which one should i upgrade to signlab or flexisign?

[jon vital]

Well, Flexi is clearly streets ahead of Signlab but the latter is a lot cheaper and fine for basic stuff.

[Nicola McIntosh]

don’t agree signlab is better!! 😀
it’s the price that puts some folk off!! mind you it’s quite understanding if your on a budget!! but if you can squeeze the pennies, signlab wins hands down!! 😀 😀

Nik

[nelijane]

I recently got the signlab package from roland with the cx 24 cutter and they have been excellent. i’ve found signlab easy to use and very versitile, the cutter has so far given me no worries. The roland package, a special version of euro sign lab, seems to be good value for money, I phoned cadlink and asked their advice before purchasing from roland and they reckoned it was good value for money too. roland have been great too, they threw in a days training for me as well as the cutter stand! good luck! I’m working in newcastle tomorrow! do you have a shop?

[Nicola McIntosh]

glad everything went smoothly with your purchase nelijane!! i too have signlab & roland, never let me down yet (touch wood)!! glad your doing well, especially as the wee one is due shortly!! 😛 😛

Nik

[J. Hulme]

If you’re just cutting vinyl stick with signlab

If you’re cutting, printing, thermally or inkjet / sublimation etc
and need very powerful software
Flexisign pro without doubt.

I find signlab is utterly hopeless for anything more than cutting.
Which it is very good at and easy to use.
Flexi and signlab both have things I like, they both have things I don’t.

If in doubt, buy both 😉

Depends what you need the software to do, buy the best you can afford and look a little ahead as you don’t want to be spending even more money a year or so later if you invest in a sign making printer.

[Gordon Forbes]

You got E6 then ???

[J. Hulme]

Got E6 and the one before.
Must say I prefer E6

[Phill Fenton]

I would get demos of both packages then make your mind up. I use Casmate pro (a predecesor of flexisign) and find it does things well that signlab can’t. Equally, I use signlab 5 and it has features not available with Casmate. Corel draw is another program I find useful.

Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. It all depends on what you want to use the software to do.

Maybe you should also look at Adobe illustrator (another vector drawing program) that doesn’t have the cumbersome dongle (and yes they do fail on occasion) to tie your down. I’m afraid i’ve never learned to use Adobe so I’m not in a position to comment on it – but I think you should consider it 😀

[J. Hulme]

What do you use for the 600 Phill?

[Phill Fenton]

Signlab 😀

[Derek Heron]

any idea how much a second hand copy of sign lab e5 would cost
i have seen one advertised with dongle and manuals

[Lorraine Buchan]

Dex,

I’m a flexisign user, so my comments would be biast. I honestly don’t think there are many who have both programs, and truely use them both on a day to day purpose. So it’s hard to get an objective view. Each and everyone of us are different and were used to different ways of doing things.

As i always say in posts like these, it doesn’t have to be signlab or flexi,
give SignGo a try http://www.signgo.com at $399 it’s got to be worth considering.

And also Vinyl master pro

[nelijane]

2 and a half weeks to go until little one arrives, nik. feel like a huge, cumbersome caravan dragging bulk around! Can’t wait for it all to be over! nelijane

[Alan Drury]

I have never used Flexi but I understand it to be a excellent package. I am in the process of upgrading to Signlab 7 and have E6 in the meantime and I have to say if I had known how much better E6 was compared to V5 I would have made the jump sooner. You have to compare version to version as they seem to leapfrog each other, Signlab today – Flexi tomorrow. I have always been a Signlab man and not been dissapointed, steer clear of Illustrator though Corel Draw is a much better bet.
Regards
Alan

[Gary Thomas]

I had a similar discusion a couple of weeks ago – Signlab seemed to be the most popular programme for sign makers and If I where setting up from scratch I would probably go for sign lab – I bought a graphtec plotter a few years ago and cut from Coral draw on a PC – this was the cheapest way for me to start up at the time and basically got me out of trouble but would only cut a maximum length of about 1.5 metres.

Coming from a graphic design & print background I already have a good set up with Apple Macs (can’t be beat for design work 😉 ) – Graphtec plotters are compatible with Macs and now so is Flexi – Signlab is not 🙁

I am also in favour of Adobe Illustrator as I use it for the print trade as well as designing vector graphics for web sites and signs – I much prefer it to Coral 😮 (!) I think there is an Illustrator plug in that is more useful to the sign industry, not sure but would like to find out though (?)

