Announcing Sure Cuts A Lot Pro

[BannerJohn 1,324]

The ban hammer is a bit dusty but I have an air compressor to blow the dust off.

[jaybyrd 3,770]

I typed and deleted several times before deciding to open my mouth on this but slice&dice having been GIVEN a copy to try and evaluate makes no sense to me. If your evaluation was negative that is fine, better unbiased than sugarcoated but i have read on here numerous complaints by s&d and can't figure out how somebody who decided in the first 5 minutes to call it quits can have enough time in with this program to make any kind of evaluation let alone a bad one. I purchased the program because any software for $50 is worth a try and can honestly say the cut end of the software worked so well that it saved me from buying another machine (sorry USCutter, maybe next time). And before get any crap I run a brick and mortar store and make my living with my equipment same as you. Been doing it for 5 years now through the worst economy most of us will ever see and USCutter machines and supplies kept me going even when my local supplier sold out 2 different times and saw fit to raise their prices each time. So like they taught us in kindergarten if you don't have anything nice to say, just be quiet.

Jay

[mabscotthandyman 1,410]

I typed and deleted several times before deciding to open my mouth on this but slice&dice having been GIVEN a copy to try and evaluate makes no sense to me. If your evaluation was negative that is fine, better unbiased than sugarcoated but i have read on here numerous complaints by s&d and can't figure out how somebody who decided in the first 5 minutes to call it quits can have enough time in with this program to make any kind of evaluation let alone a bad one. I purchased the program because any software for $50 is worth a try and can honestly say the cut end of the software worked so well that it saved me from buying another machine (sorry USCutter, maybe next time). And before get any crap I run a brick and mortar store and make my living with my equipment same as you. Been doing it for 5 years now through the worst economy most of us will ever see and USCutter machines and supplies kept me going even when my local supplier sold out 2 different times and saw fit to raise their prices each time. So like they taught us in kindergarten if you don't have anything nice to say, just be quiet.

Jay

Well said a little patenice and perserverance goes a long way that is the way shoestring companys keep going when even larger companys close the doors .

[Rodger 527]

I typed and deleted several times before deciding to open my mouth on this but slice&dice having been GIVEN a copy to try and evaluate makes no sense to me. If your evaluation was negative that is fine, better unbiased than sugarcoated but i have read on here numerous complaints by s&d and can't figure out how somebody who decided in the first 5 minutes to call it quits can have enough time in with this program to make any kind of evaluation let alone a bad one. I purchased the program because any software for $50 is worth a try and can honestly say the cut end of the software worked so well that it saved me from buying another machine (sorry USCutter, maybe next time). And before get any crap I run a brick and mortar store and make my living with my equipment same as you. Been doing it for 5 years now through the worst economy most of us will ever see and USCutter machines and supplies kept me going even when my local supplier sold out 2 different times and saw fit to raise their prices each time. So like they taught us in kindergarten if you don't have anything nice to say, just be quiet.

Jay

I agree 100 % . I always try to " give the Devil his due " ... Slice is like me in that we like SignBlazer an extreme amount & have hoped it would be released in an evolved form . I have tried the evolved SB softtware & it had not evolved that much . I am sure it would be by the time it was released ( they are still going thru major trials & tribulations to release it !!! ) . Many of the HotShot & SB Pro features were going to be included . SB fits me like an old glove , but with no company support , updates at all & the time it has been supportless ... it is time for something for a newbie & SCAL seems to be it . InkScape & SignCut are great , but a design & cut software is where it is at for a newbie to an expert . I feel loyalty to SB & it's maker Jerry & to those trying to release it as an evolved software , but it isn't available & nobody knows for 100 % sure when it will be , if ever . It is not a sure thing . I can only imagine the money & time it takes even without the legal hassles after Jerry passed . With those hassles , a terrible task with 2 parties owning specific rights to the software . I am sure Slice is having a hard time seperating loyalty to SB & giving SCAL a unbiased try . His rant is way out of character for him IMO . Even if the evolved SB software was released tomorrow & it did everything but add weedlines anywhere you want as SCAL does , I would still consider SCAL Pro @ $200 a deal & especially a deal @ $50 . I was given a SCAL 3 disc & have spent as much time as my mental state will allow ( has been a HARD year ) . Comparing it to SB as a newbie is not relevent because of SB being dated , so the real issue to people who like SB is .... How do you rate it for a newbie ? Learn SB that is dated & has the possibility of never having a rebirth or being suppported/updated or learn a software that designs & cuts ... & is at the tiop of the list at EdgeCraft & USC to be what SB was to many of us . Simple choice for me right now . The main thing I agree with Jaybird about is it being well worth $50 to try any software . I expect the bugs will get worked out extremely quickly & features added constantly . USC looks out for it's customers & with the joint venture with EdgeCraft , I assume they do the same !!! ( end of my rant [ 4 now ] )

