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Thread: creating proof pictures in CorelDraw

  1. #16
    David,

    I _am_ providing a proof that shows exactly what is being engraved, just not in the same layout as they are on the engraving bed because that's too spaced out. Although some engraved items have only text (like simple tags), many have graphics that may change from item to item within a job, so for those I can't just provide a proof with only one item, it has to show all of them so the customer knows each is getting the right graphics, texts, sequence numbers, et al. When I first did it as a mockup showing the info on pictures of the substrates, colored similar to the final product (eg, gray-white on black AA, dark brown on wood, white on acrylic...), they loved it and that became the norm. It wasn't bad 2 or 3 times a day but it's becoming a cumbersome chore to do all the rearranging on 12-20 proofs a day.

    Am I missing something with Print Merge?

  2. #17
    Glen, my thoughts on the print merge would be to have 2 pages setup. One is the page to engrave, one is the page to send. Print merge it on both pages and you're done.

    Not sure that'll work since you have graphics and I think print merge can do graphics, it's more a pain to do that.
    Lasers : Trotec Speedy 300 75W, Trotec Speedy 300 80W, Galvo Fiber Laser 20W
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  3. #18
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    Ahhhhhhhhh. That fills in the rest of the picture Glen. Thanks.

    I don't think the mailmerge is really what you want then since you have images on each item that vary item to item. I have never tried to do a mailmerge with an image in Corel so I am not sure it is doable.

    Anyone else have some thoughts for Glen?

    Sorry I wasn't more help Glen!!!

    Dave
    900x600 80watt EFR Tube laser from Liaocheng Ray Fine Tech LTD. Also a 900x600 2.5kw spindle CNC from Ray Fine. And my main tool, a well used and loved Jet 1642 Woodlathe with an outboard toolrest that helps me work from 36 inch diameters down to reallllllly tiny stuff.

  4. #19
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    Maybe eCut 5 may do what you need, take a look at the short video that I just made.

    Ruben

  5. #20
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    GLEN -
    Kind' a sounds like you have conditioned your client, from the start, to expect something that's, well, to say the least ... problematic! (time-consuming, maybe, even unnecessary?) All your extra effort - maybe, okay for the first go-'round, or two - but, at some point they should just trust your skills on jobs. IMO. - without someone there eagle-eyeing each and every piece prior to production. (sounds like that's what they're wanting to do?) When I am confronted with lots of different plate information - different numbers, etc. - I have 'em send the info to me in an Excel format. I cut 'n paste the info into CorelDraw - which eliminates any chance of a typo. ('little learning curve figuring out how to do this correctly, but worth it.) Other than that - maybe, you can just drive over and show 'em your print outs face to face - ? Better yet, just deliver the items completed .... (pardon me. 'long day; I'm in kind of an owly mood - all this going 'gainst the grain of my KISS philosophy.)

    Bill
    (Using Epilog 35W Mini 24)

  6. #21
    Ruben, eCut might provide a work around, although I think you put the images and text on the same layer and grouped each image and its corresponding text in order to make that work.

    Guess maybe I need to find some documentation on macro programming in CorelDraw and see if there is any facility for defining a selection area and determining what, if anything, got selected so I can then reposition them without causing errors due to non-existent (deleted) objects... As if there aren't enough other things to do ;^)

  7. #22
    Bill,

    True enough! I first provided these simulated proofs to help a customer understand how the requested engraving would have to be arranged to satisfy certain constraints of the job and it grew from there. Customers like these proofs and, actually, I do too because it virtually eliminates the possibility of getting a "That's not what I expected..." response upon delivery. However, I was only doing a couple a day at first and now some days it's become a real nuisance of a chore due to the volume. So, I'm trying to come up with a way to simplify and work more efficiently without losing value, much as I have had to do in other areas of the business as work has increased in the past few months. Maybe, worse comes to worse, I'll just have to decide to stop providing this sort of proof in favor of a lower-effort/cost alternative, but the an@l-retentive, perfectionist part of me isn't ready to throw in the towel on this just yet...

  8. #23
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    Glen,

    Then I guess you'll have to make your own macro... good luck.

    Ruben

  9. #24
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    Glenn -
    I'm sure you'll figure it out. Certainly it's smart to do what you can (practically) to ensure your customers know what they're getting. 'Long as this "added-value service" of yours is productive 'n profitable for you - in the end. (meaning: a nice order.) I admit I don't completely understand what you're working on: the need for extra layers, re-organizing your layouts - sending your customer illustrative examples of each and every item you plan to produce for 'em. (?) Maybe, you've had the "That's not what I expected" experience before, or too often? One thought: I've learned that, sometimes, when we find ourselves concentrating too hard on a problem - it helps to step 'way from it - go for a walk, or drive. Allow your creative subconscious to work on it. More than once, I've slapped myself in the forehead -"Why didn't I think of that earlier!" A solution may not lie in software, or layouts - it may be in the way you've chosen to work with your customer. ? At the crux of all this: sounds like your "perfectionism" may be getting in the way? Then, again, sounds like your business is growing leaps 'n bounds! - so, who am I to say?

