtec FC5100-100 off my HP laptop with WinXP that i have used since i got the plotter. I had kind of an odd way about doing it though. I do all my artwork in Corel (used it since X2) and export as an EPS and cut in an old version of SighBlazer i bought back then. Its a few extra steps but it always worked well for me. I really like Corel, it does just what i need, I've used it for nearly fifteen years, and its reasonably priced.

I only cut spray masks for custom paint jobs i do in the high perf boat biz (pic below is representative of what i do and its all paint) All my vector files, logos, etc i do from scratch and are tailored to the boat/customer so i really dont need a full sign shop type program, tried AI and Flexi but kept going back to Corel. For the most part i just do line management and custom line templates with maybe some color fills for renderings to customer.

What i have now is a dead eight year old laptop and a brand new laptop with Win7. Questions are

What version of Corel works best with Win7?
Is SignBlazer still available or is there a comparable intermediate program like that?
Will all of this work with my older (and so far unfailing) Graphtec FC5100-100?
I just bought everything as i went along and am self taught so any suggestions on doing it a better way are much appreciated.

Thanks all




mods if this belongs elsewhere please feel free to move, thanks

 

[J Hill Designs]

graphtec should run off their own standalone cutting master, which I believe has a module to work directly out of corel

 

[graphicwarning]

which I believe has a module to work directly out of corel

Sure does... from the application launcher menu after Cutting Master has been installed!

I'd recommend CorelDraw X6 personally for your new win 7 machine.

 

[glassdave]

Thanks, i poked around the net and thought i saw issues with x6 and win7 but truth be told its probably old info. Been so long since i had to look for anything, nothing like a good old fashioned hard drive crash to bring ya up to this decade lol. Thats the prob with not ever having any issues for so long, puts you (me) way out of touch. Honestly i cant believe that HP Pavilion laptop was trouble free for so long. I am super vigilant with back ups and took it in for service two weeks ago. Guys at the computer shop i use called it a senior citizen lol said i better get affairs in order. . . . . god speed old friend lol

So i can get X6 and an add on module and cut right from Corel? That i think i would like.

Also, please bare with me,Cutting Master is also from Corel or an outside vendor?

 

[glassdave]

oops, think i got it now. Cutting Master is with the driver section of Graphtec and is the add on to work with Corel. Gonna order up X6 i think, sounds like that is what i am after.

I got another question about Corel. I somtimes feel I'm the only one using it any more. Do and pros still use it or was it really not intended for this stuff? Its a good art rendering program and has always done exactly what i needed and seems pretty flexible. Just seems everyone else is using AI or Flexi. Kinda makes me wonder if i should try and make a switch but man once ya get to know your way around a program its tough to start all over, especially after fourteen plus years

 

[graphicwarning]

As with most software, there will be some issues upon release of a new version... but nothing that doesn't get resolved with an update or two. Corel works great for me on Win 7... and I am using the 64 bit edition, which works great as well. There are a few flavors for purchasing Corel now... you can buy a monthly or yearly subscription if you want for example, or an outright purchase.

Cutting Master is made by Graphtec and is free on their website. Once installed, it adds a "shortcut" if you will, to the application launcher menu in Corel. Whatever you file have open/active in Corel at the time (and possibly selected... I honestly don't remember) gets "transferred" to the Cutting Master software where you are presented with a dialog box to input your cut settings etc.

Download the 30 day trail of X6, and get Cutting Master from the Graphtec site... try it out.

 

[graphicwarning]

I somtimes feel I'm the only one using it any more. Do and pros still use it or was it really not intended for this stuff?

I can't speak for anyone else in this forum, but it's all I have ever used in the last 15+ years. Also, the place I just left has 22+ designers all using CorelDraw.

You can head over to CorelDraw.com also that is a Forum of Corel users... lots of people in there!

 

[glassdave]

cool, thanks i will do that.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I got another question about Corel. I somtimes feel I'm the only one using it any more. Do and pros still use it or was it really not intended for this stuff? Its a good art rendering program and has always done exactly what i needed and seems pretty flexible. Just seems everyone else is using AI or Flexi.

I cut my teeth on Ai and I'm still more familiar with that, however, my embroidery digitizing program is directly interfaced with Corel DRAW (toggle bottom that switches from one interface to the next (doesn't open a separate instance)), so I do use it more and more.