[jaybyrd 3,770]

So far development and updates for this program are happening at a blazing speed (almost as fast as the windows patches but with much better results) .If this continues I may park Corel for a while and try to learn some of the other features of SCAL Pro. I played with SCAL Pro for a few minutes today and like some of the features but it still has that hobby feel to me. I would have never left SB for Corel if not for the inability to transfer my licence when Jerry passed. I was gun shy about dealing with another company that could cease business with the loss of 1 person which is why I tried Corel. When I bought the program I thought lifetime meant mine not the company... I still have a copy on both of my work pc's and use from time to time but back when this happened it just didn't seem very professional having to wait for the trial screen to clear with a customer standing beside me.

Jay

[speleopower 46]

Again I'm very new to vinyl cutting and graphics software. But for $59 total I will take a new software!!!

If they get the node editing simplified and .eps support I will use it all the time. But for now I have to jump between Inkscape, SignBlazer and Sure Cuts A Lot. But since I see the writting on the wall and the end near for SignBlazer I"m giving SCAL a good long trial.

-Scott

[Jay2703 704]

So far development and updates for this program are happening at a blazing speed (almost as fast as the windows patches but with much better results) .If this continues I may park Corel for a while and try to learn some of the other features of SCAL Pro. I played with SCAL Pro for a few minutes today and like some of the features but it still has that hobby feel to me. I would have never left SB for Corel if not for the inability to transfer my licence when Jerry passed. I was gun shy about dealing with another company that could cease business with the loss of 1 person which is why I tried Corel. When I bought the program I thought lifetime meant mine not the company... I still have a copy on both of my work pc's and use from time to time but back when this happened it just didn't seem very professional having to wait for the trial screen to clear with a customer standing beside me.

Jay

There are patches so the trial screen will go away.

[jaybyrd 3,770]

I hate node editing in SB. Learned how in Corel and i think what we learn in is usually what we are most comfortable with. Change is hard... Everybody tells me to try Illustrator but I think when you find something you're comfortable with it's hard to let go.

Jay

[liquidfusion 69]

For whatever unknown reason I can no longer "LIKE" posts by members, as there were ones above that I cant like enough... From the noob standpoint, I like scalpro, and really like the fact that they are supporting the end users. I have no doubt that long hours are being put in to resolve bugs... As a noob I will say that I like the overall layout and interface, as its very friendly, and straigh forward. I like the fact that you dont need a PhD in NanoPhysics to edit and manipulate things, and get them to cut. Maybe its because Im a noob, but Im in the dark as to why one company prefers to use svg, and another uses eps... Overall, while I was at first frustrated, I am enjoying the software, and at 60 bucks to my door was a no brainer... Like someone said, change is hard, and I know myself as a human,,, if it doesnt plug n play, my next path is frustrated, which is just before I get on the road to step back, and reassess...

[speleopower 46]

Yup I learned node editing in Corel on I think a 30 day trial download of CorelDraw X6 when I first got my cutter but decided not to buy Corel because SignBlazer and Inkscape are easy to use and free.

When I got SCAL I set a benchmark project and was not able to complete it due to the clunky node editing portion of the program. Along the way of learning SCAL I learned it is great at somethings and I use it for my primary cutting program now. I did this project 100% with SCAL since it is simple circles off set to each other.

-Scott

[BearlyRich 167]

Yes... No... I agree 100%... Don't agee at all... What?

I would like to add a comment after installing scalp and giving it a quick run through. Since there are now so many threads about it, I wound up here for some odd reason?

So I did install it on my cutting computer as I was afraid of their really stupid licensing scheme. First thing I found out was that if left un-activated, it works in a demo mode that may (haven't yet tested fully) allow designing and saving but not cutting. That's okay with me as I only cut with one computer but design on several. However that cut-computer is far from permanent which means I still hate their licensing scheme!

Then I installed the .37 update to make sure I was runnign the latest version...

Next I tried a quick simple design. This is where I do disagree with the comment that 5 minutes isn't enough for an evaluation... The zoom function is horreendous! Have they ever used a design program? Where's the rubber-band box for zooming? Took me way too long just to figure out how to zoom. Bad design...

