An anonymous visitor, unwilling to share even his name, drops in to tell us of an exciting new product .....

Sounds a lot like SPAM, something which this board is remarkably free of....

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Mike O'Neill

Trans-Labrador Signs
Labrador City, Labrador

'Durn vinyl won't stick to ice'

moneill@labrador-west.com

"The best things in life aren't things"
Art Buchwald

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Bob Burns
Bob Burns Signs

1619 Oregon Ave.
Prescott, Az 86305
1-520-778-5879

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Dave Grundy
AKA "applicator" on mIRC
"stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!"
in Granton, Ontario, Canada
1-519-225-2634
dave.grundy@quadro.net
www.quadro.net/~shirley

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Wright Signs
Wyandotte, Michigan
Since 1978
http://www.wrightsigns.bigstep.com

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Bill & Barbara Biggs
Art's Sign Service, Inc.
Clute, Texas, USA
Home of The Great Texas Mosquito Festival
Proud Third year Supporter of the Letterheads Website
MailTo:twobeesusa@netscape.net

As far as the plotter setup, that can be a hassle if you don't know how to do it. It will run through either a serial or parrelell ports. If it dos'nt than it could be possible that one or the other port is out of sink and could use at this point of time, a computer tech that can remedy the problem.

Again, the software is not too good to be true and is, to 'my opinion', a sound and professional choice.

Technical help: They do return calls and you need to understand that they are probably sales people with good knowledge to the use of the software. If problems are too technical, then you would have to go to a tech. But they do return calls and are there to help as best as is fit. I'm sensing that the company's been around regarding other computer programs but are fairly new with the sign program.

Zion of DeZion signs
Kaneohe, Hi.

As regards the guy whos machine crashed, the first thing we always blame is the software. It could be something else. Just take Corel, that crashes on my machine and I know it does it on other peoples.

For the price I think it is one of the best packages on the market.

If you all want to pay through the nose for software, fine.

I use an Ioline, and set it up with VMP no problem.

Works fine, don't blame the software. Its something your doing during set up.

Does it cut on test mode? If it does, its your setup.

Signman in the UK

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Jack Davis
1410 Main St
Joplin, MO 64801

Not a very good first impression.

As far as I am concerned thay can keep it!

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Glenn Hall
Hall of Graphics
Toledo, Il

I distribute the software in the UK. and I will help in any way I can.

Demo's, support etc.

The new version is to have a 8 colour RIP.

Go to site www.signcraftsupplies.com its a new site so don't expect to much, put we have links to www.Future-1.com (Vinyl Master Pro) or contact me on signman@signcraftsupplies.com

Good luck.

Replies to your posts.

Thank you

Shaun Morrell

Dear Zion

Thanks for your kind comments. It’s great to hear of people we’ve never met get so much satisfaction from all our work.

It is disappointing to read the comments questioning your motives and who you are. I’ve just pulled up your order that was placed in November of last year and see you’re in Hawaii! Lucky you. But regardless of this I wish you all the best in your business and continued success.

I am available on e mail at: shaunmorrell@future-1.com if you ever want to catch up or make suggestions etc. One day I’d love to visit Hawaii and meet up with you guys. Thanks again.

Dear Translab

I guess it wouldn’t matter what I said? Oh well!

Dear Lettercraft

I think you may be confusing us with someone else. We’re just a bunch of sign makers who decided to write software for our own industry, cause we didn’t like the price of the available packages, let alone the quality of them. No one is buying us out or merging with us.

Dear Dave

Software and hardware always fail - to varying degrees - especially when used by so many people around the world. Why this happens is for so many possible reasons it is mind boggling. It can be just as much as user error as it can be a programmers or a manufacturers. Sometimes no one can agree to the true nature of a problem – regardless of their expertise.

But one fact remains the same – track record. If our software was as you say it is, or does what you heard it does etc. thousands upon thousands of users would be experiencing exactly the same problems world wide. But they aren’t and the reason why, is that most PC’s are set up and are running as they should be (or close enough); and software does not change from copy to copy – ONLY PC/Plotter to PC/Plotter etc. these are the actual variables, not our software – it is created from the same code each and every time, a clone (so to speak).

We have just as much responsibility to program our software with as little faults as we possibly can, much as the end user is responsible for knowing their own equipment and having their PC’s configured and set up correctly. But “hey” no one’s perfect and we are continuously assisting people to set their gear up right. Not because we have to but because we want to. That’s why VMP started up in the first place. I used to weed and layout all day long – I know the grind.

But please – don’t automatically assume that the software is bogus because 2, 3 or even 500 or so people from 10 000+ are having some problems. Ask for help first before assuming the worst.

Have those people contact me and I’ll work it through with them to figure it out.

Thanks…

Dear Bill

There are Ioline users all over the place that are not having any problems. Please e mail me at shaunmorrell@future-1.com and I’ll be more than happy to help.

OK….

Dear Bronzeo

Yep – CorelDRAW 9.0 is a great program. The resources used to create it are overwhelming and I think these guys have created some great software. They deserve loads of credit and admiration. They’ve certainly got mine – much the same as CADLink does.

However, Corel is not designed to create vector based vinyl signage. Yes it can be used to do so – much like a semi-trailer/tractor-trailer can be used to ship a dozen eggs from one town to another. But it has inherent design issues that limit it form doing the job as well as a program dedicated to doing so does. “Horses for Courses”.

Just a handful of examples from so many I just can’t list them:

It does not handle cut files as a feature within itself, automatically nest layouts, print scale rulers on the artwork itself, have a specialist e mailing module for sending full color artwork to customers, work purely in HPGL plotter language (critical for absolute smooth curves), apply vector beveling, have an interactive effects module that is real time and purely visual (also works in 3D and Keylines), wrap paragraphs to a circle, automatically remove layers from multi colored clipart and then apply an inline, deal in vinyl colors, come with 5000 fonts, Font Detective and a Quoting Module etc. etc.

It has limited tracing ability and curve editing features (for signs) and is just not designed for sending information to a plotter and doesn’t have a R.I.P.

But for desktop publishing it is superior to VinylMaster Pro and mostly everything else, whether it be $90 or $9000

Dear Hog

You posted an e mail as follows on January 20, 2001:

Sirs,
I would like to try the Free Demo CD of Vinylmaster Pro.

I am currently running Signlab 5.0 .

Glenn Hall
Hall of Graphics
406 North Ohio Street
P.O. Box 556
Toledo, Illinois 62468

This was posted to you on Monday 22 January. We also replied to your e mail but it was bounced back as undeliverable.

We will post another demo to you immediately.

Dear Brian

Thanks for the support….

Dear David

In regards to being a sponsor. A check was signed months ago and cashed from our account in January. I haven’t heard a word from Letterheads???

Thanks…