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Wanting Design Software recommendations....!

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SpeedysignsNelly

New Member
Hello fellow sign makers! I am looking for recommendations for signwriting/design software. We currently use Flexi Design which in my opinion is a pile of poo.... constantly crashes and terrible layout. Is there more modern and fast running software's anyone loves!?

Cheers! :)
 
Aardvark Printing

Aardvark Printing

New Member
Amynz said:
I've heard of them both, tried Corel once but not illustrator. I assume you're talking about Adobe Illustrator... just wondering how it differs from Adobe Photoshop?

Cheers :)
Click to expand...
Photoshop is mainly for for working on raster images (Jpeg, Tiff, PNG ect.) Illustrator is mainly for working on vector images (EPS, SVG, Vector PDFs) Corel is works well also and is more established in the sign business.
See if you can get a pre subscription version on Ebay (For illustrator that's CS6 or lower) before you invest in a subscription. Make sure the seller has a track record. Ebay is full of fakes for software.
 
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SpeedysignsNelly

New Member
Aardvark Printing said:
Photoshop is mainly for for working on raster images (Jpeg, Tiff, PNG ect.) Illustrator is mainly for working on vector images (EPS, SVG, Vector PDFs) Corel is works well also and is more established in the sign business.
See if you can get a pre subscription version on Ebay (For illustrator that's CS6 or lower) before you invest in a subscription. Make sure the seller has a track record. Ebay is full of fakes for software.
Click to expand...
Thank you that's very helpful! :)
 
M

MNT_Printhead

Working among the Corporate Lizard People
Has anyone else noticed how quick key commands have gone to shit in illustrator the last few years? First I noticed I couldn't tab through the pop up menus and had to use the mouse to copy instead of move, now cmd-shift-m doesn't even work to pull up menu. I have reported the first error multiple times. It realy sucks to have the software get worse and make it take long to complete your tasks. I am so sick of adobe. I want to roll back to an earlier version, but most of my coworkers are up to date.
 
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Signsfyi

New Member
Maybe a bit of an outlier, but I use Gerber Omega. But, I also have Illustrator and Photoshop in my arsenal. I agree about Flexi and only use it's RIP software when printing. Ultimately, it will end up being the one that isn,t buggy and you get used to and can use quickly and intuitively.
 
myront

myront

CorelDRAW is best
Corel is a whole lot faster for sign layouts than illustrator imo. I've been studying Illustrator here recently and can't believe it can't do the simplest things out-of-the box like corel.
1. can't invert/mirror without creating an action or digging into a dialogue
2. can't join two lines of text into 1
3. no shortcut keys for alignment i.e. b=bottom, L= left, r = right etc.
4. can't separate a drop shadow from a shape nor can you simply move the shadow with just the mouse
5. can't zoom in/out with just the mouse wheel
6. can only assign Function keys to actions
7. only two ways to create a duplicate
8. can't export or save "selection only" and a whole lot less file options
9. can't constrain/scale with mouse only
10. outline view doesn't work on text.
11. can't set to always start with an "artboard" of my choosing. workaround was to create a template and pin it
12. limited to art board boundaries anything outside doesn't get exported
13. creating a gradient fill to text is a pia.
14. can't toggle tools. Space bar in corel toggle between last used
15. No dimension tool. Corel has had this for years.
16. Annoying that the shape tool always uses the last fill and stroke that was used. Changes every time you use it. Corel stays as it should each time you draw a shape it's a black outline with no fill.

p.s. I'm still building a list.
 
DL Signs

DL Signs

Never go against the family
myront said:
Corel is a whole lot faster for sign layouts than illustrator imo. I've been studying Illustrator here recently and can't believe it can't do the simplest things out-of-the box like corel.
1. can't invert/mirror without creating an action or digging into a dialogue
2. can't join two lines of text into 1
3. no shortcut keys for alignment i.e. b=bottom, L= left, r = right etc.
4. can't separate a drop shadow from a shape nor can you simply move the shadow with just the mouse
5. can't zoom in/out with just the mouse wheel
6. can only assign Function keys to actions
7. only two ways to create a duplicate
8. can't export or save "selection only" and a whole lot less file options
9. can't constrain/scale with mouse only
10. outline view doesn't work on text.
11. can't set to always start with an "artboard" of my choosing. workaround was to create a template and pin it
12. limited to art board boundaries anything outside doesn't get exported
13. creating a gradient fill to text is a pia.
14. can't toggle tools. Space bar in corel toggle between last used
15. No dimension tool. Corel has had this for years.
16. Annoying that the shape tool always uses the last fill and stroke that was used. Changes every time you use it. Corel stays as it should each time you draw a shape it's a black outline with no fill.

p.s. I'm still building a list.
Click to expand...
Haven't used Corel in ages, but it sounds like the same list I'd be making with Affinity. Everything is just so much faster and streamlined than with Adobe. And cheaper. The only thing missing with Affinity is plugin support for equipment, like cutters. For that I keep one license active for Illustrator on one machine, and dumped everything else associated with Adobe.You don't really realize how clunky Illustrator is, how many extra steps, clicks, and more everything takes till you try others.
 
Boudica

Boudica

Back to "educational purposes"
Amynz said:
Hey just had a quick look at it... looks super nice!! How do you rip your files once you've designed them in Affinity?
Click to expand...
Not a flexi user, but I'm pretty sure you could import a pdf, jpg, tiff, eps... You should be able to print files not designed through flexi. You don't produce customer supplied artwork?
 
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