searching for software

[davedavedave]

hi
im looking for a cheap software solution for a gerber edge.
i got the machine cheap and dont want to spend 3k on gerber omega LOL

i searched for omega ebay but couldnt find much...
i saw signlab and flexising are working too but i wasnt able to find any good deals...

are there any other software solutions wich work with the gerber? a plugin for illustrator would be great but i doubt there is one LOL

at the moment i think im going with flexisign because its only 60bucks a month...

im very new to printing... is there any major differences in omega and flex?
am i able to archive the same results on both software's?

also what is the bet way to convert illustrator files to one of these programms?
im not sur but i got the feeling i have to redesign alot because the old files are not layered
(for screennprinting)
if anybody has omega for sale or know where i can find it pls send me a pm....

sorry for the stupid questions and the bad english..
ths greetings dave

 

[Fred Weiss]

Perhaps you would do best to forget the fact that you got a good price on an Edge and instead buy a copy of Gerber Omega Layout Station to properly setup your jobs. This version of Omega costs about $800.00. Then find a shop with an Edge, a plotter and all the foils and vinyls that will cost you a lot to get yourself, and have them produce the prints you need.

This will allow you to focus on getting good at setting up jobs for Edge printing for a much lower cost. If you do well you'll have the money to invest in a plotter and an upgrade of your Omega Layout Station to a full print and cut version. If you don't do well, then you won't have over invested in this.

The difference between Flexisign and Omega is that Omega was written from the ground up to be used for Gerber Edge printing. Flexisign simply has included the Edge among the many printers it supports and is nowhere close to Omega in what it can do.

 

[FrankW]

You can use Flexi Subscription, so you wont have one big payment.

But I agree to Fred Weiss: Omega would be the best solution.

 

[davedavedave]

Perhaps you would do best to forget the fact that you got a good price on an Edge and instead buy a copy of Gerber Omega Layout Station to properly setup your jobs. This version of Omega costs about $800.00. Then find a shop with an Edge, a plotter and all the foils and vinyls that will cost you a lot to get yourself, and have them produce the prints you need.

This will allow you to focus on getting good at setting up jobs for Edge printing for a much lower cost. If you do well you'll have the money to invest in a plotter and an upgrade of your Omega Layout Station to a full print and cut version. If you don't do well, then you won't have over invested in this.

The difference between Flexisign and Omega is that Omega was written from the ground up to be used for Gerber Edge printing. Flexisign simply has included the Edge among the many printers it supports and is nowhere close to Omega in what it can do.

thx for the answer, all i need to do with the software is print and cut i will design my stuff in illustrator.... using eps files should work... what exactly omega can do what the others cant? its made from gerber specially for the gerber yes but this dont explain to me why its better when it comes to print and cut? shouldnt the print and cut options be basically the same on all software wich supports these machines? the only difference i can imagine is when it comes to designing... wich isnt important for me because i use illustrator for this part..

i got me the gerber2 and the hs15 plotter + 50 ribbons because i wasnt really able to find a shop in germany!

almost no printshop has a gerbert and the few i found who still have it try to sell it and not using it anymore...
also the prices are alot cheaper when i print by myself compared to a shop...
if i count up the costs for material they are alot cheaper compared to what i pay now for printing...

for the begining until i find a cheap omega version i will go with flexi because i dont want to spend 2k on software...

one more questions i read often that u dont need to laminate the gerber stuff, but some ppl still laminate?
to get this cleaer it is not necessary to laminate right?

ths for the help

 

[Fred Weiss]

Omega, Flexisign Pro and Signlab with the thermal module are the only options you have to print and cut with an Edge. You would be best off to find the funds for a full print and cut license for Omega. If you need to sell it later, I can tell you that the software is the first thing to go and for the least discount from what it costs new.

To understand some of the unique things that Omega does and Illustrator doesn't do, you have to realize that Edge printing is at it's best when you are printing with spot colors and not process CMYK. Unlike printing to an inkjet, you are printing one color at a time and making repeat passes to lay down each additional color. And dealing with some of the difficulties of spot printing is built into Omega.

Some things Omega does that Illustrator doesn't and where Flexisign may not are:

• Assigning of spot colors to individual vectors.
• Assigning of what happens when one spot color overprints another ... Knockout base, overprint base, overprint with higher printhead temperature
• Assigning of print only, cut only or print and cut attributes to a vector path.
• Routines for chokes, spreads and traps to prevent gaps when colors touch other colors.
• Routines for bleed cut creation.
  
• Controls for the order in which spot colors are printed.
• Automatic changes to Edge printhead for pressure and temperature for different spot colors and other foil types.
• Etc., etc, etc.

Laminating of finished prints is only needed when the work will be exposed to abrasion, harsh chemicals or you desire for it to have the maximum in sun fade durability instead of the normal 3 to 5 years for most colors.

 

[Bert Wondervan]

I had such an old gerber edge with the original supplied software "Graphix Advantage 6.0". That software was compatible with Win XP, 98, 95. I used FlexiSIGN and SignLab for Windows 10, 8, 7.
I sold the machine with the original software to someone last year and I always have SignLab and flexiSign here. Maybe you are interested?

 

[davedavedave]

Bret thx i will git back at you after i tried the free versions

Fred thx a lot for your help. i know about spot colors thats why i got me a gerber, its the closest to screenprinting...
lets see how it works out with flex or signlab... i will be on the look out for omega for sure..

also can anybody recomend a chrome vinyl? since im not a buisness i dont have many shops to look at...

somebody told me its cheaper to use clear vinyl and use chrome as a "color cartridge"

 

[CA Creative Group]

I would agree with Fred, he is well versed with Gerber and reading a lot of his responses to other peoples posts helped me get running on my Gerber Edges.

I've used Flex since the late 90's so I am familiar with how it functions. I didn't get omega with my Gerber machine so I leveraged Flexi to run them and can confirm the following is supported and I've used.

• Assigning of spot colors to individual vectors.
• Assigning of what happens when one spot color overprints another ... Knockout base, overprint base
• Assigning of print only, cut only or print and cut attributes to a vector path.
• Chokes, spreads and traps to prevent gaps when colors touch other colors.
• Bleed cut creation.
  
• Controls for the order in which spot colors are printed.

If you can find Omega that would be the way to go as Fred mentioned it was made for the Edge. I've tried looking for it myself with not much luck at a reasonable cost.

I've always do my design work in Corel but I am slowly moving to doing it in Flexi with the workspace setup as Corel. Even if you design in Illustrator you will need to reassign your colors once you're in Flexi using the Gerber color swatch which is double work. In order to make use of spot colors you will import the Gerber Foil Color pallet into Flexi otherwise if you print with the colors you setup when you designed in Illustrator it will print in CMYK.

Edge for me is great with spot colors but CMYK prints are okay for viewing at a distance so not best for close up images depending on what you're printing. I usually create my designs to leverage spot colors as much as possible which does take a bit of work as you have to insert a different foil for each color as others mentioned.

Depending on how much chrome you will have visible on your print it may be better to print it vs printing on chrome vinyl as the vinyl has a shorter outdoor life rating then the foil print I believe.

I looked it up and Gerber metalized foil is rated at 2 years and depending on vinyl brand they are rated as low as 6 months to over 2 years depending on application.