Sign Blazer Elements for DUMMIES??????

[Cre8tiveCutter 7]

Got my cutter yesterday, looks good, I've been admiring it...lol. Finally decided to dig in and give it whirl...NOT!!! I've been using my roland sticka 12 and cut studio, Never really looked at that book, just played around with the software and learned the basics.So anyway I followed the instructions and loaded the drivers etc etc. I did discover that I will have to get a pci serial card, I have a damn dozen usb ports and not one pci. Sooooo, i decided to play around with sign blazer. After an hour of frustration I decided this was NOT going to be an easy learn so I need to print the manual.....ok......an HOUR later I am done printing and placing in a 3 ring binder. I'm looking at it now, all 247 pages!!! WTF??? the first page says welcome to sign blazer 5, 5 pro, 5 hotshot....so where is signblazer ELEMENTS??? I'm willing to bet there are approx 25-40 pages on nothing but FONTS!!! Holy sh*t batman!! I'm amazed that people have figured this thing out and actually can cut! LOL! I dont understand the colors, I mean your cutting vinyl, you can add all sorts of pretty colors and designs to your font but I dont get why? at the end if your cutting white vinyl doesnt matter what color font you have and the fact that you can "shade it" different colors or add texture shouldnt matter right? your still cutting white vinyl LOL!! 

How do you figure out what version of signblazer goes with the elements? I have fewer brain cells than I had when I was 25, I really dont want to waste the few I do have on info I dont need! you know what i mean? LOL!! I have 4 kids 3 of them are boys, I hardly ever get thier names right when I call em for something! LOL!! I call one by the other ones name!

It took me 30 minutes to figure out how to even get get an image open and then I kept hitting the scroll wheel on my mouse thinking i was going to make the view bigger only to discover it would disappear. I still dont know what the scroll wheel is supposed to be doing all i know is its not doing what i "think" it should! My remedy was to close the program all together and then I would get the  save thing popping up so i would say ok, well I ended up with like 6 of those saved icons on my desk top! LOL

Then there is the annoying red/burgandy square box looking thing right there in the work area, its not solid just an outline but i have no idea what thats for! Do you put all your work within that outline box?

I guess I'm just too used to the cut studio, very user friendly, unfortunatly roland cut studio only works with a roland plotter, so I'm going to have to try and figure this thing out!

I have read alot of posts in regards to sign blazer but for some reason, alot of the questions go unanswered, at least in the posts, I have no idea if things get resolved in pm's or email or whatever. Alot of the threads just die out with no "ending" so to speak. Some get fixed by the original poster and it will end with " I figured it out thanx" but whatever they did to fix it they didnt say...lol

so- Has anyone mastered this program? if so, how long did it take you?

Anyone know which parts of the manual I shouldnt waste my brain cells on? Remember now I dont have many!

I'm feeling a little intimidated by this program can you tell???

Renee <----feeling like a total dummy

[Rodger 527]

  Hey Renee ,

  I'll take a shot at some of your concerns .

  The manual is basically the same . There are some features Elements doesn't have .There is a comparison chart somewhere if you dig enough to find it that shows the options only available in SignBlazer ( SB ) Pro etc .

  The color option is just that .Like you said whatever color you load into the cutter is what you get , but if you want to get an idea of what multiple color decals look like before deciding on the final colors , changing them lets you do it without trial & error .

  the scroll is VERY touchy .I went thru the same thing & posted . Jerry of SB said to click view ( top toolbar ) & then " zoom all " . you can zoom workspace ( the box that lets you see what the decal looks like in the sign/vehicle door etc ). You set the workspace size up by clicking file & then " workspace set-up " I make mine 24" by 36" since I use 24" vinyl mostly . The red/burgandy square box you describe is the work space as sized by that setting . Yes , put all your work in that area .

  Some posts with questions never get answered . Some are asked soo many times , members don't bother since some think a search would get the answer . Some questions ( rereading some i asked apply here ) are too confusing & nobody even understands what is being asked . I am bad about comprehending reading manuals  , but the SB manual is easy if you go into it not frustrated . Take a break & when relaxed , read & I'm sure you will be able to grasp what is needed .

Elements has soo many options, I doupt anybody has mastered it , Jerry said VERY few would master the better featured SB versions . Many on here have ALOT of knowledge about it . Ken , Levi & Jay are 3 who have extensive knowledge . They don't have the time to teach the constant flood of new users . It i frustrating , especialy when computer skill is low ( me )

It reminds me of driving . When buying a car , driving lessons are not included . learning to drive a go-cart is easier than driving a tractor trailer . If you don't have anybody to teach you & learning from a manual . it is 100 times harder . I have seen class's for various softwares , but the costs involved would keep most from doing that anyway . keep basic starting out & progress slowly & you will keep the frustration down .

