posted
I broke down, at the urging of my distributor, and bought the Omega upgrade yesterday. Went home and watched the video tape. Will watch it again today and play with the program. My impression is more positive than negative, but let's see what happens. It would truly break my heart if it turns out Gerber blew it. But, so far, I'm impressed. Anything anybody can recommend to try out...would be appreciated. What's the coolest thing you like about this "new" version?
------------------ Louis A. Lazarus Milt's Sign Service, Inc. 20 So. Linden Ave. #5B 650-588-0490 fontking1a@aol.com
Posts: 560 | From: El Granada, CA | Registered: Apr 1999
| IP: Logged |
One thing neat is the color fill controls that are used to fill text with gradient fills. Now, you are NOT constrained to AB fills. You can ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP! unlimited!
Next, you can import file right from Corel Draw and print them on the Edge in a heartbeat....simple point and click.
The tool bars can be draged around anywhere you want them to sit while you are working on a design.
I don't like the node editing feature. Its very hard to digitize and adjust curves and make them smooth on screen. So if you like designing your own fonts, its not so easy to tweek the lines. The best program I ever had to perfectly manipulate curves was the old Casmate software.( about 1992 version).
I like placing 2 composer screens on the monitor and pasting back and forth to each other. Sometimes this is necessary if you have a complicated layout and just want to work with some lettering and fills and not accidently screw up the rest of the layout. plus it redraws faster.
well thats just some neat things. I could write a book about it, so I better let someone else continue.
------------------ Draper The Signmaker Bloomington Illinois USA Stop in and visit a while! 309-828-7110 signman@davesworld.net Raptorman or Draper_Dave on mIRC chat
[This message has been edited by Dave Draper (edited January 21, 2001).]
Posts: 2883 | From: Bloomington Illinois USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
Thanks for the input. The video tape shows some of the new features plus I've been playing with the program for a couple of days now. It does look like Corel Draw and I'm very familiar with that. I think the best feature is NOT BEING LOCKED out of other programs. Finally you can use other files EASILY. That alone will make it worth while. I haven't run any Edge jobs yet. When I do...I'll let you know how it goes. I could fill a warehouse with the screwed up vinyl from the last five years. It always amazed me how EASY it was to screw up an Edge job by making one last little change or Smart Editing something and then not previewing your job (F8). Talk about frustrating.....
------------------ Louis A. Lazarus Milt's Sign Service, Inc. 20 So. Linden Ave. #5B 650-588-0490 fontking1a@aol.com
Posts: 560 | From: El Granada, CA | Registered: Apr 1999
| IP: Logged |
I've been using Omega about 2 months now (and a new Edge user) and think it's great. The warp feature for distorting shapes and text is wonderful. The split screen feature comes in helpful when selecting and assigning colors. The outline and shadow tools are fast and easy to use. The Edge jobs are allot of fun to design, and we are incorporating edge prints in more jobs than I had imagined.
Jim Schneck Dorney Park
------------------
Posts: 27 | From: Whitehall, Pa USA | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Jim, Congrats on your new Edge. We've had ours for over five years now and it is a real money maker. My only gripe has been the software leaves you open for easy mistakes. And, God knows I've made a few in these last five years. Hopefully with the new Omega, these mistakes won't be so easy to make. We're even using our Edge now for jobs we thought we didn't need to use it on. We just did a repeat job on a truck Friday that used to take us almost two full days using cut vinyl. We did the whole job with the Edge and cut our time to one full day which includes running the job, weeding and taping, and installation. Our actual material cost went up by about $50 (foil cost), but we saved about five hours worth of installation time (labor) by not having to mess around with a three color application job. Less weeding, less taping and faster install. Yeah...it's a great machine.
------------------ Louis A. Lazarus Milt's Sign Service, Inc. 20 So. Linden Ave. #5B 650-588-0490 fontking1a@aol.com
Posts: 560 | From: El Granada, CA | Registered: Apr 1999
| IP: Logged |
So far, I'd give Omega an A- where Edge print is concerned; and a B- where vinyl cutting is the only concern (when compared to other vinyl cutting programs).
If you have a problem, feel free to let me know. I'll be glad to help.
By the way, Omega will "open" Corel ver. 8 CDR files, but will not "open" ver. 9 or 10 CDR files. Gerber needs to get on the ball about that.
posted
Glenn, I haven't received my new upgrade for Omega but when I do it had better be great because I don't have one nice thing to say about our Omega software and now I hear from you that there is a problem with Omega/Corel 9. You are right. Someone had better get on the ball. Have they done anything about improving the group and ungrouping feature. I get so tired of grouping in stages and then having to ungroup and knowing that it won't ungroup in reverse staging-but that everything will be ungrouped at once. I hate it.
------------------ Laura Butler Vision Graphics and Sign 560 Oak St. Lapeer, Mi 48446 810-664-3812 visiongraphics@tir.com
[This message has been edited by Laura Butler (edited January 22, 2001).]
Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
Which version of Omega are you using? I'm at version 1.54 at the moment.