Node editing? Sorry, I couldn't even find it and by that time I decided to give up and leave it for another day when I had more free time to work with it.

Yep, took me 5 minutes to figure out that this software is just not good enough yet. I understand they are working on it and updating it and that's good. I can design with it on as many computers as I wish (I hope!) and that's good. But no EPS support at all?? No excuse at all! There's even planty of freeewaree open source EPS libraries they could have used. I have absolutely no SVG files to import. Everything I have is in EPS format as most people here and everywhere else in the world. Hopefully they will evenmtually add this as it's desparately needed along with proper zooming features.

I'm not giving up on scalp yet but it did leave a very bad taste after my first run-through... Of course I'll have to convert a few of my files over to SVG to be able to see how scalp handles some of the larger and more complex designs. Then I'll try actual cutting to see if it's really better. I'll hold on to some hopes for scalp, but give the devil his due and realize that the first impression of this can be quite bad... And to be honest, quite a few p[eople have had complaints about SB which I do use and find very friendly and easy to use so to each his own.

My only suggestions are for users to give it more than 5 minutes as I will when I get the time and for the developers to read this forum and take care of the problems. Then maybe we'll all be happy...

[BannerJohn 1,324]

You can install on another computer if you deactivate it on the one you have it installed on. It's that simple.

[mopar691 281]

Yes... No... I agree 100%... Don't agee at all... What?

I would like to add a comment after installing scalp and giving it a quick run through. Since there are now so many threads about it, I wound up here for some odd reason?

So I did install it on my cutting computer as I was afraid of their really stupid licensing scheme. First thing I found out was that if left un-activated, it works in a demo mode that may (haven't yet tested fully) allow designing and saving but not cutting. That's okay with me as I only cut with one computer but design on several. However that cut-computer is far from permanent which means I still hate their licensing scheme!

Then I installed the .37 update to make sure I was runnign the latest version...

Next I tried a quick simple design. This is where I do disagree with the comment that 5 minutes isn't enough for an evaluation... The zoom function is horreendous! Have they ever used a design program? Where's the rubber-band box for zooming? Took me way too long just to figure out how to zoom. Bad design...

Node editing? Sorry, I couldn't even find it and by that time I decided to give up and leave it for another day when I had more free time to work with it.

Yep, took me 5 minutes to figure out that this software is just not good enough yet. I understand they are working on it and updating it and that's good. I can design with it on as many computers as I wish (I hope!) and that's good. But no EPS support at all?? No excuse at all! There's even planty of freeewaree open source EPS libraries they could have used. I have absolutely no SVG files to import. Everything I have is in EPS format as most people here and everywhere else in the world. Hopefully they will evenmtually add this as it's desparately needed along with proper zooming features.

I'm not giving up on scalp yet but it did leave a very bad taste after my first run-through... Of course I'll have to convert a few of my files over to SVG to be able to see how scalp handles some of the larger and more complex designs. Then I'll try actual cutting to see if it's really better. I'll hold on to some hopes for scalp, but give the devil his due and realize that the first impression of this can be quite bad... And to be honest, quite a few p[eople have had complaints about SB which I do use and find very friendly and easy to use so to each his own.

My only suggestions are for users to give it more than 5 minutes as I will when I get the time and for the developers to read this forum and take care of the problems. Then maybe we'll all be happy...

I do agree with about everything you have stated. This was really ramped up as something that was supposed to be great. From my time with it it did not do as promised. was not working with advertised cutters, is really rough on node side and i'm sorry but no eps support? why even release this without supporting one of the most basic formats in this industry?

I played with it for 10 min here and there on and off for about a week. Never did cut a file with it but really no need to.

I feel this was released very prematurely and was a bad decision to not even evaluate this program in house in a real use setting. This was sold right out of the gate with cutters that it would not even function with. I am curious as to how many people bought plotters with this bundled in and are sitting there unable to get them to function because they are not forum junkies and know they have to update this with patch fixes every day.

I am sure there will be alot of people who like it and some who love it. I did not like signblazer, although I do use it when i am on locations and such, was hoping SCALpro would replace this but the way this software sits I would not even try or recommend to anyone.

It has a ways to go to be a viable tool and be something that is usefull. Maybe if one is a complete noob and has zero experience with anything and no art on their computer then this would be a hot ticket but to make a transition from anything else to this is gunna be rough.

[tammy h 6]

THank you Banner John- that worked perfectly!

I'm not sure why I'm having trouble getting the help option up.

I was sure it said one of the nice things about this is that you can use this on 2 PC's at the same time- is that not true? I'm asking because I'm looking to purchase another PC and would like to use it on both. I guess it's not the end of the world if I can't - I'll just transfer to the new one- but if I can- it would be great.

