Questions about Flexistarter

[Garcia]

I just bought the Flexistarter 8.6. I honestly just started doing this about oh 3 days ago haha. I'm not sure if I'm just an idiot or if this version has absolutely nothing but the ability to create and cut lettering.

The help menu is for all Flexi programs, but "not all versions have all features." And I can't seem to find anything online about how to use this particular version.

I understand that this program is NOT the program I should be using to design anything. I can import just about any image I want into Flexistarter from Photoshop, but it wont cut anything, because it thinks it's a big rectangle and doesn't see what I want to cut.

I have money waiting from people that want vinyl, but no idea how to get it done hahaha

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Garcia

 

[Gino]

I welcomed you in your other thread, but here in this one, I must say...... what are you trying to do ??

You mentioned something about buying a cutter from your boss. Do you have any experience in using these machines or software ?? You also mentioned that you were tired of paying high prices for vinyl....I presume you meant die-cut vinyl.

What is your business plan and what direction do you intend to go ??

 

[Garcia]

I get vinyl decals made for my website all the time...they cost alot when you're buying a couple hundred at a time. So, I bought a cutter. I've actually been wanting to get into sign and decal making for awhile now, but just recently got a chance to purchase a cutter. I have no experience with either, but I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing. I've already cut a bunch of numbers and words, but I cant seen to get this program to recognize an image.

I will be offering a custom vinyl decal service on my site. I have a ton of people that want custom vinyl for their cars. But, I can't get an image, sent to me from a friend/customer, to cut.

I have the file in every file type and yes it is vectorized.

 

[Mainframe]

Flexi starter is just a bridge program meant for between your design program & your cutter, you need to design & set up your files in Adobe illustrator or Corell Draw then import them into FS to cut on your cutter, otherwise you are going to drive yourself crazy trying to make it do something it is not designed to do. You also have the option to upgrade your Flexi so it has more features & then you can design with & cut from the same program.

 

[Fred Weiss]

I can import just about any image I want into Flexistarter from Photoshop, but it wont cut anything, because it thinks it's a big rectangle and doesn't see what I want to cut.

That is because, with rare exception, there are no vectors in any image you create in Photoshop. There are only pixels. FlexiStarter and your plotter need vectors in order to cut. Pixel images work with printers but only serve as a guide to be traced with vectors if your intention is to cut the image with a plotter.

It is making that transition from pixels to vectors that you must come to terms with and which will cause you to understand why those decals cost so much.

 

[Raulrdz]

First things first...learn the difference between vector and raster. Second, just what's been said...Flexi-starter is a teaser for you to buy the other Flexi programs. It has almost all the features disabled. If you don't want to spend so much money on the onset, try Sign Cut Pro, you can lease the software for one year for about $59.00. You must have the ability to connect to the internet at least once every 10 days, but it has a lot of cutting features, no design features though. Design can be done in Illustrator or Corel.

 

[Garcia]

Thank you, it's starting to make a little more sense now.