Tip: I Loaded SignLab Demo Using SANDBOXIE

[player]

Sandboxie has a free version of it's program. You load Sandboxie, then open it. From within Sandboxie you install the program. Then within the sandbox you run the program.
When you want to remove the demo program, every trace of it is removed, because it is never really installed... No register keys, dlls, etc.. Sandboxie completely isolates everything within the Sandbox from getting anywhere into your computer. It is also a good way to surf, or do anything because it protects your computer from everything and anything as long as it is within the sandbox.

Just thought someone might want to know about this.

 

[J Hill Designs]

Interesting, thanks

 

[player]

You can set it so all the windows that are open (programs, browsers, install boxes etc) have a yellow box that lights up when you touch the perimeter with your mouse. This way you know you are running that window or program safely sandboxed. The title in any window running in a sandbox will also have: [#] Signlab 9.1 [#] Hashtags in square brackets at the start and end of the name of the window...

 

[James Burke]

Well...what did you think of SL?


JB

 

[player]

I have to take some lessons before I can say...

It seems to be cool.

I have a Roland printer, so I can use Versaworks, I don't really need the rip, and Corel, or Illustrator etc. + Photoshop can probably cover most of the ground that Signlab does.

I will most likely buy it because it never hurts to get a top program for that price...

You?

 

[James Burke]

You?

Well....here's the long answer:

SignLab was recommended to me nine years ago by a colleague. As a "newbie" at that time, I had only experience with Illustrator and CorelDraw.

Basically, he tutored me in SignLab over the telephone for a few sessions and then I began learning on my own. The rest has been history.

Since we do primarily monument work, I just started using Omega this summer (Gerber also has a heck of a deal going on as well). There are some benefits there because Omega is an industry standard among many of my colleagues in the trade, and there are many more fonts suitable for memorials in Omega.

As nice as Omega is, however, there are some key benefits to SignLab that are not quite the same in Omega. Due to the competitive nature of my work, I will decline to say just what specific SignLab features we use the most, but there is a vast difference in several areas.

Likewise, there are some primary Omega functions that stand out from the rest of the pack, and so we'll use those strengths to our advantage also.

Believe me...we've logged many hours of real-world side by side comparisons, and we were unable to justify sticking to just one program. I wish we could, but they each stand on their own.

If I had my way about it, I would roll the best features of Omega, SignLab, AutoCAD, Illustrator and CorelDraw all into one big program. But since that's never going to happen, I'll continue using all of them. We took over some accounts from a local business that moved out of town. All of his work was done in Corel and he handed us his entire library of customer files, hence the need for Corel. Last year (or the year before) Corel allowed you to cross grade to a full commercial copy of X6 for $195 if you had Adobe.

To date, we've nailed just about every special price offer on each title over the past three years. I haven't paid full price for anything. We're using this latest offer from SignLab to set up another division in another city near us.

JB

 

[J Hill Designs]

I can see monuments being a lucrative business. lotta ppl dyin

 

[player]

I can see monuments being a lucrative business. lotta ppl dyin

I saw a lady on the reality show "Extreme Cheapskates" who made her own big tombstone out of USED KITTY LITTER!

 

[James Burke]

I can see monuments being a lucrative business. lotta ppl dyin

Not as much as you think. A lot of competitive changes are going on with cremation, "green burial" (no casket, headstone) and etc., that have made things more challenging for monument makers. There has also been a bevy of unscrupulous wannabes jumping on the band wagon as well...but they've actually helped our business.

We've found a bit of a niche with natural boulder memorials. We're in rural area, and just about every farm family has a unique stone that grandpa moved to a fence row when he was a boy. They haul them in on a trailer, and I engrave them. The deep ties to each particular stone make it that more special to the family (and keeps me very busy).

Also, due to the high cost of dying, many families are bringing back the idea of private cemeteries by sectioning off a minimum of one acre of their farm. In keeping with the natural setting, they usually opt for a natural stone instead of something that looks manufactured.

I won't advertise our website here, but if you PM me I'll give you the link.


JB