Does anyone have a spare licence of Vinylmaster XPT for sale

[antonitus]

Hi,

I know I'm being cheeky here, but I'm tight on money at the moment. Does anyone own Vinylmaster XPT and have a spare licence I could buy off them. I hear you get 4 licences with it. I have the LTR version for one month trial and I love it, however I can't print from it. It does some fantastic cutting, but I am struggling to get RIP software for my Roland SC-500 printer. The XPT version will work with my printer to print as it has the RIP software plus ICC profiles. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
antonitus

 

[ikarasu]

It's $699, or 18 payments of $44 a month... it cant be that expensive. You could make your money back in 1-2 lucky jobs.

I dont know where you saw you get 4 licenses, but it looks like you only get 1. So you'll have to find someone who doesnt want their software anymore, if you want to buy it second hand... which will likelly be an older version. If you cant afford the $700, I'd say go with the monthly payments, and give up starbucks for a month.

Sorry if its not helpful.. just wanted to point out you get 1 license, unless you pay for more, so best bet might be to "lease" it.

 

[antonitus]

What I should have said, you can become a member and subscribe up to 4 computers or 4 licences:
VinylMaster XPT | VinylMaster Club
The first 36 month option only.

I'm not doing this for business, which is why I created this post. I know what you mean, if I was doing a business, then it is a no brainer.

 

[ikarasu]

What I should have said, you can become a member and subscribe up to 4 computers or 4 licences:
VinylMaster XPT | VinylMaster Club
The first 36 month option only.

I'm not doing this for business, which is why I created this post. I know what you mean, if I was doing a business, then it is a no brainer.

It's probably limited to 4 computers on the same IP. And even if it isn't, it's probably against the tos to share..so I don't think anyone would risk their subscription for it.

Are you just trying to see if the printer works? You can do trials of onyx, and I think flexi to test it. Rips are pretty expensive... I think the cheapest you'll find is this one.

You may be able to get a cheap Chinese rip... But I wouldn't consider it reliable.

 

[antonitus]

I know what you mean ikarasu. I did actually download the trial version of Vinylmaster and tried the XPT version, but as they are trial versions they don't allow you to print and cut, so their trials are pretty useless.

 

[S'N'S]

Hi,

I know I'm being cheeky here, but I'm tight on money at the moment. Does anyone own Vinylmaster XPT and have a spare licence I could buy off them. I hear you get 4 licences with it. . The XPT version will work with my printer to print as it has the RIP software plus ICC profiles. Any help would be much appreciated.

I have XPT and can load it on 4 computers BUT, it will only cut/print from the main computer which is the registered one. I can design on the others and transfer the saved file to the print/cut computer.

 

[antonitus]

I have XPT and can load it on 4 computers BUT, it will only cut/print from the main computer which is the registered one. I can design on the others and transfer the saved file to the print/cut computer.

Thanks for letting me know. So I guess the software developers have this already covered to not share licences outside the registered computer. Very clever and wise really. I will have to find a couple of odd jobs to pay for a full licence of XPT. I have the LTR version, so I can cut without any issues. I am not doing this as a business, I'm doing a charity a favour and is mainly for myself, friends and family. Thanks for your information.

 

[dale911]

Just make sure they have a GOOD working driver for your printer. I bought it with the intention of printing to my HP l25500. The driver they had didn't work right and I don't remember specifically, but I don't think you could build different profiles from it. I love the software for layout and design and find it easier and faster to use than illustrator, flexi, Corel or photoshop since it has a lot of stuff built in for both raster and vector work. It is also extremely easy to use effects with tons preloaded as well as an entire library of corporate vector logos and tons of other things. It is also quite buggy at times. Exporting of a larger sized design to PDF usually doesn't work and if you try and fail, you have to completely restart the program to be able to export anything to a PDF. I usually end up resizing and saving or export as a jpeg for print on non-color specific jobs. I have not been able to cut from it either to my graphtec so I usually create in vinylmaster, export as PDF and then open in flexi to crest contour cuts then save again as a PDF and open in Onyx for print/cut. Quite annoying. They have also been promising an upgrade since 2014 and we haven't seen it yet. I was hoping that then partnering with uscutter to bundle their software would give them a cash infusion to get more developing done but if it has, we haven't seen it.


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[S'N'S]

Just make sure they have a GOOD working driver for your printer. I bought it with the intention of printing to my HP l25500. The driver they had didn't work right and I don't remember specifically, but I don't think you could build different profiles from it. I love the software for layout and design and find it easier and faster to use than illustrator, flexi, Corel or photoshop since it has a lot of stuff built in for both raster and vector work. It is also extremely easy to use effects with tons preloaded as well as an entire library of corporate vector logos and tons of other things. It is also quite buggy at times. Exporting of a larger sized design to PDF usually doesn't work and if you try and fail, you have to completely restart the program to be able to export anything to a PDF. I usually end up resizing and saving or export as a jpeg for print on non-color specific jobs. I have not been able to cut from it either to my graphtec so I usually create in vinylmaster, export as PDF and then open in flexi to crest contour cuts then save again as a PDF and open in Onyx for print/cut. Quite annoying. They have also been promising an upgrade since 2014 and we haven't seen it yet. I was hoping that then partnering with uscutter to bundle their software would give them a cash infusion to get more developing done but if it has, we haven't seen it.


