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Help for a newbie with lots of questions!

Jackpine

New Member
You can design in Corel ..... add a cutcontour line......export as esp rgb bitmap and print and cut in the RCC rip. I did that for 3 1/2 years. When the printer is right you will get very good print that are 3 to 5 year durable. Learn and use what you have and you can make money. It is a good printer for smallish decals. You can use it for value added graphics for your signs.
 

Flame

New Member
shoprat said:
Can you elaborate? If I wanted to do this what would I need?


IMO you would want to buy a solventjet printer. Either full solvent or eco-solvent will work, but personally I like the eco-sol inks. No fumes. They pretty much start at $12,000. The cheapest ones out there are the smaller Mutoh's and the Roland Versacamm's. I would suggest making sure you have the business before buying one of these babies. And expect a couple months to try to figure the machine out once you get it.
 

The Big Squeegee

Long Time Member
Not all clipart has to be traced. If it is a .wmf it is most likely to be in linear form. All you have to do is ungroup it and seperate out the shapes you want to cut and delete some of the layers of shading and other extra stuff.
 

GB2

Old Member
You know...I'm sorry but I think we should be a little more selective about which inquiries we overwhelmingly respond to. There are many many individuals here that I have tremendous respect for but it never ceases to amaze me how sometimes people go way over and above trying to be helpful to "garage hacks" or totally clueless persons that appear and disappear from here. I think we should raise the bar a little and maintain a higher level of professionalism....sorry.
 

shoprat

New Member
GB2 said:
we should be a little more selective about the inquiries we overwhelmingly respond to

Ummm then dont post in the thread buddy and let it go to the bottom to die...

GB2 said:
garage hacks

Wow are you quick to judge from one post asking for help learning??? Let me guess you were born with devine knowledge and an expert at sign making? Like I said dont like the thread for whatever reason DONT POST.


sorry to rant there but there is allways one person on every board that feels the need to belittle beginers rather than offer to help like everyone else has shown in this post.

To everyone that offered up advice I will be putting it to good use!:thankyou:
 

OldPaint

New Member
shoprat said:
Can you elaborate? If I wanted to do this what would I need?
YOU TYPED THIS AFTER YOU TYPED THIS: BTW Another question is it possible to print on vinyl then cut it out all at once? If so how??
I am plotting with a roland PC600"
FROM THE ROLAND WEB SITE:
Announcing Roland's Fourth Generation Thermal Transfer Printer/Cutter!
The new ColorCamm Pro adds highend 1200 dpi printing to an all in one 24" wide printer/cutter system. With many advanced features such as a multi-platform RIP included, fast printing and ribbon saver feature the PC-600 appears to have it all!
The PC-600 is ideal for signmakers, graphic designers, screenprinters or anyone wanting to start or expand their business with short-run stickers, posters, signs and P.O.P creations as well as labels and heat transfers for garments.
NOW....HERES MOST OF OUR PROBLEM....do you know what you can do with that piece of equipment? and by youre questions....either you havnt a clue....or youre just messin with us........that why we get a little testy with some newbies here.....if you got a PC 600..YOU CAN PIRNT AND CUT....READ YOURE MANUAL!!!
OR PAY SOMEONE TO TEACH YOU HOW TO USE IT!!!!!!
we can only do so much here........or when you get ready to sell i get 1st shot.....$500.....
 
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Cadmn

New Member
GB2 if you took time to look through posts I think you would find that the owner has taken great pain to some of the senior members down. at least shoprat filled out his location as being other than just earth.
 

iSign

New Member
wow...was afraid I'd have drawn a lot of heat on this one. Glad I didn't.
Shoprat, you're gonna make it! You got thick skin & a good attitude. Welcome!
Bob, can I work for you for $5K? That is a decent offer. Based on what I've seen of your work, & your business sense, even I could justify that investment! If I didn't have too many irons in the fire that can't be left... I'd consider it!
 

andy

New Member
"sorry to rant there but there is allways one person on every board that feels the need to belittle beginers rather than offer to help like everyone else has shown in this post."

And there are always newbies who march in looking for short cuts and detailed information on how to do this or that not recognising that buying equipment is easy- so easy anyone can do it- the know how is the valuable part of the equation- a cheap cutter really hasn't got that much resale value.

GB2 learnt how to manufacture what he sells- how do you think he managed that? Hard work, late nights and a shed load of wasted material is the norm.

You might feel you are being put down but you need to look at this from a wider perspective- the sign industry world wide is full of folks who have bought a cheap vinyl cutter and dived right on it. Nothing wrong with competition BUT what is happening is prices are falling to the level where no one really benefits.

This is a skilled occupation like any other trade- it can't be learnt on the cheap or off the internet. If you look through past threads you will see the majority opinion is to go work for someone who knows what they are doing- it's called being an apprentice and it works great.

The questions you are asking can be solved pretty easy by reading and understanding the manuals that came with your equipment.

Corel, Flexisign and the others are complicated packages that take a long time to learn and there is no short cut.

Business is like nature- the evolution theory- those who can't do things don't survive, those who can evolve their businesses into bigger, improved versions. The weakest always go to the wall.

If you want to be a sign maker then the learning curve is long and step- have you got what it takes? Only time will tell:brittain:
 

shoprat

New Member
andy said:
And there are always newbies who march in looking for short cuts and detailed information on how to do this or that not recognising that buying equipment is easy- so easy anyone can do it- the know how is the valuable part of the equation- a cheap cutter really hasn't got that much resale value.