The "grouping within a group" is not a feature offered in Omega at this time (that I know of). I've e-mailed them about it. Right now its "squeeky wheel gets the grease." Omega is still at the version 1 stage and I wouldn't expect any big changes until version 2. My suggestion would be to call and/or e-mail them with a list of suggestions of what you would like to see in Omega. They can't read minds as well as we would like for them to. Lew White is the person I would call or write to.
If you are expecting Omega to behave exactly like Corel, its not going to happen. Gerber will become similar, but because of the way certain things have to be done for Edge/Maxx printing in creating a file, there are some functions in Corel that really can't be done in Omega without causing some sort of conflict.
You have to remember that Corel is an "illustration" program. What an Omega user needs to do when creating a file is to think as if he/she were a screenprinter. If you can get yourself to think in that way, the reason why Omega is setup the way that it is will become clearer.
Also, some Omega users become confused when using the "black arrow cursor" and the "green arrow cursor". I still do from time to time because I'm in a hurry and I'm not paying attention.
If you need help with a file, let me know. I'll be glad to help where I can. How long have you had Omega and what other kinds of difficulties are you having? What other software programs are you familiar with?
BTW, if you are using Corel 9 or 10, just save your CDR file in the ver. 8 format. You can do that in Corel's "Save As" window.
posted
Omega "1.54" is in fact the latest version. For anyone who doesn't know already, there are lots of Gerber people who respect what the Letterheads have to say and drop in to the bullboard to see what's up. If you have a 'top-ten' list of things you want to praise or complain about, don't hestitate to post or write directly to us (we tend to stay out of these discussions - unless you want to read replies from 'unbiased' vendors instead of other Letterheads?!) It doesn't matter who you send it to here, the software development folks see it in short order, and believe me, we want to hear from you. Where to spend the most time on Omega is always a hot topic of discussion here. Now, if Corel and Adobe would just stop revising THEIR software so we could catch up and STAY caught up...
------------------ Dan Rapoport Manager, Software Products Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.
posted
Omega 1.54 "Maintenance Update" CDs are being sent out to all registered 1.52 Omega owners, but it takes us a few weeks to get them all out. In case you're wondering, "1.53" was a short-lived interim release, and we didn't distribute it much beyond "beta" (test) sites. Your distributor gets them too, but we try to update all the owners first. If you're not sure if you're registered, email GSPTech@GSPInc.com.
------------------ Dan Rapoport Manager, Software Products Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.
I'm still getting used this "puppy". The best feature (for me) is being able to OPEN files from other programs. We do so much wholesaling for other shops and graphic designers that this new feature is a blessing. We do use Corel 8 and now we can go either way with .CDR 8 files and Omega. Very nice. I agree with Laura on the Group/Ungroup. There should be stages to that feature. Also, the Cuts On, Cuts Off has me a bit confused but I think it's just a matter of getting used to it. Also, the Overprint/Overlap feature now seems to work better and more logically than the GA 6.xx version. Have they changed that or am I dreaming? My GA 6.xx used to work opposite of the way I thought it should work. Now, it makes sense...hmmm. The infinite work space feature along with the two windows feature is great. Is there a way to modify the Spot Foil palette? I used to have one for ZeroNine and Gerber together and now that is blocked. You can make a new Process palette, but who needs that? Talk about dumb. Why wouldn't they allow you to make a Spot Foil palette? That just doesn't make sense. Are they protecting us from ourselves or is it a case of not wanting us to use the "competitions" foil? This is the kind of thinking I'm reduced to when dealing with sign software. Any ideas or answers...Gerber....or Glenn? I did not have to reload MY FONTS on this new system. Every other upgrade I've had to take the CD of my collection of fonts that I sell, and re-compile them through Font Designer. This upgrade did it automatically. Great news and thanks Gerber...I appreciate that....you don't know how much. The one other complaint is that CURRENT SELECTION feature. Why do they even have that? Why does the "next" object take on the color fill of the last one? How did they ever come up with that? Just because the last item you created had a red fill and a black stroke shouldn't mean the next item you create has that same attribute. Please change that or explain what I'm not understanding. Anyway...so far...I still like it. The negative comments are only opinions and small matters of mal-content. More to come.....
------------------ Louis A. Lazarus Milt's Sign Service, Inc. 20 So. Linden Ave. #5B 650-588-0490 fontking1a@aol.com
Posts: 560 | From: El Granada, CA | Registered: Apr 1999
| IP: Logged |
I also think allot of the features are excellent in Omega, but I don’t think I would use is it if I didn’t have an Edge. If you are used to working in layers (Corel, Adobe) you’ll miss the flexibility you have with complicated designs. I have not had consistent success opening files from other platforms into Omega. The most successful way has been to export from CorelDraw as a .cmx file. Even with that I get color changes, outlines missing, any text not converted to curves missing, fills gone and so on. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, but I can’t seem to Import/open a file into Omega looking like it was created in its native program.
