posted
It's been too long! As usual I've been burning the candle at both ends. Tax season is here and I've been working for an acct and doing signs. I'm having a problem with manipulating a logo in Flexi 6. The customer had a logo made by a graphics guy and he emailed it to me - it was created in a mac and I have a pc. I told the graphics guy I need an .ai or .eps. First it came through email as a .mim then .sim until finally I sent it to a friend with Flexi and he was able to email it back to me as a .fs. Sooooooo now I can't change the color or outline it or break it apart. UGH. Any experts out there? Hopefully it's just my ignorance holding me back. Thanks in advance.
-------------------- signs Posts: 535 | From: pa | Registered: Dec 1998
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-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Here we go with the MAC unfriendly rant again. For Flexi, the .ai file needs to saved as a Illustrator 6 or lower file. If you do not have the version of Illustrator that it was created in, you will not be able to make the conversion. Has nothing to do with MAC and PC. It has to do with education. The person who created the file needs to export it to a format you can use, and then you can import.
-------------------- Jerry Starpoli Starpoli Signs... since 1952
845-795-2438 Posts: 446 | From: Milton, NY US | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Curtis may still be right- it may be a bitmap (a photo) placed in a vector file format- which is still a photo, and not vectors. If it was in vector format, you'd be able to ungroup, or un-combine (ctrl-J) & ungroup, and change colours at will.
More communication needed, first, before more sweat!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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Why would they purposely send a format you could not use?
If it's coming form a Mac graphics guy it was most likely created in a newer version of Illustrator, which as Jerry said, it will need to be saved as an older .ai file for Flexi6.
With that said, it could be any number of things. What I do in these situations is get the phone number of the graphics artist from your client and call them directly, no middle man this way. They are usually very friendly and more than willing to help figure out the correct file format you need and will then email them out to you.
The best thing to do if you're not sure, is have them send a few different formats and 99% of the time one of them will work. Again, call the artist directly!
posted
Thanks for the input. Checked the file again and it is .eps. I'll email the guy and see if he created it in Illustrator 6 or lower. Thanks so much - at least I have somthing to go on now! I'll report back!
-------------------- signs Posts: 535 | From: pa | Registered: Dec 1998
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Hardly a rant. Sorry it brings out the defensive nature of the MAC users..
And, Sorry again. But if persons quit reading more than was mentioned into the post.. In other words,, quit looking so defensivly at the word MAC,, and only look at the context of the words after that word "MAC".. you will see that the it was directed at the USER giving out the file and not directed at the machine.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
It happens in the PC to PC exchanges, too. Artists sometimes purposely send the wrong stuff and blame it on miscommunication on the part of the reciever. It is never the fauly of the sender...
Ever get a vector file that has 48 pieces pasted on top of each other? Maybe a bunch of invisible crap floating in the background? Wrong versions after specifically asking for a certain format version? Locked out PDF files? .eps files sent as bitmaps when they know darn well you meant an .eps vector file? How about the open bezier curves and the neverending line? Outlines not elimated and around a fill? Then there is the fonts not converted to curves routine.
You don't have to own a MAC to be a putz... but it helpps. LOL! Just kidding!
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6454 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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Bruce, that's some pretty funny stuff. Yes we have all received those kinds of files (probably from Mac) and were as disgruntled as you! I think though what you're forgetting is that most of these probably came from ad-agencies that were print oriented and all the over lapping paths, no true outlines, hidden background rectangles hiding overlaps, no welds etc. did not concern them. The design worked beautifully for them....LOL
You just have to come to the realization that they won't do our work for us, damn. You, me, he ,she asked for original, digital artwork so we didn't have to reinvent the wheel and that's exactly what we got. They are not going to reproduce it to work for our die cut vinyl machines, routers etc. I know it sucks but I guess at least we got the basic design.
I agree with you 100% that there is no excuse for fonts not converted to paths! Sure there is always a sadistic person out there but for the most part I'm sure these things you think are intentional are more likely just oversight.
BTW.....You don't have to have a PC to send 72dpi Internet Gif's for artwork.....but it helps. LOL! Just kidding
quote:Originally posted by Joe Sciury: You just have to come to the realization that they won't do our work for us, damn.
Exactly. Going a little deeper, if you ask *why* we always want to jump through hoops to get usable artwork, it's almost always to save the client money by avoiding re-doing all the artwork.
Well, why do we really care? Why not just be up-front with the customer? "Hey, this is going to cost $120 for me to recreate this file. There's no way around it."
What happens when you DO get vector artwork from a customer or designer, and it's like Bruce mentioned - tons of crap layered and intersecting. You've already told the customer if you can get vector artwork you wouldn't have to charge for set up, but now you have vector artwork that's going to take an hour to make it plotter-ready. You gonna eat that cost or man-up and tell the customer he still has an artwork fee?
You can bet ad agencies aren't gonna eat the cost. What about embroidery companies? You can give them all the vector art you want and it's still completely useless to them, they still have to re-draw everything.
Everyone else from screenprinters to pre-press have exacting artwork requirements. They have absolutely no problem charging for it if you can't provide exactly what they need. The public simply accepts it. Sign shops should be the same way. Enterprising sign shop owners would sell the client on a complete package of digital artwork they could use for ALL disciplines - maybe even the embroidery files - and get paid fairly well for being able to provide that service that apparently no one else is.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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Mike, I couldn't agree with you anymore. Some of the ridiculous give aways in the sign industry are just that RIDICULOUS. It's no wonder we're looked at as the black sheep of the graphics world. Because Acme Signs down the street doesn't charge for logo design, gives artwork (that they didn't charge for in the first place) on disks at no charge and on and on and on. I'm sure many here agree with your thoughts.
quote: Enterprising sign shop owners would sell the client on a complete package of digital artwork they could use for ALL disciplines
It is very difficult to get a workfile out of me. There are lick'm & stick'm operations around here that will use those files to cut my legs off.
The last guy who thought he was entitled to a copy of a complex vector file stopped asking when I told him that I wanted eight grand for it. (and yes, he's still my customer)
-------------------- Steve Purcell Purcell Woodcarving & Signmaking Cape Cod, MA
************************** Intelligent Design Is No Accident Posts: 900 | From: Cape Cod, MA | Registered: Oct 1999
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Yes we have all received those kinds of files (probably from Mac) and were as disgruntled as you! I think though what you're forgetting is that most of these probably came from ad-agencies that were print oriented and all the over lapping paths, no true outlines, hidden background rectangles hiding overlaps, no welds etc. did not concern them. The design worked beautifully for them....LOL![[Mad]](mad.gif)
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