Hey I didnt expect learning to be easy I was just looking for some direction to where to learn. As for manuals I bought the equipment second hand so I dont know that I got all of them but the one I do have is very vauge and only shows set up of the plotter.


andy said:
You might feel you are being put down but you need to look at this from a wider perspective- the sign industry world wide is full of folks who have bought a cheap vinyl cutter and dived right on it. Nothing wrong with competition BUT what is happening is prices are falling to the level where no one really benefits.


So you think a pc600 is a cheap peice of equipment?? Ummm I know there are alot more expensive machines out there but to start out with?


OldPaint said:
or when you get ready to sell i get 1st shot.....$500.....

:Big Laugh :Big Laugh :Big Laugh add another zero there buddy!
 
Shoprat,
This site is very far from being "against newbies". What you will find is that many, if not most, will be extremely helpful BUT will not sugar-coat anything. There is very good reason for this. Everyday 200 people get into the business of making signs and 199 get out of it. It is NOT for the faint-hearted. We all hate seeing people "quit", although it would be better for profits.

As Doug states, it takes "thick skin" to be in business - any business. This does not include the countless hours of "free" time that you must devote to learning, and the dumpsters full of wasted material. Also, as Doug states, you are most likely gonna make it - because of the "thick skin", and the fact that you did not turn and run away.

As Andy states, there are absolutely no shortcuts, and even as your knowledge expands - there is always that much more to learn.

For the Roland, check their website for a pdf manual. If not, call them or email them, they will get one to you. As for the Corel, try and start with a book from Sams Publishing. Their books are not very intense with all of the "tricks" but they are very good at showing the majority of what you will need to know - as the rest comes with daily practice.

Now that all of that is out of the way - how much do you really want for the PC-600? We all know that Doug and OP are not serious when they offer such huge amounts :biggrin: :Big Laugh

Lastly, one piece of advice - DO NOT SELL ON PRICE - that is the quickest and shortest route to failure, or at least hard times.

Keep plugging, posting, and trying!
 

OldPaint

New Member
So you think a pc600 is a cheap peice of equipment?? Ummm I know there are alot more expensive machines out there but to start out with?



Quote:
Originally Posted by OldPaint
or when you get ready to sell i get 1st shot.....$500.....


add another zero there buddy!
THEY SAW YOU COMIN......all i can say...youre reply just adds to the already "dont got a clue" "tude" you have...
ITS A PC-600 you had to know what you was buyin........
BEFORE YOU LAID DOWN THE $5000 or are you that numb...to give somebody $5000 and not have a clue...AS TO WHAT YOU JUST BOUGHT????
ok $750.00
 

shoprat

New Member
OldPaint said:
So you think a pc600 is a cheap peice of equipment?? Ummm I know there are alot more expensive machines out there but to start out with?



Quote:
Originally Posted by OldPaint
or when you get ready to sell i get 1st shot.....$500.....


add another zero there buddy!
THEY SAW YOU COMIN......all i can say...youre reply just adds to the already "dont got a clue" "tude" you have...
ITS A PC-600 you had to know what you was buyin........
BEFORE YOU LAID DOWN THE $5000 or are you that numb...to give somebody $5000 and not have a clue...AS TO WHAT YOU JUST BOUGHT????
ok $750.00

Hey I know at this point I have tons to learn and I know almost nothing about my equipment. I did get a very good deal on the pc600 ( agood amount less than 5 g's) though and I figured it would be a good investment that I can grow into and it was a large enough amount it would keep me serious about what I am doing.
 

OldPaint

New Member
Hey I know at this point I have tons to learn and I know almost nothing about my equipment. I did get a very good deal on the pc600 ( agood amount less than 5 g's) though and I figured it would be a good investment that I can grow into and it was a large enough amount it would keep me serious about what I am doing.
now this is the 1st thing you have said that makes sence....
and i commend you on that...
now you need to GET THE BOOK for that pices of equipment, see if you got somelocal who can give you a short hands course on how to set it up and make it work....then your on youre way..till then not much we can do for you.......till you get some BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF THAT EQUIPMENT....
 

njsigns

New Member
I too thought I did my research before buying my PC-12 like 2 years ago (wish I found this site before I made that purchase). Now I have too much invested in it, and found it wasn't necessarily the best bang for my buck. I have no choice now other than making it work for me, as it would be a total wash or even worse a loss if I were to sell it. If you're serious about using CorelDraw I would scroll back up and look at the links I provided earlier. They have been invaluable to me, and I'm sure they will help you as well. As far as the user manual for the PC-600:

http://www.rolanddga.com/rnet30/files/support/pc600_user_manual.pdf

The main problem I have with my Roland right now is color calibration, which I need to start a thread on ASAP! Other than that, I find working with CorelDraw and the Roland to be quite natural. Good luck!

Gene
 

andy

New Member
Luckily I had an old ALPS printer for a while so when I saw the specs for the new PC printers from Roland I saw what a dud the machine was.

The alps was an A4 printer using the exact same cartridge system- pile of junk stuggled to print and A4 page without going nuts or a ribbon break.

I know a lot of people rate roland but I think they were pretty un professional foisting such a cr@p system on the sign trade.

I know a guy who's got onw and he keeps offering to sell it to me- the only way I'd have it is if he paid me to take it away.

The machine was basically trying to be a cheap edge and failed miserably.
 
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