I’m still waiting for my upgrade to 1.54. We just purchased our software last November. Maybe gerber’s distributing the upgrade by purchase date. First to last.
Jim Schneck Dorney Park
------------------
Posts: 31 | From: Allentown, PA, USA | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
You know how it is......those big, evil corporations know everything! LOL!!
Besides, my pic is posted on the Chat Pals page. Personally, I think its my wife's looks that get me my upgrades. My looks would have me still using GA 1.2. hehehe
posted
I opened a 6.21 job in Omega yesterday and immediately noticed a problem. It's a logo of Sierra Point Lumber (a red striped sun background with a green tree in the foreground. The tree looked plugged up. It did have a .02 green stroke on it...but the detail of the tree was gone. After spending about an hour trying to figure out what the problem was...I noticed that if you zoomed in...the tree looked OK. It seems the resolution of the Omega program is somewhat different that GA. Probably no big deal, but why and how can "they" do stuff like this? Also, the Edit Halftone Fill Color command is gone. Now, apparently you Smart Edit the halftone which I'm still trying to figure out. This program is going to take some getting used to. My thinking is maybe it's better to design every job in Corel 8 and then export the .cmx file into Gerber to print it. Anybody else do this? Also, no change on Group/Ungroup. There needs to be levels of this command Gerber. It's either all on or all off...just the way it was with GA. I would have though this would be fixed by now. Omega will undoubtedly prove itself to be an improvement over GA, but it will most likely take a month or two until I'm convinced. Glenn...do you really like this upgrade way better than GA? What am I missing here....?
------------------ Louis A. Lazarus Milt's Sign Service, Inc. 20 So. Linden Ave. #5B 650-588-0490 fontking1a@aol.com
Posts: 560 | From: El Granada, CA | Registered: Apr 1999
| IP: Logged |
BTW, the half-tone stuff you are looking for is in the "Fill" window under "Menu."
As I've said many times before, Omega is much better than GA in many ways. Where strictly vinyl cutting is concerned, there are other programs that are better. SignLab is one of them. However, if you are Edge/Maxx printing, Omega is the better. I do not design in Omega. The "detail editing" tools and welding/trim tools are in dire need of improvement. All Gerber did was to transfer them from GA to Omega. They sucked then and they aren't any better now.
But, is Omega better than GA? Heck ya!
I've sent the following to Gerber before, and hopefully Dan Rapoport is watching and can light a fire under someone there. Here is what I see needs immediate improvement.
1) Detail Editing. The interface is awful. Gerber could take some lessons from SignLab and CorelDraw there.
2) Welding/Trim. The interface is confusing and often requires "trial and error" before the right command is "discovered." The ability to "Color Weld/Trim" is sorely needed.
3) Zoom Tool. If you zoom up too close while in the wire-frame mode, the lines become reversed or improperly displayed.
4) Bitmap Images. Bitmap images display at too low of a resolution (even at high res) to easily place a cut-line on top of.
5) Group & Ungroup. The ability to group within a group is needed.
6) Color Isolate. The ability to isolate an object(s)and ignor other objects of diferent colors and/or vinyls is needed to improve the ease of editing. SignLab is a good example of this.
7) Import/Export Icons. Omega needs these icons on the toolbar.
8) 3rd Party Script Fonts. Omega needs to look at how SignLab does it.
What I like about Omega....
1) Import. A vastly improved import filter system. (although the CDR filter needs to be updated, being able to "open" a Corel CDR file directly into Omega is a big plus for me)
2) Vinyl Assignment. Choosing a vinyl type is much easier in Omega than in GA.
3) Foil Assignment. Choosing a foil or process color is much easier and faster.
4) Redraw. Redraw in Omega is much faster
5) Color Calibration. Its nice to be able to see a color on the monitor that matches foil and vinyl colors.
6) Cursors. Those stupid fingers are gone in Omega.
7) Customizable Toolbar. That speaks for itself. Having to go to a pull-down menu all the time in GA was a pain in the butt. However, it would be nice of Omega's tool bar was more like Corel's "interactive" toolbar.
8) Font Installation. Installing a font "on the fly" is a big improvement.
9) TOWS. Being able to set type without having to go to a seperate text window is a big improvement over GA. The same goes with editing text.
10) WARP. Warping text is much easier in Omega.
11) Cut-lines. Turning on and off cut-lines is a heck of a lot easier in Omega than in GA.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think Omega is the "end all" program. Frankly, I think in a lot of ways they are just now starting to catch up with their competition. However, I am also very aware that Omega is just a first generation program. I had "Cadlink for Windows" right before Cadlink came out with SignLab. SignLab was awful in the beginning and didn't work very well. It took almost a year before it was worth a darn. IMHO, Omega is going through much the same thing right now. But, already it functions much better than SignLab did in the same amount of time. I just hope the Tech boys don't sit on their duffs and get a version 2 (or a vastly improved ver. 1.XX) out soon. The Omega interface is in a real need of improvement. (But its still a heck of a lot better than GA)
Printer-friendly view of this topic