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Sign Go Pro.... ????
- Thread starter 2xcapers
- Start date
Craig Sjoquist
New Member
welcome to a outstanding forum and people
Bigdawg
Just Me
It might be...where are you buying the cutter from... deSay?
Not sure of the functionality of the program...but know what Corel could/would do for you...it is the easier and cheaper between Illly and Corel... and is more of an industry standard then sign go so should you have problems odds are you can find some knowledgeable help here...
Not sure of the functionality of the program...but know what Corel could/would do for you...it is the easier and cheaper between Illly and Corel... and is more of an industry standard then sign go so should you have problems odds are you can find some knowledgeable help here...
Bigdawg
Just Me
I would. It's fairly cheap. Fairly easy to use and will do everything you want it to. Use whatever software desay provides to cut, (I use easysign to go to my masters cutter), but use a real design program to set things up.
Easiest if you start doing things the right way from the beginning rather then trying to make do with a PITA program...
Easiest if you start doing things the right way from the beginning rather then trying to make do with a PITA program...
JPGraphics
New Member
Try not to buy a Master Cutter if you can....
Buy one of these instead...
http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43931
As a Master Cutter owner, experienced in the industry, I highly reccomend buying one listed here, as I did.
Just my .02
Buy one of these instead...
http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43931
As a Master Cutter owner, experienced in the industry, I highly reccomend buying one listed here, as I did.
Just my .02
Techman
New Member
get corel draw,, use cocout or cocut pro and never be left in a lurch.. Using main stream software leaves you in a strong position.
Using little known or even entry level software and very few can help you. Then if the day ever comes where you would wish to sell you will get a better return.
Using little known or even entry level software and very few can help you. Then if the day ever comes where you would wish to sell you will get a better return.
2x,
It looks to me from what I see in the attached PDF link that Sign Go Pro is pretty much a full featured sign design and cutting program. It should let you get started by laying out and cutting most of your designs.
http://www.masterwarehouse.com/pdf/signgo_ds.pdf
If I can offer up some advice, do these things;
1)...Get your plotter and software, get it setup and working, then learn what it will do for you and how everything works. It looks like the Pro version of that software will actually take you pretty far. You will eventually need that good software, but alot of the basics can be learned in that program and you will not have other outside problems that you don't need to deal with when starting out.
2)...Unless you have some design background or history with graphics programs, jumping right into a full fledged design program is over kill to start. If you are going to drop what you are doing and jump into signs and graphics full time, a graphic design program is needed sooner rather than later. If you are not going full time, the learning curve will be much easier, shorter and you will be provided with a much better insight as to what Sign Go Pro will do for you by sticking to designing in it. It will also get you up and cutting your designs faster and that is really what it is all about to start.
3)...Don't expect to be design guru right out of the box. Sign Go Pro has plenty of design elements and trick stuff related to cool vinyl graphic design to get you stated while you focus on learning good, fundamentally sound design. Another thing, for just laying out text and basic graphics and decals, programs Like Sign Go Pro are often easier to learn on. They cut out alot of the fancy bells and whistles that a beginning designer does not need to be detracted by or tempted to use in the wrong way. You will learn in that program what is cuttable and what is not, and that what is most important to plotter are the lines it sees or the vectors (you will here that term alot). Knowing this will help you create better and more advanced designs.
4)...Practice, practice, practice and then practice some more in Sign Go Pro. Depending on how much time you spend using and learning that program, will really dictate how ready you are to move on to graphic design program. The more you know from Sign Go Pro, will only help you to jump into Corel or Illustrator that much faster. You could be ready in 2-3 weeks or 2-3 months or longer. Also, depending on what you are looking to do or make with you plotter, you may not need another program at all. That is up to you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now after all of that, if you really feel like you need one of those other programs here are some things to know.
CorelDraw - Probably the best bang for your buck professional design program for signs. Most of the people on this forum and in the industry use it. It is an easier program to learn than Adobe Illustrator for most people. CorelDraw X3 can be purchased off of EBAY for $100 to $125 for a legal, full retail version (NOT ACADEMIC) with no manuals or books. It is worth going this route if you are the type that doesn't read or use the books. It will also not give you the book to the clip art disk that comes with CorelDraw, so that may or may not make a difference to you. I cannot tell you what a full, legal box version (with the books) is going for, maybe some others can. Check Amazon.com. CorelDraw is also a suite of programs that comes with PhotoPaint (a raster based, photo editing and design program, similar to PhotoShop) and Font Navigator (a font utility program that lets see and manage your fonts). There is also Corel Draw X4, it is very new and almost identical to X3, I say save your money, get X3 if you buy Corel.
InkScape - Is a freeware, open source, vector based design program that will work more like Corel than your Sign Go Pro will. It is relatively new and because it is open source software, it means it is constantly being upgraded, bugs being fixed or being added to. I have not used it, but I here it is fairly easy to learn. Again, it is free, so why not check it out. http://www.inkscape.org/
Adobe Illustrator - It is the top end product for vector design. It is also the most expensive. It goes for @ $200 and up for CS3, and @ $300 and up for CS4 (the newest version). It is often used by Ad Agencies, Illustrator, Graphic Design Firms, etc. as well as most larger sign shops. If you go to college to learn graphic design they teach adobe classes and you will learn Illustrator, not CorelDraw. I would say it is the more technical program to learn. Most say it is not as easy to learn as Corel.
