Can I Cut From Corel X4 to MH 871?

[Styled Stickz 0]

I just ordered an MH871,scheduled to be here today. Can I cut directly from my Corel X4 to the cutter or do I have to use the cutting software it came with (SB Elements)? I'm really hoping I can cut directly from Corel as I downloaded SB and took a look at it,I really don't want to have to learn another software if I don't have to, it's a little confusing to me.

If I CAN cut straight from Corel can someone give me step by steps on how to get it set up with my cutter? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[tlzimmerman 11]

I don't think there is an out of the box way to cut from corel.  If I remember right signcut x2 or whatever version they are on now has plugins to cut from corel, but really I think it just copies and pastes it over from corel to their program, which is just a cutting program not a design program.

I have run both signblazer and flexi, and yes while signblazer has its quirks and takes a bit to get used to, you don't really have to design anything in it if you are already used to corel.  You can do all your design in corel draw, then save as an eps and import into signblazer just for cutting.  I do almost all my design in Inkscape, then I save both as an svg (inkscapes native editable format) and as an eps (because flexi will import and eps, but not an svg.  Little time consuming to make 2 files but not a big deal once you get the hang of it.

[Styled Stickz 0]

I don't mind making multiple files, that's not a big deal to me. Question with SB, is there any way to change where the graphic will cut after selecting cutter and you see how it's going to cut on the vinyl? I had designed something, selected cutter and it sent it to the cutter in the wrong orientation. Does that make sense? Are there any good tutorials with the basics of SB?

I also read on here somewhere that I can set up a "printer" to cut straight from Corel. Is that the case with the MH871? This is sooooooo confusing!

[tlzimmerman 11]

Stick with it, yeah it can be overwhelming at first, but you will get it figured out.

I no longer use SB, haven't since I got flexi, so others that use it on a daily basis will be able to give you better advice than I.  In flexi to change the orientation of something, I just click a button from the cut screen, and if I remember right there is some sort of the same functionality in SB as well...

Any experts on SB want to fill in my lapses of Memory?

As far as setting the cutter up as a printer and printing from corel.....unfamiliar with any way to make that work.  Maybe its possible if you use USB...but I drive all my cutters from the serial interface so I am sending to com ports, not printers, and from everything I read serial is by far the more reliable way to send things on these cheaper cutters.  Now fancier printer/cutters probably get installed as printers, but I am not sure if thats something the MH-871 will do.

[Robert H. Bigart 64]

Yes you can cut directly from "corel" or "Illustrator".

Bob Bigart

[Styled Stickz 0]

Bob,

Can you please explain how to set it up to cut straight from Corel?

tlzimmerman,

Thanks for all your help. I might just get the flexi instead, it looks a lot more user friendly.

[sdgirl 13]

Was it ever explained how to cut directly from corel?

Thanks,

Christi

[tinaski 11]

this is what he posted before

How to cut direct from Illustrator & COREL

Hi Guys

First of all you must get a NULL MODEM CABLE to go from computer to (plotter) cutter.

Make sure it

[sdgirl 13]

Thanks for posting that. I need to find one of those cables. I am sure an office max or something of the sort would have one.

Christi

[Robert H. Bigart 64]

Hi Guys

I bought mine at "Tiger Direct" because the local stores didn't carry them.

Bob Bigart

[Robert H. Bigart 64]

HPGL Reveiw

Bob Bigart

                                    Understanding HPGL

 

Hewlett-Packard has found itself in the fortunate position of having creating two de facto standards for output devices: HPGL (short for

Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language) and PCL, short for Printer Control Language. Although HPGL was intended for HP's line of pen plotters,

variants have found their way into inkjet and laser printers. PCL, on the other hand, is strictly used by HP for its raster devices and is very slowly

loosing favor to PostScript and Windows-based direct-GDI.

A Brief History of HPGL

HPGL is a command set embedded in the ROM of pen plotters to help reduce the work required by applications programmers to create

plotted output. HPGL uses two-letter mnemonics as instructions for drawing lines, circles, text, and simple symbols. HPGL has evolved over

the years as HP added features to its line of pen, electrostatic, inkjet, and laser plotters and printers.

However, there is one primary drawback to HPGL: it is bulkier than other plotting languages, which means it takes longer to transmit an HPGL

plot file than, say, a Houston Instruments' DM/PL (short for digital microprocessor plotting language) plot file. To overcome the limitation,

Hewlett-Packard in 1988 introduced HPGL/2, which featured "polyline encoding," a form of data compression that reduces the plot file size

and, hence, transmission time by two-thirds.

With HPGL being the de facto plotting standard, competitors inevitably include HPGL or some similarly-named dialect in their plotter products.

In addition, HPGL has become a form of CAD drawing translation of last resort, since all CAD packages produce HPGL files and several read

the format.

[mkp 4]

see my post  http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php/topic,10.msg222077.html#new

I think that the MH 871 and MH 721 are the same from a drivers perspective, just more width. 

I too would like to print directly from CorelDraw X4, but the Sign Cut Pro may have some advantages.  I only tried it for a few minutes and it seems easy.  It is almost like a sophisticated print setup box.  It is optimized for cutting whereas a printer driver through CorelDraw will always look like a printer which can be confusing and limited.  You get a 1yr license for free with the UScutter.  I will continue to test it.  I'm sure I'll find something I don't like about it.