ctvinyldecals 0 Posted June 25, 2013 Hi, my name is Teresa..hi everyone I just got in my Graphtec CE-5000 Vinyl Cutter Bundle with coral draw x5. I have everything set up. watched the coral draw video- not helpful at all..if I were doing photo editing maybe. but I'm not just want to cut something. I'm not sure what to do in coral draw. I'm not sue which one to open or what to do from the very start do I want to to open. do I want a quick start or do a want to open a letter? I just don't know??? I want to cry and I'm hating the sale person for talking me into this package. I heard it was hard, wanted roland with an easy cutting program. but no i let some new sales person talk me into something I don't know how to use. I thought since I knew how to edit photos maybe I could figure this out. NO.........i have put a request for help in support. so far nothing. very confuse, and ready to pack up and send back, 2 days and no closer to knowing nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xpaperman 719 Posted June 25, 2013 Well, I assure you, you have a great machine and Corel is good too. When I got corel in my package I was a bit timid at first but since I had an auto cad background I knew I would figure it out and i have. Most of the basic stuff to get me by anyhow. You are in the right place for sure here on these forums. There are a lot of knowledgeable folks here and lots of them are willing to help. Most of them will not do your work for you but are more than happy to help you as long as your making an effort. Lets start with your first project. What is it that you are wanting to do exactly? Open or input a photo? Convert it so it can be cut on the cutter? Take a breath, you can do this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted June 25, 2013 Trust me you have a great machine, . There are many tutorials out there for Corel.. Youtube.com has many. Take Baby steps and learn your machine, Then Baby steps and start with simple things in Corel. .Then use the plugin for Corel to CuttingMaster2, And you will be cutting away. Cutter Command must be on GP-GL to use Cutting Master2. Use Graphtec Command HP-GL for any other regular cutting software. LIke Flexi or Signblazer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maddog 12 Posted June 25, 2013 I could be wrong, but isn't Corel just a design & Photo's Program? Won't she need a cutting program (SignBlazer which is a Free program)to make even a simple cut? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted June 25, 2013 I could be wrong, but isn't Corel just a design & Photo's Program? Won't she need a cutting program (SignBlazer which is a Free program)to make even a simple cut? You are absolutely correct. The very first thing that young Theresa should do is download & install SignBlazer --- http://support.uscutter.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/GetAttachment/190/24198 Once she obtains her first cuts of TEXT then she can proceed to work within the Corel environment (with the cutting plug-in that should have been provided by the seller of the Graphtec). I have never found SignBlazer to be insufficient for my sign production needs. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rlvied 292 Posted June 25, 2013 I recently Bought a Graphtec 6000 and it came with a plug in for cutting from AI or Corel called cut master.I have used the ai plug in and so far it seem to work great Bob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ctvinyldecals 0 Posted June 25, 2013 I did not get SignBlazer and I'm not sure where to get it? I'm not seeing it on us cutter site . the cut master that comes with does not let me cut anything from it. and when I go to the app launcher and to cut /plot nothing happens it says running coral draw not found? I have watched so many youtubes there is nothing that is simple. at this piont I just want to know I can cut the letter T or P I don't care. anything . it doesn't seem like the coral draw is hooked up to anything that goes to the cutter? support was no help. not their problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xpaperman 719 Posted June 25, 2013 use the link above from Slice&Dice.... that should get you signblazer (it's free) It is a very good software and easy to use for beginners. Once you download it and install it you should be cutting letters in no time. You won't be able to cut from corel. corel is used mostly for your design and artwork. Then you have to export the file and import it to signblazer to cut it. You can also design within signblazer too if you wish. Get signblazer first tho! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mabscotthandyman 1,410 Posted June 25, 2013 Hello and welcome . You bought one of the best cutters on the market . You can use corel to open or design your designs and cut in cut master . Also like Slice suggested you can download signblazer and use it for design and cutting . There is clipart in the library in signblazer and a great text with wingdings and dingbats . Plus you can open most eps files in signblazer . You can buy clipart ready to cut from us cutter and from ebay. You will catch on a lot quicker then you think and be offering info to newbies in no time . Good luck and welcome Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OWJones 1,981 Posted June 26, 2013 You can cut from CorelDraw with the Cut Master plugin which came on tbe CD with your Graphtec, which also has videos for using the Graphtec software. It can be a little overwhelming to start, but it is extremely powerful and will give you lots more options than Signblazer. If all you want to do is cut some basic stuff to start then get Signblazer, but if you eventually want to do more advanced designs then you'll want to switch to CorelDraw. I use CorelDraw for all of my design work, feel free to ask me questions if you need additional guidance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ctvinyldecals 0 Posted June 26, 2013 Thanks for all the help, I ran the update on the cut master 2 and was able to get something cut, also turned a Harley sign into vector and cut. so we are up and learning now. I was so stressed out, and was thinking what did I get myself into.. But thankfully I'm happy and not so stressed out. Now I feel like I can relax and learn, And I have allot to learn, vinyl cutter, Cap press, shirt Press and coral draw 5x. thanks all. Teresa. Ps I think I may to a stating off with coral draw for dummy's video. lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OWJones 1,981 Posted June 27, 2013 also turned a Harley sign into vector and cut There are certain brands you don't ever want to talk about violating copyrights for - Harley Davidson, Monster Energy Drink, DeWalt and many others - you shouldn't violate anyone's copyrights, but you don't want to go online and mention doing so for those brands especially... Their lawyers have itchy trigger fingers... Even doing it for practice or for your own use is a violation... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xpaperman 719 Posted June 27, 2013 I bet it was a typo... probably meant Narley sign... you know, slang..... meaning a really rad or kick a$$ sign..... I am almost positive that is what it was supposed to say 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted July 2, 2013 Teresa, you will get it figured out with a little learning and patience. Most if not all of us were in your shoes once ourselves. I draw in Illustrator but it is similar to Corel as is Inkscape. All of these design programs are working in vector format which to be simple is just a bunch of lines and curves rather than images like photoshop. The lines and curves may have a line weight and may be connected into objects that can have fills but if you remember that your cutter is looking at it as a line it will help your minds-eye comprehend what you need to do to get all the technical mumbo-jumbo figured out. I would imagine that Corel will have an option to look at the graphic in an outline mode. It's a good idea to switch to outline mode once in a while to spot any mistakes you might be making. Objects with lineweight will trick you into thinking you are ready to cut out a cool design or text and it will not turn out like what you thought without converting things over to objects. As mentioned above, start simple and then you can work into more advanced stuff. You do have a lot of learning to do but it will surprise you how fast you will catch on and then once the basics are no problem then you can start fine tuning and getting more technical and really turn out some sweet stuff. Your graphtec is a great machine that is several levels above what a lot of people start out with. I just barely upgraded after 2-1/2 yrs with a P-Cut which is a very basic model and was able to run a fully functional sign business this whole time. If you have a pen attachment you might invest in some butcher paper and use the pen before you cut for a while as you learn so you don't waste as much vinyl as I did when I started. If it looks right with the pen then you just have to get the knife depth, pressure and speed set right and your cuts will come out good too. Good luck and have fun! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