Kinda makes me wonder if i should try and make a switch but man once ya get to know your way around a program its tough to start all over, especially after fourteen plus years

It doesn't matter what others use, if it works for you that's all that matters in the end.

 

[glassdave]

I cut my teeth on Ai and I'm still more familiar with that, however, my embroidery digitizing program is directly interfaced with Corel DRAW (toggle bottom that switches from one interface to the next (doesn't open a separate instance)), so I do use it more and more.



It doesn't matter what others use, if it works for you that's all that matters in the end.

thanks, i guess if it aint broke . . .

I do like it though, it does just what i need and i know my way around it pretty well. I tried AI and it probably is a better more powerful program but cost was a good feature with Corel it is pretty reasonable for what ya get

Speaking of embroidery i also have a Brother Inno vis 1200 that i picked up to play around with and looked into the interface for Corel. The only one i found was like four thousand dollars and i just wont use it enough to justify. I was thinking either PE or Embird or something. I just want to be able to do stuff like the logo on the boat up there, two or three colors as this is a single thread machine. If i could pull my artwork from Corel that would be great .

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Speaking of embroidery i also have a Brother Inno vis 1200 that i picked up to play around with and looked into the interface for Corel. The only one i found was like four thousand dollars and i just wont use it enough to justify. I was thinking either PE or Embird or something. I just want to be able to do stuff like the logo on the boat up there, two or three colors as this is a single thread machine. If i could pull my artwork from Corel that would be great .

Well, you have varying software price points. Wilcom (brand that I use) ranges from 2k for their entry level up to a little past 15k for their full version.

PE Designs (which is Brother's Home/Entry Commercial) digitizing software isn't bad for the roughly 2k that they ask for it (new). It's "clunkier" then Wilcom's DecoStudio (their entry level digitizing package), but it isn't bad. I keep a copy of PE Designs for my Brother customers that want applique designs and I need it to enter in special codes.

Brother Innovis is a home machine, so it does have it's limitations with regard to that. Not just what it can stitch out on, but how big you can make the satin stitching before you have enter in split stitches etc. And having to switch out for each thread color will get old quick if you are doing long runs. But if you aren't using it that much, then that won't be such a big deal.

Define "pull artwork"? If you are talking about auto conversion, please, please don't do that. Even as pricey as Wilcom is, it still makes mistakes if you trust decisions to be made by the software and this is one of the best programs out there. Most any of the decent digitizing programs will accept raster versions, just export as a raster, at a good resolution to handle working in 6:1 scale and digitize using the manual and semi-manual tools. No auto conversion. It's a selling point that all software companies use, but it rarely, rarely works out, certainly not from an efficient stitch out perspective as setting up your vector file for that would be mutually exclusive for having it setup correctly for the plotter.

 

[glassdave]

Thanks, actually i got the machine on a trade knowing it was a home machine. I just thought it would be fun to play with and maybe toss logos on towels for customers but that would be about it. Honestly i was thinking if I could find the right software to be able to plug in my laptop with the USB i would probably source out the digitizing part of it and just pay to have that done then i could run it as i need to. I have never had any decent luck with digitizing, its actually how i got proficient with Corel I found it was just easier to re master anything i needed weather it be a logo, template or ??? After i got the machine i realized that whole field is an entirely different discipline, much to be learned about stitch placement, style, etc. all kinds of stuff. I may get deeper into it at some point but for now i am looking to play around a bit with it. I did a bunch of the pre loaded patterns and it worked well, the thread change prompt and they way it loads is cool. I also have industrial Pfaff sewing equipment as well, not afraid to buy fun tools for my shop.


checked out your site/facebook, nice work very nice. What would be the process if i had you digitize some of my artwork? Just wondering how it would go from my vector file to your digitizing and back to my machine (if thats even possible lol) what minimum software i would need to run my Innovis (again if thats even possible)

Thanks sorry so many questions.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Thanks, actually i got the machine on a trade knowing it was a home machine. I just thought it would be fun to play with and maybe toss logos on towels for customers but that would be about it. Honestly i was thinking if I could find the right software to be able to plug in my laptop with the USB

Since this is a home machine, I would probably suggest going with Brother's software. Typically I would say that you don't need to go with the same brand of software as your machine, go with the best, but home machines are more particular. I think manufacturers make it to where it's more of a pain. The PES format, which I believe is only one of two format's that your machine will read is finicky when it comes to adding in stop codes (for your applique patterns) and that's why I keep a copy of PE Designs with me even for PR users (Brother's full commercial line of machines isn't as much of a concern).

i would probably source out the digitizing part of it and just pay to have that done then i could run it as i need to.

