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what version of corel draw should i use and why?
what version do you use and why ? i,m another newbie considering the world of sign cutting and it looks like theres a minefield of software out there to choose from ? and one more question (for now anyway)what is a vector file?thanks jd
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10 Replies
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I`ve just bought corel 12, got it on ebay.
True corel version, they call it “academnic” (sp) version.
Its the full edition, except it does not have a printed manual, you do get the manual in the help files.
£50ish.
I personally don`t use it to cut, I use Signlab.
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I still use 9 as there isnt much difference between this and the later versions, especially for doing vector work – you should be able to get this pretty cheap as its an older version.
Saying that, I had all sorts of nightmares trying to get my Roland to cut directly from it ! You may well end up having to buy some more software to get it to cut from and just do the design in Corel – this is what I do now, I have FlexiSign, but do the artwork in Corel and then import it into FS to do the cut as its easier that way.
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Hi and Welcome to UKSB JD 😀
I have used versions 3,4,5,8 and 10 over the years and there were significant improvements between versions in the earlier ones. Now it has become such a well developed suite of programs, there isn’t too many things to add to it really, it’s more a case of ironing out any little bugs from previous versions. I use a simple driver program called signscript to cut my corel files, just export as an EPS and import into signscript, you can download this off the site somewhere if you are a full member.
I did toy with an upgrade to ver12 but to be honest I think 10 does all I need and more ! I would say though that the later the vrsion you go for the better the import/export compatability will be – for example I often get Illustrator10 files sent to me now and Corel10 wont import these where as 12 will I believe. Also PDF and Word imports are better too.As far as what a vector file is…. Well it is a type of file where all the paths/shapes are described by “coordinates” – crudely speaking a bit like a kids “join the dots” type of picture where the places of the dots is stored as numbers in the file. What this means in practice is that you can edit/modify the exact shape of any part of a vector file easily and that it is infinately scaleable, so if you had a vector file of a logo at 50mm across you can just enlarge it to 5m and loose no detail at all. The alternative being a “bitmap” file where the shapes are not stored at all but only represented by a series of “pixels” which are either coloured in or not. Imagine a chess board with all white squares and you have to make a picture by just making certain squares black to give the impression of the shape you want to create. The problem is you cant modify the shape easily like a vector and you cant plot it on a vinyl cutter plus if you enlarge it you still only have the same number of “dots/pixels” in a larger area and so the edges will become more and more jagged the larger you go…. does that make sense ????
Nigel 😉
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Welcome JD, you are right about the choice of software, confusing. I used Corel 10 for a while then took the plunge and bought Signlab (£1000) and have had trouble with it from day one, so I keep reverting back to Corel (version11 now).
Nigel, what is a vector file was discribed perfectly.
Cheers
Dave
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I use Corel10 and had no problems at all. I cut from Corel a well to a summa.
Works for me!! 😕 -
We use corel 8 & 10, never had any problems with the program, we do quite a bit of cutting straight to our pc600 from it and also use an RIP on the larger jobs, corel gets the thumbs up from me 😀
Carrie 😀
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I bought a used Corel 9 for $50 in December.
I have gotten as far as installing it,
importing some fonts into my Gerber system,
and then uninstalling it.
Supposedly you can’t cut from it with Gerber.
And it won’t work above Win98? (dunno about that)
But I have heard that Corel 12 is designed more
for the home-office-business type person
and is more geared to PowerPoint & website building.
(dunno if that is true either)
I’d probably buy an older version to practice with at first.
Folks swear by it, but I just can’t figger it out!
Love…Jill
(good job on the Vector eplanation Nigel!) -
I use Corel Draw V10 alongside Signlab E6. V10 for me running Win 98SE was hopeless in W2000 and XP Pro, not bad at all. Providing you have a way to cut from Draw ie CoCut/Win Cut or similar Draw will serve you very well, some shadow effects and Weld options may be better with sign programmes but you can earn your living with Draw. Just a note – E6 will put an option in Draw so it can go directly from Draw to Signlab with one click very handy, Flexi and others may do something similar you may want to check this if you move to sign prog later.
Alan -
Thanks for all that info i,ll get on to ebay and seewhats there
cheers jd -
Hi,
I have versions 7,8,9,10,11 and 12 and still use version 7 for most work and cut direct to my Roland PC600 with no problems.
There are improvements/add ons in all versions but for basic vinyl printing and cutting there is little to choose.
Superb software !!!
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