Engraving software comparisons...Duotones

[Dan Hintz]

Steve nailed it... as pretty as the ULS interface appears at first glance, it's not nearly as user-friendly as it could be. Somewhere around here I keep a list of my annoyances with the GUI, but I could recreate most of that list without too much trouble just because the things really annoy me!

Being able to modify the dpi in both axes independently makes for a more powerful machine, but I see no valid reason for not giving me full control. Don't allow me to type in a value between 1-1000 in one axis, and then limit me to six pre-determined values in the other. If you must limit me, then don't make it a slider with symbols that have no direct bearing on the setting, and certainly don't display symbols that don't follow the nomenclature you set up for the other axis! Both axes use stepper motors of the same type, so there's no need to limit me to those six values... by doing so, you usually limit the values that can be chosen for the other axis, as well, diluting the capabilities. If people (e.g., beginners) often choose the same value for both axes, have a checkbox that locks the two axes to the values selected from a single slider or entry box. It's not friggin' rocket science!

Just once I would love a ULS rep to say to me "We understand you have some ideas that may improve our user interface, and we would loveto have a look at them." But they won't... because that's how companies operate. Allowing outsiders to make suggestions would make them look weak, like they don't have the proper expertise in house to make a GUI... problem is, it's obvious they don't. You should never design a professional product's interface without using a professional. Yeah, it's better than a DOS command line, but it frustrates the user nonetheless.

[Dan Hintz]

"..So if your image den is set to 6 then your ppi should be at 1000 PPI, Den 5 is 500, 4 is 333, 3 is 250, 2 is 200 and is 1 is 166.."

My values came from the local rep, Paul, who has been with ULS since (almost) the beginning...10+ years with them, so I'm told. Steve and I highly value his advice and experience, but that doesn't mean he can't be wrong, and I've seen the ULS tech support team be wrong on more than one occasion. I don't know who is correct for the last two settings, but it would be too hard to find out... print a 1" black square and count the dots under a microscope. Tedious, but it works.

[Doug Griffith]

...they don't have the proper expertise in house to make a GUI... problem is, it's obvious they don't.

I have never personally used the ULS driver but the thing about any interface is that usability is subjective. What works for one may not work for another. It's possible they dumbed down their features to keep it less complex for entry level users. Maybe there should be an advanced users preference. Select that option and get all the bells and whistles. If it is just considered ugly or clumsy or unintuitive, that is very subjective. I personally like the Adobe Ilustrator interface while Corel Draw's makes me cringe. I'm sure others think the complete opposite. Neither of us are wrong.

[Dan Hintz]

Doug,

Your points about the subjective side of things are certainly true, but the points I made about dpi aren't really subjective. If ULS expects the user to understand dpi settings in the X-axis (as evidenced by the ability to type in a specific value from 1-1000), to "dumb it down" with a slider (and one that uses non-standard nomenclature, to boot) on the Y-axis serves no purpose other than to confuse the user. I have no problem with a user-selectable "difficulty setting" or checkbox to turn certain advanced features on/off, but this isn't one of those cases.