Files for Signlab

[Paul S Martin]

Hi Matthew

It will import straight away no problem

Paul 🙂

[Ian Muir]

Hi Mathew

Ah, the wonderful world of designers and illustrator.

Best scenario, an eps designed in illi will import straight into your signlab.

You can ask designer if he would provide a selection of file types for you to try, eps, ai or pdf, but a lot of them are completely unhelpful in my experience cos they’ve got their fingers stuck up their own arses*.

If designer uses cs3 or cs4 and your signlab is an older version you might have problems cos I believe abobe tinkered with cs3 and 4 to make it more difficult to import into older non adobe software.

Good luck

Ian :lol1:

[Chris J Giles]

It depends on your version of Signlab and the version of Illustrator being used by the designer. Ask them to save it as version 10 eps and you should be OK.

If they are using CS3 for example, some dedicated sign progs can’t understand the format.

As a failsafe, also ask them to send you a jpg of the artwork, that way you can check it against whatever opens up in your Signlab, just to make sure that everything imports OK.

[Matthew Greer]

I have the new version of signlab so dont think there will be a problem there. The only other thing that might cause a problem is they have been done on macs not PCs, will this cause a problemo or not?

[Peter Normington]

Ask them to save it as version 8 ai, and ask for a pdf as visual.
that way you should be ok

Peter

[Peter Normington]

not if you ask them to save for pc

Peter

[John Childs]

quote Matthew Greer:

The only other thing that might cause a problem is they have been done on macs not PCs, will this cause a problemo or not?

No problem. File format is identical for both platforms.

Peter, there is no "save for pc" option in Illustrator.

[Matthew Greer]

She tells me that she is going to send them through at 100% so all I will need to do is cut them?

[Peter Normington]

quote John Childs:

quote Matthew Greer:

The only other thing that might cause a problem is they have been done on macs not PCs, will this cause a problemo or not?

No problem. File format is identical for both platforms.

Peter, there is no “save for pc” option in Illustrator.

John I dont know where I got that from. seen it somewhere in cs3 though,(?)

Apologies for giving false info

Peter

[Alan Drury]

Don’t forget to have fonts converted to curves/paths
Alan D

[John Childs]

quote Peter Normington:

John I dont know where I got that from. seen it somewhere in cs3 though

Can’t find it in my CS3, I’ve used practically every other version of Illustrator since Illy 88 and not seen that option yet. Adobe’s whole sales pitch has always been that it is completely cross platform with the same file format common to both.

I think some of the doubt arises because a file generated in a newer version might not open in an older one, especially where the new one uses features and functions not available in the earlier version, but that’s true on Macs as well as PCs. I’m getting the same problem with Microsoft Office documents as well. Some of my customers are complaining that they can’t open my new .docx files and I have to re-save them in the old .doc format.

Some years years ago I had to buy a copy of Corel 9 to open a customer’s file, and that had a "save for PC" option. Perhaps that’s what you are thinking of?

[Phill Fenton]

Not sure – but I think maybe the save for PC thing is about saving a file on a floppy disc formatted for a PC. I remember back in the days when everyone used floppys to transfer files instead of usb and email that the Mac had a feature to save to a floppy formatted for a PC.

Maybe I dreamt it though 😮