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My employer labeled me a fool for purchasing FlexiSign Plus for use in my home-based vinyl cutting business. There seems to be a growing number of sign makers that are using Corel Draw! with Roland plotters to cut vinyl. I have gotten good results with this method, but I still find it to be cumbersome. Don’t get me wrong CD is a great program, but if given the choice I’ll choose a real sign-making program any day of the week. I’d like to here how other sign-makers feel about the pros and cons of both methods.
-------------------- Alex Burenstine IMAGEINK SIGNS & GRAPHICS Richmond CA Posts: 12 | From: Richmond, California | Registered: Dec 2001
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I agree. We use Gerber GA 6.0, Corel Draw & Photo-paint, Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop. Each program has it's strong points. We generally use Corel or Adobe programs if we are setting up for a print job, or for color proofs (GA is definately lacking in those applications). But when it comes to setting up for a vinyl job, neither of those programs get close to the quality and ease of setup in GA. It really depends on what you need to do with your program. Just my opinion.
-------------------- Joe Endicott NEXCOM (Navy Exchange Service Command) Signing Programs Specialist Virginia Beach, VA jeendicott@msn.com
"I want to be Stereotyped....I want to be Classified." Posts: 681 | From: Virginia Beach, VA USA | Registered: Mar 1999
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You've answered your question well Alex. What does it matter how most others feel. We vote with our wallets by buying sign software. You say you started with Corel and then found it wanting. That says it all.
-------------------- Wright Signs Wyandotte, Michigan Posts: 2786 | From: Wyandotte, MI USA | Registered: Jan 1999
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Alex..What works for one person doesn't work for another. It is a matter of what a person feels comfortable with.
Heck there is as much disagrement between Corel and Illustrator users as there is between Gerber, Signlab, Flexi, etc. users.
Use what you want and you will be happy!
-------------------- 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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This one been hashed to death on here, I'm a Corel user, I don't do a lot of vinyl and it works fine for me, I can't justify the price difference. There's probably more to your boss's comments than choice of software though. Back when I worked in commercial shops B.C., doing sideline sign work ( snaps ) was often frowned upon by employers.
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
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iam another corel user..and ive had the opportunity to use GA 6.0,and so i can make the comparisons. i agree as a cutting program its does its job well. i have a friend in sarasota who does all the graphics on all of the SCARAAB boat, he does all design work in corel and uses GA to cut. i find GA cumbersome and corel user friendly...many less steps to design work in corel and corel less reduntant....lets me make mistakes....and lets me do what i want..now. corel as a cutting program it is limited to vinyl width and wont panel(you need to work around this and it can be done, dave and i both do it, but you need to have a lot of time working with corel to know how to do it).ive used flexi and signlab and signwiard....all great cutting programs....but for me they all lack for design work....now doing distortions flexi and signwizard are the easiest.
-------------------- 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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My friend Ronn Percell has been helping me learn to do some amazing stuff in Corel that I can't find ways to do with my sign programs. The things I'm learning are not sign stuff though. As digital printing fills a larger space than Corel will have a larger nitche.
For the day to day signmaking though, Corel requires so many more steps and seems extremely cumbersome compared to the sign programs.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
I use CorelDRAW with a Roland here. It's fast, it's easy, it works without any bridges or exporting.
I also use Illustrator to cut directly to the Roland.
I won't sit here and try to sway you.. I've been using Illustrator for 8 years and CorelDRAW for 3 years so I am very comfortable with these programs and they fit my purpose. I know how to make them sing like Charlotte Church but toss a sign program my way and *I* start singing like Eminem. Nothing's worse than an unfamiliar program when you have work that needs to be done.
-------------------- "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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If you're looking for a poll Alex, I'm a dedicated and long time Corel user. The few time's I've been into other "Real" sign software I was lost. All the tools I was used to were not where I wanted them - so I bailed out and never looked back. I consider myself a power-user of Corel, utilizing many of it's special effects, on a daily basis, for a lot more than sign layouts. I have not found a need for even my most complex presentation work that it wasn't capable of. Familiarity means effeciency for me. I just can't see switching to different programs for different tasks when this one does it all and I'm proficient in it. I know it so well I'll even go so far as to say I'd be comfortable going up against any other program in a side-by-side speed trial to accomplish a given task against the operator of your choosing. I could be wrong, but I'd have to see it to beleive it. Even then, if the other program didn't do the other things Corel does, like integrate with it's own high power photo editing and bitmap tracing programs, I'd still balk. Then there's the cost....
SONGPAINTER Original Sign Music by Sign People NOW AVAILABLE on CD and the proceeds go to Letterville's favorite charity! Click Here for Sound Clips! Posts: 1974 | From: Orleans, MA, Cape Cod, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Corel is a great program, easy to use, does a great job of presentation sketches, printing invoices, busisness cards, flyers.
VinylMaster Pro or your cutting program is good at what it does, node editing, distortions, font detective, easy to find clip art, cutting vinyl, etc.
You could use either one or the other, but I like using both programs for there induvidual strengths. I've got less than $900.00 invested in BOTH programs!
[ December 10, 2001: Message edited by: Robert Thomas ]
-------------------- Rob Thomas 3410 Ketcham Ct Beautiful Springs FL 34134 Posts: 965 | From: Bonita Springs, Florida USA | Registered: Feb 2000
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Alex, I have been using Corel Draw since version 4 and am convinced that it is the best vector illustration program there is. I have AnaGraph Design Art Pro and Scanvec Inspire which I use to drive my plotter and output to my PC-60. Both dedicated sign programs work great for text but I create all of my graphics in Corel before exporting them for use in Ana or Inspire.
I've been looking to upgrade to new sign software lately and have pretty much come to the conclusion that there isn't any one dedicated program available that has Corel's versitility or capability.
The AnaGraph web site ( Anagraph.com ) has a neat little free download plot program that has drivers for almost every plotter and accepts several of Corels export filters. The trick here is that you design your art to scale in Corel before exporting to cut in AnaPlot (no security key required). Dave
-------------------- Dave Johnson Saltsburg, PA
724-459-7240
Posts: 228 | From: Saltsburg, PA | Registered: Dec 2001
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To Cut in Corel, assign an outline then print, comes with a preview window.
Imports more than any other program we've found, great drag and drop.
We've a full version of Sign Lab, and Flexi, and keep going back to the corel.
Love the Auto dimension tool, Leave's all of the measurements on your drawings to scale, great for scale drawings and permits.
Also let's you make Perferated patterns, without any special tools for you plotter.
You should'nt frustrate yourself with your decision to purchase Flexi, it's a good product for making signs. It's just that you probally could of bought a large format printer with the additional money spent.
Do they give a 30 day money back?
-------------------- Ron Percell Percell Signs 707-769-0639 Petaluma, California
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