    Bill
    (Using Epilog 35W Mini 24)

  10. #25
    I am with bill, if I screw up I will replace it. My customers dont expect proofs on every repear job.

  11. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Glen Monaghan View Post
    Bill,

    True enough! I first provided these simulated proofs to help a customer understand how the requested engraving would have to be arranged to satisfy certain constraints of the job and it grew from there. Customers like these proofs and, actually, I do too because it virtually eliminates the possibility of getting a "That's not what I expected..." response upon delivery. However, I was only doing a couple a day at first and now some days it's become a real nuisance of a chore due to the volume. So, I'm trying to come up with a way to simplify and work more efficiently without losing value, much as I have had to do in other areas of the business as work has increased in the past few months. Maybe, worse comes to worse, I'll just have to decide to stop providing this sort of proof in favor of a lower-effort/cost alternative, but the an@l-retentive, perfectionist part of me isn't ready to throw in the towel on this just yet...
    Here's how I see it: The purpose of the proof is to agree on what's to be produced, so if you are a printer who will be running off 10,000 flyers, for example, you have the customer agree to the layout and check the wording for errors before doing the print run and if they say go ahead, it's their problem when mistakes occur.

    In the case of an engraver running off 100 tags that only differ in the text, all that's required for the proof is an agreement on the text the engraver will use in each instance and a single example of the layout and how the finished items will look. If the customer can't live with that and needs 100 proofs in the way you're describing it, Glen, he's going to have to pay for all the extra work involved in producing them. That focuses the mind at their end.

    The other thing to consider is that you might not be doing your customers a favour in producing the proofs the way you are. I'm sure it's easier for them to check for typos in a list rather than scanning each individual tag. Of course, nothing is ever quite that simple. Some tags may have text that needs to be adjusted for size as in when someone has a ridiculously long name, but you could weed these few out and make special proofs as you're doing for those so it doesn't end in tears.

  12. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Glen Monaghan View Post
    Guess maybe I need to find some documentation on macro programming in CorelDraw and see if there is any facility for defining a selection area and determining what, if anything, got selected so I can then reposition them without causing errors due to non-existent (deleted) objects... As if there aren't enough other things to do ;^)
    I haven't written any sort of computer code in ages so going was a bit rocky at first but, like riding a bike, you don't have to start over from scratch after a long absence... It has taken a couple of weeks to search out the documentation, read enough to figure out the CorelDraw version of VBA, locate the necessary features for what I wanted to do, and run some tests, but it turns out to be pretty straight forward once you have all the pieces.

    The key pieces are GetShapeFromRectangle to programmatically select rows or columns of the items in the template (which I have already populated with user supplied engraving images and info, and deleted unused entries), followed by a simple loop to GetPosition of each shape in the selected area and SetPosition to shift it into the desired location for the proof picture. Didn't even need to add special code to determine if there entire rows or columns of unused entries deleted from the template, the code rearranges everything for creating the proof picture in a couple of seconds.

    Works a treat, wish I'd looked into this months ago!

    A handy dandy feature I found is BeginCommandGroup and EndCommandGroup, which you use to bracket your VBA macro code. This lets you undo everything within the macro using a single click of undo!

  13. #28
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    Pricey, but If you are going to do previews every day and value your time. Photograv has it as a built in function, waiting for my PG order to try and see how it works.
    Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10

  14. #29
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    I use EXPORT in corel. I export the proof to a file on my computer. Then I attach this file to an e-mail to the customer.
    EPILOG LEGEND 32 60 WATT, CORELDRAWX5, PhotoGraV2.11, strip heater, PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA

  15. #30
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    Glen and All -
    Still seems to me that you are taking the "long road" to making a buck. Hopefully, you are charging your customer for all your extra time 'n effort? Sounds like someone, on that company's end, is a micro-manager! ? - which is causing you to jump thru all these hoops? Kind' a wondering, now, if you're truly doing all this for their sake - or, 'cause you need to build greater confidence in yourself. ? (I used to triple-check jobs with customers first - so worried I'd make an error - I don't anymore.) Just saying all this 'cause Dan has taught me - time is money!

    Bill
    (Using Epilog 35W Mini 24)

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