Gary

[coolinshot]

Hi Dex – re the Signlab 5 with dongle. I have used signlab for years and I openly admit to hating version “e6” with a passion (I may have mentioned this before). Signlab 5 however is clear of bugs, easy to use and is not aimed primarily at the printing side of sign making so I would definately go for that – I am not sure if it runs on XP though so you would need to find out. I find that Signlab e6 is cumbersome and although it has lots of bells and whistles it has made using the software very annoying indeed – I suppose if you have never used a prior version then it would seem ok but I only use it if I really have to.

[Alan Drury]

Its very interesting reading other people’s views, I like E6 and prefere it to V5, I much prefer Corel Draw to Illustrator and I use it for typesetting with output to imagesetters and lasers as well as signmaking (text handling for large amounts of text is better than Signlab) but I suppose it depends on what type of work you do. Out of interest what bit of E6 don’t you like? V5 will run in XP but I found undo didn’t work unless memory page size was altered (thanks to Ray at Cadlink for the fix)
Regards
Alan

[coolinshot]

Hi Brushman – What don’t I like about e6? – I sat down with my signlab rep and shown him about a dozen things that just don’t work or don’t work properly. Text input: you don’t have the same control over the compression (I once threw out a challenge to all on the site to create a single paragraph to match the image I posted – there were no takers). If you fit the text to arc and try to edit it – the damn thing re-sets itself. If you make a copy of an object by pressing the “+” key, and then nudge it along with the cursor arrow keys it moves the original and doesn’t make a copy (you have to use the mouse and select only the centre nub). Take a copy of an object, move it then try to move it along whilst constraining it vertically (or horizontally), it goes back to it’s original position – (sometimes). On occasions the alignment to last object doesn’t work – they align but not where you want them to. The inlay weld sometimes produces some fantastic psychadelic patterns when all you want is a simple offset weld. Sweep-select a few objects then try to move them by clicking on the edge of one of them – the only one that moves is the one you click on (you sometimes don’t want to group objects as this alters their layering and this was fine in all other signlab versions). I could go on but I won’t – I use windows 2000 and I have seen other strange things happening in other windows interfaces – it will do one thing in win 2000 and refuse to do it in Millenium or visa versa. We upgraded 3 packages from 5 and 4.95 and it cost us about £1000 for the privilege (NOT)
Col

[Alan Drury]

Very curious now as I couldn’t try the text thing perhaps you could send the challenge to me if you have time, I have always thought the text control in signlab was weak as well. Everything else you mention either worked or could be made to work. V7 should come soon so I’ll see what has changed, I don’t think I’ve ever had any software that hasn’t made me swear over something.
Regards
Alan

[Derek Heron]

i have been informed that signlab e5 has problems running from xp
would it be a good idea to buy it and upgrade to the 7 version rather than buying 7 cold rather like a part ex
does anybody know where the best deals are at the minuite
cheers
dex

[Alan Drury]

I’m sure Brian can sort you out with an upgrade. Signlab V5 will work in XP, the problems I came accross were easily sorted, depends a bit on your workflow.
Alan

[Derek Heron]

do you have contact no for brian
cheers
dex

[Brian Hays]

Dex I run Signlab 5 on windows XP & have no problems at all 🙂

[Derek Heron]

thanks how much roughly do you think version 5 is worth second hand
it has engrave lab and dongle

[Brian Hays]

There are several packages, if you can find the number on the dongle then we could establish exactly what package it is. I would then be able to give you an idea of what it’s worth.

Some Signlab engraving packages have a lot of the vinyl stuff omitted, so I wouldn’t buy it before knowing exatctly what you were getting.

[signworxs]

I have used both flexi and signlab (currently use signlab) and as many have said each has its strengths and weaknesses ie fitting text to arc is simpler in flexi while setting text to perspective is easier in signlab. However if you decide to go for signlab I would only consider colourmaster (if sticking with V5) as it has it all, Can’t comment on E6. Incidentaly I’ve been teaching signwork for 10 years at the local college and the easiest software I’ve found is signlab. Most students could design and cut multi layered signs within a few weeks. Just my 2bobs worth.

