Software advise

[xpfguy 39]

I have been doing all my vinyl cutting with Illustrator and CutMaster 2 for about a year now.

I want to take the next step and get some better design/cut software but not sure I really need it.

There are so many to choose from what should consider and what can I expect to gain from better software?

I do not have a large format printer, but I do plan to use my WF 1100 to print/crop mark for cutting a few decals and heat transfers.

Jason

[mark-s 1,126]

You have Illustrator what more do you want?

mark-s

[xpfguy 39]

You have Illustrator what more do you want?

mark-s

not the answer I was looking for, although it may be a great answer.

i have $600 illustrator... flexisign is $1700 and flexipro is $4300. What am I not getting compared to these? There has to be a reason the cost more.

I saw a video posted by bannerjohn of flexi converting poor/low res graphics into nice cuttable vector in seconds. Can this be done with illy? I have always struggled with the settings, being self taught.

Also the ability to quickly add and edit cutting lines. can i do this in illy?

im a self taught noob, so some explanation would be appreciated.

Thanks

[tekcorps 50]

Yes, those things can be done in later versions of AI. I would suggest doing a google search for tutorials and learn AI inside and out if you don't want to spend a bundle. Then download and learn SBE (free) or spring for Flexi-Starter for $100 bill and use that as cutting software.

[smallTIMER 21]

I have both Illustrator and Photoshop but usually end up using Inkscape (FREE!) when it comes to vectorization and getting jpegs ready to cut

The trace feature of inkscape makes cutting so much quicker and easier. Sometimes its not always the expensive product with the best features.