Wildgoose

Super Moderators
  • Content Count

    6,513
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    293

Everything posted by Wildgoose

  1. Wildgoose

    Convert newer CS file to CS5 for me?

    Is this a CS6 file? PM it to me or post it here and I will see if I can do anything with it.
  2. Wildgoose

    Help With creating this

    You should probably post the final vector for us to borrow.
  3. Wildgoose

    just bought a USCutter SC Series Vinyl Cutter

    YouTube has several out there to get started. I would suggest installing the pen tool first before you actually try to cut vinyl. You can play around with either some regular 8.5" x 11" paper or get some butcher paper or some other larger options to play with to make sure you have the basics down. Then all you will have to do is change the pen out and get used to setting the blade depth and pressure and you will be golden.
  4. Wildgoose

    Cutting warped text

    Uh, I think he figured that out a while back but well said anyway.
  5. Wildgoose

    Font management

    I have Font Agent Pro but I use Illustrator which doesn't like you messing with the fonts so you have to re-start if you decide to add. Kind of a PIA so I have about 2K fonts loaded and the mac is still dealing with it fine. In the other programs you can just go to the font manager and deselect the ones you don't want to sift through. This is one of my few complaints about Illustrator that would be nice if they could figure out a good way to fix. I don't know about you guys but I spend more time digging through the fonts trying to find the "Perfect" one than I do almost anything else.
  6. I have a follow up question for some of you guys with printers: Do you have to print regularly or run cleaning cycles on these things to keep them from clogging? I have considered a printer at some point too but I don't want to be the guy that feels he HAS to print everything he can just to keep the machine working. I get a LOT of vinyl work because most of the local shops push the prints so much harder than the cut vinyl that it gives me room to come in under them and still make good money. I have to farm out any print work that I need but my overhead is next to nothing and I like it that way.
  7. Jay I think he was saying his dad paid high S&H from vista plus couldn't get the individualized names on the shirts. Knockonwood - I think you will have a great time with your press. When I was buying my initial set-up my wife convinced me to go ahead and get a press to play around with even if it was just for my own kids. Well after having the press I have been amazed at the percentage of work I have drummed up doing custom shirts. I never realized the market that was sitting there. Jiffyshirts is a great place to get shirts, they have cheap fast shipping and pretty good prices and a lot of variety. There are other options out there too. Statononlne and Sanmar to name two but jiffy has nice minimal or free shipping which equals the playing field on small orders.
  8. I always find it strangely satisfying when painters want vinyl.
  9. Wildgoose

    Which way to go?

    Oh I almost forgot. For small one off jobs I have set up an account with a couple local supply houses that sell cast vinyl by the yard so I can just buy enough for the job and can get it same day. You may have to have a business license or resellers permit to get an account set up though.
  10. Wildgoose

    Which way to go?

    I agree with what has been said so far. I originally bought a 48" cutter thinking I would need it and other than an occasional 30" roll I almost never need the extra width. My new cutter is 30". I have used the Green Star for temporary signage that won't be up very long and some for indoor wall graphics but like most of the rest I end up going with at least Oracal 651 (and 751 for vehicles and glass). It costs a little more but not that much. The market has enough room for the cost, you will have more in labor than materials usually so a few extra on the vinyl is nothing. I bought a starter kit when I started but there is a lot there that is just junk. You are going to want a good cutting mat and a decent straight edge. I have a 40" long cutter/ruler but I end up using a see through 24" craft ruler for a lot of the trimming after app tape. I have found that if I take a few extra minutes after cutting and applying the app tape to trim nice and consistent to the design it is easier to orientate on whatever I am placing the vinyl on and everything seems to go smoother. I ended up buying some good 3M squeegees at the local vinyl supply house that are better than the cheap ones you get in the starter kit. I give the cheap ones out to self installers. Lastly my advice is don't get too worried about stocking up on a bunch of vinyl colors. You will use tons of black and white and the rest will be very specific to the job. I brought in a bunch of rolls of what I assumed I would be using and several are still sitting there and are getting old now. Also I have had better luck with quality app tape than the cheap stuff. I keep a roll of 24", 15", 12" and 10". You can layer that if you must but it can cause bubbles at that lap joint when installing.
  11. Wildgoose

    Outlining font?