If you are just wanting something to view the design etc, then you could probably get away with the PE Designs Plus or PED Basic. It won't give you much beyond auto conversion (Plus), but it will allow you to make some very basic changes to the design.

The one thing that makes me hesitant about that is do you think that you'll be growing with this kind of offering or just stay small like this with regard to embroider? If you want to have some room to grow with your software and you might be thinking about commercial machine(s), then my suggestion(s) would be different.

I have never had any decent luck with digitizing, its actually how i got proficient with Corel I found it was just easier to re master anything i needed weather it be a logo, template or ??? After i got the machine i realized that whole field is an entirely different discipline, much to be learned about stitch placement, style, etc. all kinds of stuff. I may get deeper into it at some point but for now i am looking to play around a bit with it. I did a bunch of the pre loaded patterns and it worked well, the thread change prompt and they way it loads is cool. I also have industrial Pfaff sewing equipment as well, not afraid to buy fun tools for my shop.

It is different compared to designing for paint or print process. Embroidery is very much a physical process and has lots of different interactions. Not everything translates well depending on the size that you are wanting it. That last one seems to be the biggest thing that gets people. Not everything does translate well, exactly how it's design, especially if the designer isn't familiar with the production process.

We have a couple of Pfaff commercial machines as well. Best thing out there when they were the only ones that had the true dual feed option (walking foot is just no comparison).

checked out your site/facebook, nice work very nice. What would be the process if i had you digitize some of my artwork? Just wondering how it would go from my vector file to your digitizing and back to my machine (if thats even possible lol) what minimum software i would need to run my Innovis (again if thats even possible)

Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate that.

As far as the process goes. Source files, I can handle anything that CS6 and/or X6 can handle, although I do prefer to get EPS 8 files if I can. If there is text, just make sure it's converted to curves. What I do is I take the source image into my program, lock that layer to keep something from happening to it. Then I trace the design using various input tools (some manual (one click equals one needle insertion) or semi-automatic tools, no auto conversion (equivalent to Live Trace and Power Trace)). Then it's exported as a PES file (in your case, normally it's a DST file for most of my customers, I use slightly different files for mine). That PES file is what you'll send to your machine. That's pretty much it in the broad strokes.

As far as minimal software to run it, I think PED Basic would be the minimum to write to the special disk that Brother uses. Now, with the PR machines and it maybe the case with this one, you would just have to try it and see, when you hook it up to a computer via USB, it does show up as a hard drive on the computer and with the PR machines you can drag and drop designs in that drive. Now that drive purges when power is off and it's only good for a little over a megabit (but for embroidery files, that's a lot). Again, this is with the PR machines, I don't know about the home machines, you'll have to hook it up and see.

One final thing that I should mention while I'm thinking about it. Embroidery files are like raster files. Meaning the stitch points are fixed. If you want to try to scale it up or down, general rule of them is not greater then 5% of the original file size. Let's say your design has 5 stitches and you want to scale it up. It will keep the 5 stitches, but the stitch width between them is greater. How big you make it, it might be bigger then that machine can handle. Now if you try to scale it down, it's going to be impacting those 5 stitches in a smaller area. If it's too small, it can wreck havoc on the substrate, cause bird nesting, all kind of good stuff. Just thought I would mention that while I'm thinking of it. A lot of people try to scale their designs if they need a different size to avoid another digitizing cost. Some you can get away with that, some can't.

Sorry about all that. This is stuff I really enjoy and I tend to ramble on a bit.

 

[Stanton]

I can't speak for anyone else in this forum, but it's all I have ever used in the last 15+ years. Also, the place I just left has 22+ designers all using CorelDraw.

CorelDRAW is how one does work.
It is an actual work tool.

AppleMac is a toy. Or a pie. Depends on the amount of cinnamon.