Corel and Illustrator for the most part do the same things just in different ways. You will not go wrong with either, it is a matter of preference and the factors above.
Well 2x, Welcome to Signs 101! :Welcome:
I would venture to say this the longest post to ever help a noobie out, you now know more than any other noobie to the board. Must have been your lucky day!
Good Luck and Best Wishes with your new gear!
PS -None of this gospel, others may feel differently or know other things than what I stated here.
It looks to me from what I see in the attached PDF link that Sign Go Pro is pretty much a full featured sign design and cutting program. It should let you get started by laying out and cutting most of your designs.
http://www.masterwarehouse.com/pdf/signgo_ds.pdf
If I can offer up some advice, do these things;
1)...Get your plotter and software, get it setup and working, then learn what it will do for you and how everything works. It looks like the Pro version of that software will actually take you pretty far. You will eventually need that good software, but alot of the basics can be learned in that program and you will not have other outside problems that you don't need to deal with when starting out.
2)...Unless you have some design background or history with graphics programs, jumping right into a full fledged design program is over kill to start. If you are going to drop what you are doing and jump into signs and graphics full time, a graphic design program is needed sooner rather than later. If you are not going full time, the learning curve will be much easier, shorter and you will be provided with a much better insight as to what Sign Go Pro will do for you by sticking to designing in it. It will also get you up and cutting your designs faster and that is really what it is all about to start.
3)...Don't expect to be design guru right out of the box. Sign Go Pro has plenty of design elements and trick stuff related to cool vinyl graphic design to get you stated while you focus on learning good, fundamentally sound design. Another thing, for just laying out text and basic graphics and decals, programs Like Sign Go Pro are often easier to learn on. They cut out alot of the fancy bells and whistles that a beginning designer does not need to be detracted by or tempted to use in the wrong way. You will learn in that program what is cuttable and what is not, and that what is most important to plotter are the lines it sees or the vectors (you will here that term alot). Knowing this will help you create better and more advanced designs.
4)...Practice, practice, practice and then practice some more in Sign Go Pro. Depending on how much time you spend using and learning that program, will really dictate how ready you are to move on to graphic design program. The more you know from Sign Go Pro, will only help you to jump into Corel or Illustrator that much faster. You could be ready in 2-3 weeks or 2-3 months or longer. Also, depending on what you are looking to do or make with you plotter, you may not need another program at all. That is up to you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now after all of that, if you really feel like you need one of those other programs here are some things to know.
CorelDraw - Probably the best bang for your buck professional design program for signs. Most of the people on this forum and in the industry use it. It is an easier program to learn than Adobe Illustrator for most people. CorelDraw X3 can be purchased off of EBAY for $100 to $125 for a legal, full retail version (NOT ACADEMIC) with no manuals or books. It is worth going this route if you are the type that doesn't read or use the books. It will also not give you the book to the clip art disk that comes with CorelDraw, so that may or may not make a difference to you. I cannot tell you what a full, legal box version (with the books) is going for, maybe some others can. Check Amazon.com. CorelDraw is also a suite of programs that comes with PhotoPaint (a raster based, photo editing and design program, similar to PhotoShop) and Font Navigator (a font utility program that lets see and manage your fonts). There is also Corel Draw X4, it is very new and almost identical to X3, I say save your money, get X3 if you buy Corel.
InkScape - Is a freeware, open source, vector based design program that will work more like Corel than your Sign Go Pro will. It is relatively new and because it is open source software, it means it is constantly being upgraded, bugs being fixed or being added to. I have not used it, but I here it is fairly easy to learn. Again, it is free, so why not check it out. http://www.inkscape.org/
Adobe Illustrator - It is the top end product for vector design. It is also the most expensive. It goes for @ $200 and up for CS3, and @ $300 and up for CS4 (the newest version). It is often used by Ad Agencies, Illustrator, Graphic Design Firms, etc. as well as most larger sign shops. If you go to college to learn graphic design they teach adobe classes and you will learn Illustrator, not CorelDraw. I would say it is the more technical program to learn. Most say it is not as easy to learn as Corel.
Corel and Illustrator for the most part do the same things just in different ways. You will not go wrong with either, it is a matter of preference and the factors above.
Well 2x, Welcome to Signs 101! :Welcome:
I would venture to say this the longest post to ever help a noobie out, you now know more than any other noobie to the board. Must have been your lucky day!
Good Luck and Best Wishes with your new gear!
PS -None of this gospel, others may feel differently or know other things than what I stated here.
crazy_jay_25
New Member
I started with a Master Cutter doing mobile work and it didn't make it 2 months. It came with SignGo Lite which I still use to cut from but design in Corel 12. SignGo will get you up and running but is limited in features. Just my .02...