Tammy

[Rodger 527]

Yes... No... I agree 100%... Don't agee at all... What?

I would like to add a comment after installing scalp and giving it a quick run through. Since there are now so many threads about it, I wound up here for some odd reason?

So I did install it on my cutting computer as I was afraid of their really stupid licensing scheme. First thing I found out was that if left un-activated, it works in a demo mode that may (haven't yet tested fully) allow designing and saving but not cutting. That's okay with me as I only cut with one computer but design on several. However that cut-computer is far from permanent which means I still hate their licensing scheme!

Then I installed the .37 update to make sure I was runnign the latest version...

Next I tried a quick simple design. This is where I do disagree with the comment that 5 minutes isn't enough for an evaluation... The zoom function is horreendous! Have they ever used a design program? Where's the rubber-band box for zooming? Took me way too long just to figure out how to zoom. Bad design...

Node editing? Sorry, I couldn't even find it and by that time I decided to give up and leave it for another day when I had more free time to work with it.

Yep, took me 5 minutes to figure out that this software is just not good enough yet. I understand they are working on it and updating it and that's good. I can design with it on as many computers as I wish (I hope!) and that's good. But no EPS support at all?? No excuse at all! There's even planty of freeewaree open source EPS libraries they could have used. I have absolutely no SVG files to import. Everything I have is in EPS format as most people here and everywhere else in the world. Hopefully they will evenmtually add this as it's desparately needed along with proper zooming features.

I'm not giving up on scalp yet but it did leave a very bad taste after my first run-through... Of course I'll have to convert a few of my files over to SVG to be able to see how scalp handles some of the larger and more complex designs. Then I'll try actual cutting to see if it's really better. I'll hold on to some hopes for scalp, but give the devil his due and realize that the first impression of this can be quite bad... And to be honest, quite a few p[eople have had complaints about SB which I do use and find very friendly and easy to use so to each his own.

My only suggestions are for users to give it more than 5 minutes as I will when I get the time and for the developers to read this forum and take care of the problems. Then maybe we'll all be happy...

Hey Bear .... You have not been happy ever since Roxy stopped posting ... Sorry Brother . BTW , you did remember to put your specks on when trying to find the zoom tool ( that is SO e-z , even Asssh can do it )

[BannerJohn 1,324]

I have tried it and currently it is running on a Windows and a Mac...at the same time. Additionally, I deactivated it on one computer and installed and activated it on another..which I can do as many times as I want.

[slice&dice 2,450]

OK, BannerJohn, that is great to hear, because I was a little confused (as was TammyH) since you previously offered the advice --

"You can install on another computer if you deactivate it on the one you have it installed on. It's that simple"

[BannerJohn 1,324]

OK, BannerJohn, that is great to hear, because I was a little confused (as was TammyH) since you previously offered the advice --

"You can install on another computer if you deactivate it on the one you have it installed on. It's that simple"

http://forum.uscutte...post__p__292846

my advice was in response to this:

So I did install it on my cutting computer as I was afraid of their really stupid licensing scheme. First thing I found out was that if left un-activated, it works in a demo mode that may (haven't yet tested fully) allow designing and saving but not cutting. That's okay with me as I only cut with one computer but design on several. However that cut-computer is far from permanent which means I still hate their licensing scheme!

it had nothing to do with running on two computers simultaneously.

[vinylmotivations 143]

You can have it activated on two machines for cutting at the same time, beyond that you can leave it deactivated for design.

[Jay2703 704]

You can have it activated on two machines for cutting at the same time, beyond that you can leave it deactivated for design.

If it's not activated, can you use the designs on another machine? I tried on my SCAL3 and the designs were messed up when I opened them on my machine that had SCAL3 licensed on it.

[speleopower 46]

Is anyone a member of the Craft Edge forum? Maybe there is a way to have more direct input to the software developers through their website.

Has there been an update since 3.037?

-Scott

[vinylmotivations 143]

There have been some unpublished updates for specific machines (Zen Black and Graphtec CE Series, added FC7000(partially) to the supported list) I believe the Dev is prepping another major update.

[mcshank 5]

Just a quick note here version 3.039 is out now. I wish there was a change log for us to view. It would be nice to know what changes have been made on each of the updates.

[sharbold 2]

They have added an export plugin for Inkscape.

http://www.craftedge.com/download/download_extras.html

[mcshank 5]

I just got it too.. All three of the plugins released are working for me.