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Putting together a new vinyl cutting system
Our present vinyl cutting system is becoming obsolete and we are thinking about upgrading to a new system.
Our present system uses Casmate pro as the main design and cutting software. This is connected to a Summagraphics Summasign d610. Both are more than twelve years old. The software is now obsolete and will only run on windows 98. The plotter is becoming worn out and is due a replacement.
Alongside this we have a Cadet printer/cutter that is driven by a wasatch RIP. I use Corel draw 9 to design for the printer. We also have Signlab 5 and Signlab 7.1. Signlab 5 was bought when we bought our colorcamm years ago and was used to drive it. More recently it was upgraded to 7.1 when we bought the Cadet. However, neither versions of Signlab are used much as we both prefer to use Casmate for vinyl and I use Corel for the digital print side.
Our problem is that when we buy a new cutter it is unlikely to intergrate with Casmate – so we will probably need to switch to a different vinyl cutting system at the same time. We are considering switching to signlab 7.1 and buying a new cutter. Alternatively, we are thinking of changing to CorelDraw for the vinyl cutting side of things. Either way I think we need to move away from Casmate now because it is obsolete.
We intend to keep the old system (PC cutter and software) to use as a back up or to use in tandem.
We will be able to continue using old customer files by exporting as .eps from the old system and importing in the new system.
I am looking for some feedback and suggestions about the best way to go forward. What plotter would you recommend and why. What software would you recommend and why?
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10 Replies
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Phil,
I think that if you already have a version of SignLab it makes sense to carry on with that program, even if you upgrade to the latest version it will surely still be cheaper than buying other software and most importantly you presumably wouldn’t then be faced with learning how to use new software.
As far as plotters go I haven’t a clue.Steve
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Mimaki plotters come with a plug-in for CorelDraw, so that is a possibility.
I haven’t compared it to anything else, but it’s always done everything
I needed. I think John Childs uses it too. Can also be used to contour cut
printed stickers etc, so it’s pretty well featured for a freebie. -
Phill as you already have SL 7.1 I would upgrade your Corel to X4 and run them side by side, this is the method I use and it works very well. New cutters generally have a plugin for Corel (I use Winplot for the Summa and cutting Master for the Graphtec but generally I either export from Draw into SL or cut and paste. SL has a very good cutting interface and it is quick to transfer one to the other. Anything SL falls short on Corel is better and vice versa. Even if you have print and cut in SL Draw does have good colour management and the import filters are good too.
X4 has macros available some free which add features more suitable signs.
Alan D -
I have been very happy cutting direct from Corel and currently using V12. Ive stuck with Corel as it is a package I know the fundamentals well as Ive been using it since V4!!!. There are probably quite a few quirks that I work around without thinking about (because I have never used dedicated sign software) and I was thinking of getting either the Russian sign tools plug-in @ £40, or going for the Aussie plugin at £150….
However with Alan’s comment’s and upgrade to X4 may now be on the cards…could you provide some more info on the plug-ins please.
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At the moment I’m swaying towards switching to using Corel for design and cutting.
I always understood that dedicated sign software had fonts that were speficically designed for sign making. Many other fonts are designed for print and when enlarged can appear a bit ragged. I’ve seen this myself when a customer has specified a specific font not available in my sign system software that I have had to install as a true type font to use instead. When cut, the lettering was no where near as smooth as I was used to getting from my sign software fonts. I just wondered how big an issue this was likely to be. How good are the majority of Corel Draw fonts when it comes to using them for cutting? And what about most true type fonts?
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Alan – Can you copy and paste from Signlab into Corel X4? What happens to any fonts used – do they remain as fonts or do they convert to curves. If true type fonts are used I presume there is no problem since both applicatioins can access them, but what about when a signlab font is used?
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phil when i bought the cadet and graphtec 1200 plotter…i started to use corel for digital, (well not strictly true after the pc60), i couldnt cut from signlab 4.95 to the plotter so i used the plug-in for cutting in corel and to be quite honest, it was really good, took a bit of time getting used to, but because i was using a larger plotter it ended up being the only one i used, i still designed the layouts in signlab ready to cut, then imported them into corel…worked great for me 😀
nik
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quote Phill:Alan – Can you copy and paste from Signlab into Corel X4? What happens to any fonts used – do they remain as fonts or do they convert to curves. If true type fonts are used I presume there is no problem since both applicatioins can access them, but what about when a signlab font is used?I seam to think signlab and corel parted company a while back, I used to copy and paste from corel to sl but now it dont work.
Phill I would go the signlab route, upgrade to sl8 it has a lot of features and will run any plotter direct and also print to your cadet, or any popular printer, I run x3 and cs3 but still prefer signlab for speed and ease of use, for signs,
Peter
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quote Peter Normington:I seam to think signlab and corel parted company a while back, I used to copy and paste from corel to sl but now it dont work.
no peter i meant exporting as an ai. then importing into corel worked perfect 😀
nik
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quote Nicola McIntosh:quote Peter Normington:I seam to think signlab and corel parted company a while back, I used to copy and paste from corel to sl but now it dont work.
no peter i meant exporting as an ai. then importing into corel worked perfect 😀
nik
Yes that still does, and even better with a pdf
but I used to copy and paste direct, now I cantPeter
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