CorelDraw top 10 techniques for use with laser engraving/cutting

[Graham Taylor]

I am about to order a copy of CorelDraw but am not sure if I should go for X6 or X7.

In the real world, is there a big difference between the two versions when bought for use with a laser machine? From your collective experience, which would be the best version to go for?

I have downloaded a trial version to start playing with so can I ask for yet more advice and help with the following questions:

1. What are the 'top 10(?)' techniques I should concentrate on learning that will help me the most with regards to its use with laser cutting/engraving in conjunction with a Trotec Speedy 300? I have some Photoshop experience so will that help or hinder me in my learning?
2. Are there any extra plugins that would help when using it for laser engraving/cutting?
3. Are there any other recommended s/w packages that would be a good addition to have in conjunction with CorelDraw (s/w of choice from what I have read here)? I have Inkscape with a box template plugin so something along those lines.

As usual, thanks for any help and advice given.

Graham

[Mike Null]

What type of engraving do you plan to focus on?

[Graham Taylor]

We have an art and craft website and shop so are going to produce our own range of stencils and masks out of Mylar, rubber stamps and also some stuff in mdf and veneered wood.

i assume that I need to get to grips with converting jpg/bmp images into a format that can be used to produce rubber stamps and stencils.

I have googled the difference between vector and raster and understand the basic differences but not sure if I am completely sure about their uses within laser engraving and cutting.

I have read various threads about doing raster engraving and vector cutting and I think that the former is for stamps and the latter for stencils. Is this correct or am I completely misunderstanding it?

We have designs ready to be done but some are in jpg format and some are bmp so I guess I would like to know the best way (maybe not the easiest as I want to be able to get the best results) to do this. In order to do this I need to put the time in to practice with the s/w so I am ready when our Speedy 300 is delivered so I minimise the time at the beginning learning with CorelDraw when I could be learning more about the machine itself and the various settings etc.

Hopefully this is clearer so my questions are easier to answer.

Cheers,

Graham

[Mike Null]

Graham

First, a jpeg is a bitmap. There are several other file formats which are also bitmaps such as tiff, gif and png. Bitmaps are for rastering. Typically you would raster (engrave) a stamp, then cut (vector) it out of the material. Stencils will be cut from a vector image.

I would order X7. You may as well begin with the latest version of CorelDraw as it will have more features and can import more and later file versions than earlier editions.

I am neither a fan of Corel classes nor cd's preferring instead to learn from you tube. You tube tutorials are plentiful, mostly good quality and easy to understand. I have been using Corel for 17 years and I still consult tutorials regularly.

[Gary Hair]

I have googled the difference between vector and raster and understand the basic differences but not sure if I am completely sure about their uses within laser engraving and cutting.

Graham,
Don't mix up a raster file vs a vector file and rastering vs vectoring with a laser. They are two different things, one describes a type of file and the other describes an operating mode of the laser. As far as the laser is concerned, rastering and vectoring are just two operations that the laser can do, one is for cutting and the other is for engraving. You can use a vector file for both rastering and vectoring but you can only use a raster file for rastering - unless you convert it or do some other work on it.

What you will need to do with your jpg or bmp files depends entirely on how you need to use them and their resolution. Some files you may have to convert to vector in order to achieve the resolution you need, some you may not. Keep doing research but don't do much with the files until you have experimented a bit and really understand what needs to be done to achieve your desired results.

Mike is right, get X7. I have X6 but only because I haven't upgraded yet. If I were to buy a new copy it would always be the most current version.

[Rich Harman]

One thing that is really useful when working with imported files is the smart fill tool. One click and it will flood fill an enclosed shape. Then drag that shape aside and delete the original. I use it when I import dxfs. It will also immediately tell you if the shape is not closed - 'cause it fails in that case.

[Scott Shepherd]

Learn how to use the pen tool and the bezier tool. Those seem to lose 90% of the people (not for complexity, just for lack of trying), they just don't bother learning either of them. To me, if you can't use those tools, you could be using Microsoft Word to send files over. When you need to draw a custom shape around a image or anything like that, understanding those tools will make the job take minutes instead of hours. They allow you to do things create a letter or letters quickly, when you have no idea what font someone used. Being able to modify nodes (part of using the pen and Bezier tools) will put you light years ahead of most people using CorelDraw.

And I'll give a +1 to Rich's suggestion. I'd hate to think I'd have to learn how to draw items without the SmartFill tool. It's awesome to be able to cobble together a few shapes and then use SmartFill to create a new shape based on parts of the cobbled together shapes. Things you could spend a lot of time working on to create, because there's not enough math there to figure out the solution easily, can be done with the click of a mouse button.

[John Frazee]

Thanks to this thread I have learned some new things! I have been using Corel since 1996 and still learn just as I think everyone else does from this forum. I have never used the smart fill tool but did a search for it after reading these replies. I watched a few videos and found one that was really helpful. Hope it's alright to share it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUwu9DpVdk0

[Mike Null]

John

I believe the instructor is Alex Galvez who is my favorite. I learned more from his tutorials than all others combined. He has dozens posted.

[Graham Taylor]

Thanks all, I will check out the CorelDraw YouTube channel and start from there

[Martin Boekers]

Roy Brewer from Engraving Concepts has good YouTube also.

As Mike said there are a lot of great things on YouTube.

If your starting out set up a bookmark folder and organize it, research, techniques, vendors etc.
It makes life so much easier to refer back to.

Also we have a "Sticky" right at the top of our forum for Corel Tips...

Corel always has sales, watch or subscribe to their web page, the also sell by subscription now.

[Mary Geitz]

If you're doing stencils and rubber stamps, I really can't see where rastering would be of any use. You would probably just want the vector files to cut. I recently upgraded from x5 to x7 and I am SO glad I did. I was working on a project that required tracing. It was a low-quality .jpg and I thought I would be looking at a few hours' worth of work. X5 did an okay job, but x7 cleaned it up beautifully, and I did not have to do a thing. I'm so glad I went with x7.

[Bert Kemp]

Please tell me how to make a rubber stamp vector cutting.

[Dan Hintz]

Please tell me how to make a rubber stamp vector cutting.

I was going to agree with you... and then I thought of a way :-/ I'll have to try it...

[Scott Shepherd]

Please tell me how to make a rubber stamp vector cutting.

A lot of stamps are made with just shapes vector cut. Wander through the stamp section at your local craft store. Think about things scrap bookers would use to decorate their pages.