    If you are looking for an outline with a small space between the original letter you will have to do this twice to create a space to weed out between the two. IT will take you a while to get used to thinking outside the box but your brain will begin absorbing things and it will get easier. I think the guys are right about designing in another program. The design side of SCALP will work but is what we call Clunky and limited. I am sure there are some who have mastered the program and get by fine but most who get serious about this stuff end up with a better design program, then use SCALP to send it to the cutter. Or Flexi to do both but Flexi is a simplified way to say EXPENSIVE SIGN PROGRAM FOR THE INDEPENDENTLY WEALTHY. I think the lite intro version is comparable to some of the others in price but the full version is way out there. I played with SignBlazer and wasn't that impressed although there are several who swear by it. I personally use Adobe Illustrator and several others use Corel Draw which is cheaper and many say easier to learn. Inkscape is free and it's a fully functional vector program that for the price is outstanding.
  12. Wildgoose

    Hello Everyone

    That's nice up there, I'm down in Nampa. This is a great forum with tons of helpful people.
  13. Wildgoose

    oldie newbie here

    The crew here is a good bunch. Welcome. So what plotter/cutter did you end up with? They work pretty slick with the pen attachment. We did a huge wall poster in a crazy font and then colored it in by hand and everyone thought we were some sort of artistic guru's when in reality we cheated.
  14. Wildgoose

    Hello Everyone

    Welcome from Idaho, and don't ask "where the hell is Idaho". Ha ha!
  15. Wildgoose

    needing a little push on this vector

    Here is the Scorpion, or my version of it anyway. I didn't do any of the highlights or shadows 'cause I want it to cut clean and took my best guess at a few places that were fuzzy. Not sure what the text is. Its similar to Horizon BT but not and I couldn't find it in my collection. Scorpion.eps
  16. Wildgoose

    Lots of indoor vinyl questions!

    I love the "1.35 million" Jones. Awesome! Kelly. for smaller stuff I have used left over roll tubes, they are a little tight but you already bought them and they are tough. You will eventually accumulate at least a few and they are work saving. I don't ship much out but I often roll up orders on the outside to protect them when handing them off to customers. I have a felt squeegee that is really helpful on spray textured walls. Way to expensive to be sending them out in the mail though.
  17. Wildgoose

    Shirts and weight question

    what they said, plus I don't like trying to fight a washed garment. They tend to shrink and go out of shape a little and it is harder to get things centered and laying flat. I buy shirts from Jiffy and Sanmar. Jiffy doesn't care if you have a re-sellers license either. I also buy from Statononline they are a wholesaler that sometimes can save you a few bucks.
  18. Wildgoose

    Sorry everyone - SC vs PCUT

    I just sold my P-Cut last night. I will miss it to tell the truth. I absolutely LOVE the new cutter and wouldn't trade it back but the old unit did just great. Yes it was noisy and slow and tracked crappy but it got the job done just fine and on 90% of the work the final product was the same results. The other 10% and the ability to cut super small and really long and many hundreds of copies at once are the main reasons I switched. That and I just wanted to have a nice cutter, like someone wants to own a Mercedes sports car instead of a chevy. Just money and I guess a little bragging rights if your into that sort of thing.
  19. Wildgoose

    Tiling Problem

    You might look into SignCut as a cutting software. It tiles great. You have to design elsewhere like inkscape or illustrator or corel draw and import the design. I am not sure but I think they offer a two week free trial.
  20. Wildgoose

    needing a little push on this vector

    That's a cool design. I'm going to trace it out some time this week just so I can stick it on a t-shirt for myself. If no one gets to it before that I'll post it up.
  21. Wildgoose

    Tiling Problem

    Wow that was kind of a hostile answer. Maybe Skeeters having a bad day or something. I don't use signblazer so can't help you out much other than moral support. Sooner or later your going to do something that is bigger than your vinyl even if its 30" so unless your going to buy a 54" cutter then getting tiling figured out is just common sense and who wants to invest in 30" rolls just to have full width when you only do an occasional larger job anyway. There are several people who are signblazer gurus who will hopefully chime in with real help.
  22. Wildgoose

    Annoying weeding frame problem.

    Hey see that? That's what I call tech support, I guess I'll have to bump it up from decent to great. How often do you get a techie who actually shows up on the forums to help out. Not very. Way to go SignCut! I bought a new Summa a few months ago and they busted out a new driver for me in short order to get me up and running (which as I understand it Summa is a bit different so was a challenge).
  23. Wildgoose

    Backing for heat press vinyl

    If they are all the same I stack them and then just have to protect one surface. Peel and press.
  24. Wildgoose

    How to smooth out curves in Illustrator?

    What you are getting is distortion from having too many nodes in the curve. I would go in and remove all of those and just have the two corner nodes or maybe leave one about the middle and just make the curve simpler. There is a function to simplify the object that will try to interpret things with less nodes but it usually causes more issues other places than it helps if you are just fixing a few spots. Copy that to the clipboard then lock the original and paste in front the new and change to yellow or something so you can see the black behind and it will help keep from loosing the original shape as bad. You can also lower the opacity and see through the new one if you think you need to.