Gerber EdgeFX questions :)

[bjones]

Ok, i'm about to add the first new piece of equipment to the shop in a while and it is going to be an Edge FX but I want to be smart about what I buy for it that may be duplicated functionality that I can't really be sure of without actually having the equipment. For those that have an Edge, does anyone use it with Flexi? I have flexi 8.5 and everything says it supports the EdgeFX, so i'm hoping I can skip on buying Omega and having to learn and maintain a second rip/print platform. I don't do any design work in Flexi, it's all done in Adobe products for personal preference so i'm really just talking about the actual print engine parts..

And then the second question, if I CAN print to the gerber with Flexi instead of Omega does that mean I can print the contour cut registration marks for one of my existing Graphtec plotters instead of buying a gerber made plotter? I already have 2 plotters, don't really want a third if I can use one of those. There's just not much out there on the topic that I can find!

In the end it's a 6k difference in the price of the gerber setup if I can use my existing software and plotters, that's a lot of money I could put toward color films and substrates instead.. Anyone got any advice/experience they could share? I understand the difference between inkjet and thermal printers, and we have a solvent printer.. the gerber is a purpose use machine for our needs specifically for smaller decals requiring bright colors etc the gerber can do that the inkjet can't.

Thanks much!

 

[SightLine]

Actually have wondered the same thing myself. I'd assume it would work fine adding the contour cuts within Flexi for your cutter. As far as the printer is concerned they are just some black spots (or lines depending on the cutter) that need to be printed. Easy enough to just add the machine in Production Manager. Think I'll try that to see what the Edge options are if I select it as the printer.

Our workflow is the same too - about the only thing I actually do in Flexi is add contour cuts maybe once in a long while a quickie text job for the cutter. Everything else we create in Illustrator and Photoshop.

Also - if you are still running 8.5 - you can download free updates to 8.6v2 from SAi's website. Good bit more stable than 8.5.

Edit - just added an EdgeFX in Production Manager no problem (just gave it a bogus IP). Setup options looks pretty comprehensive - looks like a lot to consider too that I'm not used to dealing with like the order that it prints the colors, a LOT of spot color options, choosing the vinyl it is printing on, etc. I realize off of these can affect color and how it will print and look. Funny to see the default media width of 11.4 inches.

 

[bjones]

Thanks a lot for the reply, I asked SAI support today for some direction on the question and while they were very open to helping me they didn't seem to 'sure' of the situation. Nice to hear from someone that it seems to be there. All the material setups, color film choices are there in Gerber Omega too so it sounds very comparable in functionality. Now if I can confirm plotting ability i just saved my wallet quite a bit of cash

For whatever reason I just really don't like designing in Flexi or Corel. they just don't feel right to me although I know them both fairly well. I am forced to use corel because it drives my epilog but otherwise I wouldn't have it.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

For whatever reason I just really don't like designing in Flexi or Corel. they just don't feel right to me although I know them both fairly well. I am forced to use corel because it drives my epilog but otherwise I wouldn't have it.

I'm somewhat in the same situation here. I have to use CorelDRAW because it is integrated with my embroidery digitizing program very nicely. I still do my stand alone designs in Ai, but more and more I'm liking Corel. It's a booger though at times.

 

[Drip Dry]

I use a Gerber, but I also use a gerber plotter and Omega. Seems I'm the opposite of you where I design in Flexi and export it to Omega.
If you design in Illustrator, then your going to have to export to a rip somewhere. I have run Flexi to the edge in the past but it seemed a little clunky to me. A big item I think is that since you will be new to Gerber, your going to need tech support in the beginning. If your trying to get Flexi to do something with the edge, when you call Gerber, they are going to tell you it's Flexi's problem and SAI is going to say it's Gerber.
I think I would at least get the software that goes with the edge.
I never tried to run a different plotter with Omega but I'm pretty sure you can.

BTW... Don't they have specials where you may get the software for free as well as free cartridges

 

[Mike Paul]

I used Flexi exclusively to print to my Edge 2 for many years.
7.6v2 was the turning point for good printing for that machine.

As for the Flexi 8.5 and the FX I don't know but I don't think the actual printing is any different than the Edge 2 except for the foil container and the way they load.

I used a Gerber plotter but yes you can cut with your Graphtec if it has the Arms reader.

 

[signage]

With the Omega software you will get a high resolution optionto use with the FX.

As far as using another plotter you will loose more area than with the Gerber plotter!

 

[stickerman12]

You will kick yourself if you don't get the software and plotter. The edge plotter uses one bullseye that your manually zero in on with a sight glass snd since the vinyl is sprocket fed it will do a series of small decals longer than 20 feet with no slippage or skew. I design in any software that is vector based and import into Omega and am printing in 5 minutes. Look on some of the boards for a slightly used setup. I saw a whole setup go on ebay this week for around 5K. It was less than a year old. These things are a tank. Look on www.4edgetalk.com for more info.

 

[Tony Teveris]

Just to clear up some stuff - the command language of the Edge II and Edge FX are different, the connection is also different and the FX has a High-Res mode. I'm not sure why SAi could not give you a definitive answer, either they support it or not.

 

[Jase]

I would buy Omega, they usually run a deal if you buy an Edge. We have cut on our graphtec and you can set this up via omega. It works however one of the advantages of running an Edge is that you can leave it to run metres and metres. You won't be able to cut a run above 2metres on the graphtec without it moving off. I would buy the whole package, there seems to be some good deals out there at the moment.