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What version do you have, I have XPT4.0 and the latest update was months ago. Also I have no problem exporting/saving as pdf without resizing.
Update here (need your product serial number) VinylMaster Downloads

 

[Gino]

So, if you are doing this for a favor for charity, yourself or friends, you don't need to pay for it ??

What a novel way of thinking.

 

[antonitus]

What version do you have, I have XPT4.0 and the latest update was months ago. Also I have no problem exporting/saving as pdf without resizing.
Update here (need your product serial number) VinylMaster Downloads

I have LTR 4.0 which is the latest. I joined the pay monthly subscription less than a week ago, so I will have the latest version. I think.
Last week before my computer crashed, I had the demo version, but I did not test whether XPT printed or not. I presume they have some demo graphics you can test it on. I'll download the demo again and see it my printer will print on it. I was impressed that it found my rather old printer without any issues for cutting, which is why I wanted to use this software in the first place. I like it a lot as it is very user friendly. I have Illustrator to trace bitmap images as I know Illustrator inside out and is fantastic for tracing bitmap images compared to Vinymaster, i.e. I can edit the graphics quite easily. You are right, it is a little buggy and slow at times when working with larger graphics.

 

[antonitus]

So, if you are doing this for a favor for charity, yourself or friends, you don't need to pay for it ??

What a novel way of thinking.

Who said anything about 'not paying for it'. If you read my post, I was asking whether I could 'buy' a spare licence from someone and I wasn't asking it for free, but it's obvious that this is not possible as it is only registered to one computer. I will eventually buy the XPT version somehow. It's just that I have a very tight budget and I'm not doing this as a business, although I may need to find a couple of odd jobs just to pay for it. I prefer to buy the complete version instead of paying monthly as that becomes more expensive in the long run, if I'm not running a business. If I was running a business, then a monthly subscription makes more sense due to the fact that it covers future updates/upgrades without additional costs.

 

[Gino]

Who said anything about 'not paying for it'. If you read my post, I was asking whether I could 'buy' a spare licence from someone and I wasn't asking it for free, but it's obvious that this is not possible as it is only registered to one computer. I will eventually buy the XPT version somehow. It's just that I have a very tight budget and I'm not doing this as a business, although I may need to find a couple of odd jobs just to pay for it. I prefer to buy the complete version instead of paying monthly as that becomes more expensive in the long run, if I'm not running a business. If I was running a business, then a monthly subscription makes more sense due to the fact that it covers future updates/upgrades without additional costs.

Well, perhaps I should've said the discounted version cost. You mentioned how money is tight, this is not for business, you think the costs are too high regardless which way you go. You have many reasons why you don't wanna pay full price, which has been noted is not at all expensive. So, in my opinion, YES, you are trying to get out of paying for it..... or at least it's worth.

Keep at it. You'll get it, yet.

 

[antonitus]

Well, perhaps I should've said the discounted version cost. You mentioned how money is tight, this is not for business, you think the costs are too high regardless which way you go. You have many reasons why you don't wanna pay full price, which has been noted is not at all expensive. So, in my opinion, YES, you are trying to get out of paying for it..... or at least it's worth.

Keep at it. You'll get it, yet.

Looks like you work for Vinylmaster. Your advice has been noted. Thanks.

 

[ikarasu]

They sell XPT for $100 for schools and students, perhaps if you explain you're doing it for charity and not a business, they will give it to you for a discount.

These machines are pretty expensive to run though... I don't want to sound rude, but if you cant afford the rip, the first time something breaks on it, it's just going to become a paper weight. Even the ink is pretty expensive compared to the rip.

 

[antonitus]

They sell XPT for $100 for schools and students, perhaps if you explain you're doing it for charity and not a business, they will give it to you for a discount.

These machines are pretty expensive to run though... I don't want to sound rude, but if you cant afford the rip, the first time something breaks on it, it's just going to become a paper weight. Even the ink is pretty expensive compared to the rip.

I did notice that they sell for academics and students for a real cheap price. I already have a ton of inks and I was an electronic engineer and have fixed a large format printer before. I do like some help and advice on how to fix certain things as I don't know everything. I had a large format HP printer once that used dye inks and I completely stripped it apart and refurbished it to brand new with new parts, including belts, service station, some boards, etc. i'm always learning of course, which is why I would need help for example on how to remove and clean a printhead or what type it is, etc. Thanks for your advice ikarasu. It looks like some people might think I'm a cheapskate, but money is real tight at the moment and as I'm not doing this for business, this is the reason why I asked this question. Now I know it is not possible. You gotta try, everyone haggles in life to get bargains, what makes this any different. I didn't want it for free as someone on here thinks it was the case. Thanks for everyone's help so far. Great forum and members.