[Alan Drury]

Just thought I’d mention Signlab E6 is miles better that V5 with text on arc
(Easysign – better still)
Regards
alan

[Derek Heron]

the version of signlab i have seen i may be able to buy for about £300
would that be a fair price ?it has dongle and engrave lab
any idea how much it is new

[J. Hulme]

quote Brushman:

I steer clear of Illustrator though Corel Draw is a much better bet.

What a strange comment!
Adobe illustrator is industry standard graphic design, coreldraw , well it just isn’t, is it?

You’ll just encounter your own problems by using ‘glorified paint’ software
How many times have people asked for workarounds using coreldraw?
I cannot understand why you don’t just buy Flexisign and quash all the problems from the start.
Corel is not signmaking software, it just attempts it in a poor
fashion and always fails miserably.
Corel loves to pretend, although it does print (once set up correctly) better than signlab.

[J. Hulme]

quote Brushman:

Just thought I’d mention Signlab E6 is miles better that V5 with text on arc
(Easysign – better still)
Regards
alan

?????
E6 text to arc is useless.

[Bill Dewison]

quote :

outlineWhat a strange comment!
Adobe illustrator is industry standard graphic design, coreldraw , well it just isn’t, is it?
You’ll just encounter your own problems by using ‘glorified paint’ software
How many times have people asked for workarounds using coreldraw?

Oh behave!!!

Cheers, Dewi

[J. Hulme]

quote :

“Dewi
Oh behave!!!

Cheers, Dewi

Hehehe 👿
apologies if I’ve upset any coreldraw users whilst they’re making birthday cards 😉

[Bill Dewison]

Do I really have to reply…. um, yes 😉

Seriously mate, I have used CorelDRAW for a good while, commercially. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that Adobe Ill. is classed as the industry standard, but to be honest, unless you have the aptitude for it, its a no hoper.

I don’t want to get into a silly arguement on features and can adobe do this, can Corel do that, but come on! Both have their merits, both have thier downfalls. We all use the software that we feel suits the purpose, if I had to vectorise an image in Adobe, I’d be moving to a country with more suitable gun laws!

Birthday cards indeed!! 😆 😆 😆 😆

Cheers, Dewi

[Robert Lambie]

thanks for all the replies so far in this thread….

please note:

any comments downing something must be backed with facts on why it is bad.

saying something is just “plain bad” isn’t enough & breaks board rules.

if something is just an opinion then say that it is. posts can be easily be taken the wrong way. 😕

poking fun to instigate the same sort of reply will result the post being deleted without prior warning

if anyone has a question regarding the above feel free to PM OR EMAIL me, thank you.

[Alan Drury]

To Outline, perhaps I should have said I find E6 miles better than V5 at text to arc and I do prefer Corel Draw to Illustrator as do many others, for the print work I do I could’nt use Illustrator and for the sign work, Illustrator has no advantage and doesn’t warrant the extra money – my opinion but I respect yours.
Regards
Alan

[J. Hulme]

quote Brushman:

To Outline, perhaps I should have said I find E6 miles better than V5 at text to arc and I do prefer Corel Draw to Illustrator as do many others, for the print work I do I could’nt use Illustrator and for the sign work, Illustrator has no advantage and doesn’t warrant the extra money – my opinion but I respect yours.
Regards
Alan

Try Flexisign pro 7, does it all.
Works with thermal / inkjet CMYK too, unlike signlab, well signlab does, but just very poorly and hideous results.

Flexi is ( in my humble opinion, of course ) errrrrr?

Better.

[Nicola McIntosh]

cannot comment on flexisign pro at the moment just trying it out! will give a few weeks (work commitments) when i have spare time!! 😀 😀

just to see how it differs from other programmes!! (signlab in particular, as this is my main programme used)!! 😀 look forward to the results!! 😛

Nik

[Robert Lambie]

im not a flexi user outline but curious about what has been said in this thread and in others regarding flexi & signlab..

quote :

Flexisign pro 7, does it all.
Works with thermal / inkjet CMYK too, unlike signlab, well signlab does, but just very poorly and hideous results.

for instance, although you are saying flexi is better than signlab in many ways “you are not elaborating”. many visitors as well as myself would like to know what results are bad and good. im not saying you are wrong in anyway.. i merely want you to educate us with your reply, as you obviously have found issues in comparing the two softwares?

thanks for your time mate.. 😀