If I missed anything , re-ask  , Rodger

[firemalt 10]

rodger answered a few questions, so i'll just add to some of the things he went over.

the "workspace" red rectangle can be changed to whatever size you'd like it to be. you design MUST be with the workspace for the cutter to "see" the design. it's it outside the workspace and you go to cut, the vutter won't see anything to cut.

the colors for fonts or any other designs, i would imagine is for multiple layered designs, see pic below.

you mentioned that the roland software was user friendly. sbe is too, but you're already used to the "tools" as one program has them set up. once you get a grasp on how sbe works, and what tools do what and where everything is... it's a very simple program. to be honest, about a year ago when i got my pcut, with absolutely no vinyl industry knowledge, i played with the sbe demo while i was waiting for my cutter to be shipped and i was able to learn fairly quick... maybe cause i had no experience with another program.

i will say, when i got flexi... it was like a foriegn language to me.i stalled at taking the time to learn the tools cause i knew how sbe worked. but over time,i finally madethe switch 100%

ihope isn't an insult to sbe as a program, but if you treat it as a program someone new to the industry was using for the first time... it may help you learn the tools (if that makes any sense).

[wasatchcars 0]

Thanks for the ZOOM ALL tip

[Cre8tiveCutter 7]

;Dthank you both Rodger and Firemalt for the great tips and advise. After leaving it alone last night and getting a decent nights sleep I have a different prospective on things. I am not frustrated with the program I am frustrated with myself for not being able to just pick it up and "get it" .

I'm going to do as you suggested Rodger and take a break, I have to ride to the nearest best buy (1.5 hrs away) and get the pci serial card. SBE and Cut Studio are two different programs and while cut studio was super easy to learn, SBE can do so much more. Cut Studio is basically a cut program it really cant do anything but send the info to the cutter. you can add text and minipulate the image your wanting to cut but nothing like SBE. I'm determined I'm going to learn this and not let it get the best of me as I did last night, but I have to say its comforting to know that there are people HERE like Rodger and Firemalt willing to try and assist.

Again thanx for the response and Rodger I will more than likely be asking more questions but I promise to search the forum first...lol ( I did actually read alot of the posts before posting my frustrations...lol and thats how I found out that I really should have a pci card to avoid alot of the problems people are having)

Renee

[Rodger 527]

Hi Renee  ( is it RE- nay or RE-NEE ) ,

  I am just doing what others have done for me . The learning curve is different for everybody , but most go thru what you are now 

  Another thing in the workspace , how your decal is positioned in there is how it will cut on your vinyl . So put whatever you'r cutting in the bottom left ( align tool works great for this )

  I go back & reread the SB section & the manual often . I comprehend more each time .

  I started with InkScape & while it is excellent , I liked SignBlazer more & use it 99 % of the time . I bought Flexi Starter & have not used it much at all . I like the weeding in Flexi Starter better . Of the sofwares I have tried ,weeding is the worst in SB ( at least for the fonts I use .. Cole Casul ). especially compared to SignCut ( the BEST I've used for weeding .. many options )

[BannerJohn 1,324]

SB is a great program but lots of people make the mistake of trying to learn too much too fast. Just master the basics first,then learn the other stuff as you need it.

[Cre8tiveCutter 7]

thanx again for the help rodger ( and its RE-NAY) But the RE is actually pronounced Re as in a short E not a long one...lol I actually have a hyphen in there but harldy ever use it unless I sign my name so its Rene'e ( french can be so complicated...lol)

Anyhow, I'm going to tackle it this weekend, tomorrow I will be painting the office in my shop, its all tore up right now as I decided to take on the task of painting the ugly brown paneling that has been there for 50 yrs...lol. Its too dark in there even with the florescent lights.

I wanted to share with you all that the pci card is a hard find! Best buy doesnt carry them, circut City is going out of biz and they dont carry them either ( the guy actually looked at me like i had two heads when i requested one!) He says what are you trying to do? and you think you need a pci card?? I almost lost my patience but decided to talk to him as I would my 11 yr old daughter. My response was i KNOW I need one of those do you have them? He tells me thats outdated stuff and they never carry stuff like that, I said well thanx and thats probly why this store is going out of business, that and the snotty additudes! Went to Staples, no luck but that guy was a little more helpful and directed me to a little hole in the wall store that carried EVERYTHING for computers and i did get what i needed! That guy was MOST helpful and he asked me questions about the vinyl cutter and wanted to know if i did signs...lol, i said thats the plan! He told me to come back and he may have some business for me. the store is like 2 hours from home but hey who knows! Anway, USCutter might want to stock a few pci cards for future purchases as they are very hard to find! New PC's well 99% of them do not have pci ports! Tomorrow I will be installing the pci card ( after my painting)

Banner John, Nice to see you! I fall in the catagory of lots of people try to learn it too much too fast! LOL!! I am going to take the advise of mastering the basics, (as soon as i figure out what the basics are! )

Rene'e

[Rodger 527]

rene's, Y W