 

[ikarasu]

It doesn't hurt to e-mail and ask. If it's for a REAL charity, they'll probably kick in and give it to you for a discount. If it's just a "I want to print cool shit for my friends, so I wont be making profit" They'll probably say too bad. If it's for a bonified charity, they can write it off as a donation.

I did download it and give it a try - Seems ok. I use flexi at home (Had it for a week, so I don't know how it compares) And onyx at work. I like how you can nest stuff when cutting... AFAIK, you can't do that in cut master. I havent played around in CM4 for more than a few minutes though, so maybe it was added. I may buy Vinyl master just for nesting, if CM4 doesn't do it. The "Vectorizer" seems to do a decent job too. Not as good as hand tracing, but much better than illustrator's automatic tracer... could come in handy in a pinch.

To be honest, the software is already really, really cheap for what it is. Compare it to a rip like Onyx, and you're looking at 4-5k.

Heck, even my "HP edition flexi doesn't do cut-contour... Just an upgrade to get cutting capabilities is $1000. I don't think you'll find better/cheaper than vinyl master sadly. so I'd e-mail, explain its for a charity and not business... they may hook you up.

 

[antonitus]

It doesn't hurt to e-mail and ask. If it's for a REAL charity, they'll probably kick in and give it to you for a discount. If it's just a "I want to print cool **** for my friends, so I wont be making profit" They'll probably say too bad. If it's for a bonified charity, they can write it off as a donation.

I did download it and give it a try - Seems ok. I use flexi at home (Had it for a week, so I don't know how it compares) And onyx at work. I like how you can nest stuff when cutting... AFAIK, you can't do that in cut master. I havent played around in CM4 for more than a few minutes though, so maybe it was added. I may buy Vinyl master just for nesting, if CM4 doesn't do it. The "Vectorizer" seems to do a decent job too. Not as good as hand tracing, but much better than illustrator's automatic tracer... could come in handy in a pinch.

To be honest, the software is already really, really cheap for what it is. Compare it to a rip like Onyx, and you're looking at 4-5k.

Heck, even my "HP edition flexi doesn't do cut-contour... Just an upgrade to get cutting capabilities is $1000. I don't think you'll find better/cheaper than vinyl master sadly. so I'd e-mail, explain its for a charity and not business... they may hook you up.

I'm sold and you're right it's not that expensive compared to all the others out there. I'm really new with all of these eco-solvent printers and cutters, so I am learning all the time. I have a HP large format printer (dye inks, hardly any maintenance) that I use sometimes for some indoor artwork as I am graphic designer too. It doesn't need RIP software as it has a print driver and my Photoshop handles the colours pretty well. I do all the creating and editing on that as well as Illustrator. You're right, I like the nesting idea in Vinylmaster as I did some cuts using that and it works well. The only thing I'm trying to get my head around is that it sometimes cuts around an image twice, so I must be doing something wrong, sometimes it doesn't. I need to figure out why. I think in about 6 months or so or less I should be more experienced with it all. who knows, I may even start a small business (as if my life isn't already busy, haha). It's incredible how these companies get away with charging so much for their RIP software, they kind of hold print businesses for ransom. All the Adobe products are cheaper than some RIP software and those are much more powerful. I really appreciate all your advice today.

 

[ikarasu]

The rip software takes thousands and thousands of hours, and theres not as much demand. Photoshop has millions upon millions of people, where as rip programs have thousands upon thousands - So while photoshop can charge xx, multiply that by millions of users... and they make good proffit. Rip developers have a much smaller user base, therfor need to charge more. Keep in mind the only people who need rips are generally businesses... And if you're good at your business, you'll make the money back on a rip in weeks, so it's not that big of an expensive.



As for the double cutting, take a look at your strokes. They should be set to pretty much 0, the smaller the better. if it's more then rips tend to cut twice to cut the width of the stroke.

 

[antonitus]

The rip software takes thousands and thousands of hours, and theres not as much demand. Photoshop has millions upon millions of people, where as rip programs have thousands upon thousands - So while photoshop can charge xx, multiply that by millions of users... and they make good proffit. Rip developers have a much smaller user base, therfor need to charge more. Keep in mind the only people who need rips are generally businesses... And if you're good at your business, you'll make the money back on a rip in weeks, so it's not that big of an expensive.

That's true, I'm starting to wake up today.


As for the double cutting, take a look at your strokes. They should be set to pretty much 0, the smaller the better. if it's more then rips tend to cut twice to cut the width of the stroke.

I'll have a look at that. I don't actually remember using strokes, I created that particular trace in Illustrator. Thanks for your advice again.