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To those who use computers......what is the oldest program you regularly use to produce signs. I STILL have Casmate DOS, and Win 3.1, and Corel 3, all laying around gathering dust! I wondered if anyone out there gave up on the UPGRADE WARS a way back, and decided to stick with what they have!!!If you did, consider yourself a GENIUS!
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I still use an old Signus program.Its a DOS program. It was a leader in the industry for a while. Comes from Germany. kinda fell by the wayside but still it generates files for my old Aristo plotter and cuts letters that are unmatched for quality.
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I still have a version of LETTER ART 8.0 grand that runs on windows 3.1 on a 486 upgraded to pentium. Still works and I go back to it from time to time if for no other reason than to upgrade some of those old sign files to newer versions.
There is still a 5.25" floppy drive in that machine too...
Most of the time I wish I would have put more effort into upgrading my hand lettering skills than trying to keep up with computer upgrades.
-------------------- Jeff Vrstal Main Street Signs 157 E. Main Street Evansville, WI 53536 1-608-882-0322
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I still use thermazone,s cadlink version 1.1 for dos here,...it fits on one floppy & I can run it off a win98 boot disk as it only needs 640k memory to function. Actually it is the first version of sign software that the company we all now know as signlab put out in 1990 or '89.It has a 4b emulation screen with all the distortion and outline modules that came for the 4b along with a whole slew of wfn type fonts(first font format used by coreldraw versions 1 & 2}.
The last time I called about an upgrade I could hear the folks on the other end snickering about how old the program was,& they had to ask if they still supported upgrades from that version,....needless to say they didn't & I din't upgrade,....
-------------------- fly low...timi/NC is, Tim Barrow Barrow Art Signs Winston-Salem,NC
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I still have my first "Signmaking" program. It was called "SuperBoss" and was developed by a company in Quebec Canada. About the only other person here that would know about it would be Cheryl Nordby.
It is DOS based and I have it on 3.5 and 5.25 floppies. I believe there are 10 floppies in the package and it cost me about $800 in 1992 or 1993. Lots of distortions and fonts included but it's best feature, for me, was that it would import PRN files from Corel 2 and it's default plotter (among many others) that it supported was a Roland PNC 1000. It tiled and panelled and distorted fonts but it was basically a useless "design" program.
I am hanging on to it until it is worth $1,000,000 to the the "Signmaking Hall of Fame"!!!!!!!!!!
I still have a collection of floppies with all of those sign files and once in a while I have to re-import some of those PRN files back into Corel 10!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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I probably have you all beat. I still have a 33mz 486 running CASmate 3.21 on DOS. I bought it new in 1992. I've upgraded all around it, but it still keeps plugging along so I've never seen any reason to get rid of it or the 2 Roland CAMM-1s (20" & 24")it's running. I would hate to guess how many times that system has paid for itself.
-------------------- Jerry Mathel Retired Grants Pass, Oregon signs@grantspass.com Posts: 916 | From: Grants Pass, OR USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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I was just going through one of my desk drawers and found a manual and 5 1/4" floppy for TLC ( I believe?) software. It was a Dos based .dxf vector editing software. Probably about 8 or 9 years old and paid $300.00. I remember not really accomplishing much with it , at least by the scanning software available now.
-------------------- Wright Signs Wyandotte, Michigan Posts: 2785 | From: Wyandotte, MI USA | Registered: Jan 1999
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ok you want old....got the disks for DOS 4.0 heheheheh, PRINT SHOP DELUX, DOS version, QUICKEN 3.0 dos version, BANNERMANIA dos version that i ran on a 8086 COMPAQ suitcase, that had an 8"green monitor, and did pounce patterns to an epson wide carriage printer(usin the backside of reports that my wife ran at her work on the IBM 36)have a copy of AUTODESK 3D STUDIO on floppies for DOS. still have 5 1/4's with stuff i would d/l from the BBS, when they where free!!! as for sign program i got LETTER ART 6.0. as for letter art 8.0, it will run on 95 iam sure of that...got it to....corel 3,micrographicx draw 4.0, INSTANT ARTIST 1.0(now its print artist 12 i think) got 2 drawers full of 3.5 disks.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I was cleaning out some boxes and ran across several "antiques"- a couple of Poloroid printouts from a Commadore Amiga. I can't recall the name of the program, but it was like a watered down version of MS Paint. At the time it was cutting edge technology!
