Photoshop?

[Tom Printz]

Hey all. Brand new to the sign business here. I learned photoshop in design school and feel the most comfortable designing in it (logo's, etc) but I am also aware that the designs are not vector. As I am new to the sign business I have tons to learn and I don't want new software another thing on that list. I also have illustrator (both PS and Ill are CS3) and Corel X4. I am also pretty familiar with Illustrator but Corel is totally foreign to me.

My question is what program would you guys suggest I spend my time with? Until I learn the business better I'm just sticking to vinyl letter application on vehicles and banners. I was going to give printing a shot but my SP-300 is still printing gradients pixelated... Until I can figure out the printing my income will be just the letters.

I'm most excited about vehicle wraps. I feel Corel and Illustrator are pretty limited when it comes to designing things of this nature?

Also, if I do design something with colors to be printed, what is a good resolution to design in? CMYK or RGB? Export as a PDF or EPS?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

Illustrator

 

[SebastienL]

Illustrator!!!!

Doesn't matter what you use for designing vehicles wrap. Deppends on what style you want and what you're most comfortable with.

Always CMYK. You can't go wrong with Eps and Tif.

 

[Tom Printz]

Ok, so it looks like I'm going to be getting more familiar with Illustrator. Thanks, good info so far. As far as it not mattering what software I use on the wraps, what do you mean by that? Why doesn't it matter? And one more thing, where can I get vehicle templates from? I'm tired of taking pictures of cars and trying to design over top of them. Is there a website that sells individual templates of vehicles?

Thanks!!!

 

[SebastienL]

If you're doing cut vinyl the Illy is the only way to go. What I mean but using whatever for designing is just that. It doesn't matter what you use for designing. If you're style is "Airbrushy" then use Ps, If, like me, you like clean lines, use Illy.
It is only important to have the right dimensions, and for the vehicle you're designing for and that you have the right resolution if using Ps.

I use Pro-vehicle outlines. Google it, I know they have a website. Don't know if they sell idividual templates.

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Tom ..... you had Adobe ..I & PS in design school ....your learning also in X4 ..all work well in what your starting out with .....EPS file format ..... I'm taking free classes at library for PS....... they teach basics and many other ways and means .... go back through your notes from class

 

[Vinylman]

Tom:

welcome to Signs101.

I also would recommend sticking with Ill. CS3, and Photoshop.

I have been using both software for 20 years, and never had the need for the expensive sign programs.

You can also get a great cutter driver program called SignCutX2 http://www.signcut.net/

check this out , it will allow you to run your plotter right out of Illustrator.

I use it every day and it is awesome.

 

[Former member]

The Adobe Creative Suite is the graphic design industry standard. It's all you'll ever truly NEED.

 

[Flame]

Personally I think Corel is a far more thought out program than Illustrator, and even though I learned on Illustrator I am far more comfortable in Corel. But it's mostly personal preference.

Stay AWAY from photoshop! lol. Not any good except for photos and special effects.

 

[Techman]

Corel draw.. Its a must have. There are tons of goodies to go with corel draw suite..

 

[Replicator]

Another vote for CorelDRAW here . . . !

 

[Cadmn]

CorelDraw Here & I cut directly from it on my Roland. So no need for the extra programs

 

[ProWraps™]

if you are doing vehicle wraps, pretty much ignore everything you just read. stick to photoshop, print RGB NOT CMYK and design at 720 at 10% scale. before printing scale up to 72 dpi at 100%.

as far as cutting vinyl, any vector based program will due. cmyk vs rgb is meaningless since the color will be controlled by the vinyl, not the software.

 

[iSign]

I've read of enough talented & well respected designers using Corel, that I don't doubt for a minute that it is a comprable program, that due to being different, has some apparent advantages over Illustrator in certain features, just as illustrator has advantages in other features. That said, Illustrator is without a doubt the industry standard, which is a significant edge in dealing with other designers & vendors. It also has a clear advantage in it's seamless compatibility with Photoshop, another industry leader.

I agree with the point of RGB over CMYK for print files, but I would always design for a minimum of 100 dpi, not 72. I agree with working at 10% sometimes, if the file is too large for the software limitations, but otherwise I always work at full size.

I'd also suggest starting with vector work whenever possible, save that, and then if progressing into rastor work, use layers & also save that. Once you flatten something for printing, save as a seperate file, because having the layered files, or even the original vector files will always be worth the hard drive space in case you end up with other related design projects.

 

[Ken]

The interplay between the Adobe software should naturally lead you to stay in that family.
Just the way they like it.
I'm a Corel user mostly.
Pixellated gradients on the SP300?
Does this happen on vector or raster files?
Export as a .tiff file for the RIP, using RGB. If you start with a low-res file, you will output a low-res file. You could try Photo-Zoom Pro or Genuine Fractals to rework those bitmaps to improve the output.
Hey..welcome to S101...
Ken

 

[anotherdog]

Illustrator without a doubt.
if you stick in Adobe you will have a lot fewer postscript hickups. PS and Ill work together smoothly and work with .pdf smoothly too. Skill with PS is valuable, but for signs and vehicle illustrator is invaluable. I have spent many years working with Corel, Freehand and Illustrator and though it took a while, the adobe family is ahead in all areas. This designing in RGB interests me though. I'll raise that as another topic.