Also still have CorelDraw 2.0, all the manuals, box, etc. as well as 3,4,5,7,&9 (So I confess, I have contributed to the upgrade delima)Still have Arts&Letters, Photoshop 3.0, and so on.
Up until last summer I was using a commputer that I had built to specs in 1995(can't believe that thing cost almost $3000 in '95) It was a hoss, and thankfully more than paid for itself in the 6 years of service.
I now have an older laptop/docking station 133 that I use for my Roland Camm-1 cutter, a used 333 that has been beefed up to do most of my graphic work, and another 133 that has the books and the family programs on. I would love all the latest gadgets, but the lack of abundant monetary units prevents me from that type of technological lifestyle!
I will stick with what works!
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com
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Michael Clanton, that program you are talking about is probably Deluxe Paint. I still run an Amiga emulator, and that program way out performs MS paint. Stuff was way ahead of its time.
I just found a 1993 copy of Micrographx Designer and an real old version of Arts and Letters. I think we got off track on Bob's post though, he wanted to know what we still use. On that point, nothing. The oldest installed version of a graphics program I use is Corel 6, and that is only on my laptop (Pentium 100).
I have yet to see any reason to upgrade programs like QuickBooks. Last few upgrades features were hardly worth it.
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Still to this day using Signpost 3.0 on an Old mac II... Got the program back in '90 or so. Still kicks butt and is easy to use! Just found the Illustrator 88 disks (3.5" floppies, 3 of em) that I had in the box with the manuals for the Mac.
-------------------- Eric Patzer A.S.A.P. Design Lafayette, CO epatzer@earthlink.net Posts: 208 | From: Lafayette, CO USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Who remembers HTD "GK1 Supersigner?. What a dog of a package that was. Dam near sent me broke. I still have it in a cupboard somewhere but it should be in the trash can. I ran it through my gerber 4A plotter and it needed a box of gizmos the size of a small room to convert to cutting. That was where the problem lay because it would break down every second week and would have to be sent to the other side of the country for repairs which never cost less than $500 in 1987.
-------------------- Drane Signs Sunshine Coast Nambour, Qld. dranesigns@bigpond.com Downunder "To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer" Posts: 965 | From: Nambour, Qld. Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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i still have the first amiga, well the one the insurance company replaced it with after our house fire anyway, but yes i still have D'Paint3!
i can recall after using the amiga just how bulky and clumsy the ibm's felt after having beautiful lettering, colours and sound built in, my first ibm was a nightmare and everything looked so ugly
i still have my first corel... it fits on 1 floopy with the clip-art on another
as far as signmaking programs go if you can remember what WizzenX2 was like you will know why i thought it a big let down
hehehe
those were the 'good' old days???
cheers gail
-------------------- Gail & Dave Hervey Bay Qld Australia
gail@roadwarriorproducts.com.au
sumtimes ya just gota!
Posts: 794 | From: 552 O'Regans Creek Rd Toogoom Qld 4655 Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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Yeah Dave.......I had SuperBoss too. But my 486 computer went kapooot a few years ago and I couldn't use any of the files with my new computer. Basically had to start over. But man what an improvement! Superboss was 595.00 when I bought it .....I think in 89 or 90. My first scanner was over 500.00! and what a joke that was.
Posts: 3729 | From: Seattle | Registered: Sep 1999
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How 'bout my "hand" operated LETRON? I belive it was the very FIRST vinyl cutter that utilizes single letter metal dies. Does that count as the oldest?
-------------------- PKing is Pat King The Professor of SIGNOLOGY Posts: 3113 | From: Pompano Beach, FL. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Timi, you got me beat with that Cadlink v 1.1.
To this day I use Cadlink v 3.12 (circa 1990) to cut the .eps files I export from CorelDRAW on my Ioline Studio 7 plotter. That old Cadlink would be awful to try to use as a layout program. I can't believe what we all put up with back then.
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