# robo master pro & cut studio to contour cut



## beechcraft1900 (Nov 10, 2009)

Hi again, I recently posted a thread asking about the difference between both softwares. Correct me if I am wrong, but according to what I read the Cut Studio and the Robo Master Pro are programs that come with the gx-24 and the robo pro accordingly. For the Robo Master Pro there is a plug-in called Cutting Master 2 that allows the robo pro to talk with the coreldraw. Right? well, my question is.... According to a youtube video published by Josh, you could easily contour cut with the roland cut studio alone, no need for coreldraw. Now, can you also contour cut with the graphtec Robo Master Pro that comes with the 15" robo pro? the tutorials I found for this cutter use the cutting master 2 which is a plug in and thus you need to use the coreldraw, which I am not willing to purchase. Thank again!


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## [email protected] (Apr 28, 2009)

Hello,

Both Roland and Graphtec bundle BASIC software programs with their cutters. Since many graphic designers and sign makers use Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator, both companies provide also plug-ins for both programs. Both plug-ins work very well in my opinion.

While, it is true that you do not have to buy any additional software with either brand cutter (if you have a PC) the design capabilities of both are rather limited. They are great for basic text, shapes, etc but I would not try to design a logo with them. That is where Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator come in. Both are excellent vector design programs that will give users the highest level of design capability.

When comparing the Roland CutStudio software and the Graphtec Robo Master software, my hands-down preference is for Roland CutStudio. CutStudio is a lot easier to use and gives users the ability to import pre-made vector graphics in both the .ai and .eps image formats. Vector art (clip art) collections are always in one or both of these formats so CutStudio users will have the ability to import and use them. The Graphtec Robo Master software will not accept .ai or .eps files. The only file format that can be imported is a .dxf autocad file. There is not a single vector clip art collection that I know of that offers clip art in this format.

I did speak with our Graphtec rep a couple of weeks ago about the software. He did tell me that Graphtec will eventually be bundling a new software program with their cutters that will be based on their new i-DesignR software package (which is made by CadLink/SignLab). When the new software will be bundled with the Graphtec cutters is unknown.

Hope that helps,


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## beechcraft1900 (Nov 10, 2009)

thank you for taking the time to answer. I just downloaded both softwares and indeed the robo master pro is very limited when it comes to supported file formats. It only allows *dxf as you mentioned. I am very familiar with Autocad but my real interest is being able to import jpgs and contour cut from them, not from a vector file, since I will also be using photoshop for designing. Thank you again for pointing that out, I think the roland will be better for me, since I will be mostly dealing with pixel based files not vectors. I read somewhere that CutStudio also accepts Photoshop files, it that correct?


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## beechcraft1900 (Nov 10, 2009)

playing a little bit more with the cutstudio realized that the image outline command is rather primitive and results lack precision. That video on youtube that shows the superman logo seems so perfectly cut, but in real life, the outline feature is horrible! does is translate to the final work? can you notice its imperfection when cut and stamped? thanks.


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## [email protected] (Apr 28, 2009)

Hello,

You can open .jpg images in both CutStudio and Robo Master but you cannot cut them as they are.

Cutter programs use vector based images for cutting not raster such as .jpg and .bmp. Both programs have an outline feature that can be used for raster images such as jpegs. The created outlines are vector which can be cut. The quality of the outlines can vary (as you found out). The quality of the raster image that you are outlining has a lot to due with the quality of the outline. If you are outlining an image that was downloaded off the internet, the quality of the outline can be poor because the resolution of web images is real low...normally 72 dpi.

You can also add cutting lines manually using the shape and drawing tools. This method works best when the outlines are pretty straight forward such as rectangles, circles and variations of.

Hope that is helpful.


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## beechcraft1900 (Nov 10, 2009)

YOu are right, I needed to go to insert image in Robo Master Pro. Thanks.


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## dcurtisroland (Jun 5, 2007)

beechcraft1900 said:


> playing a little bit more with the cutstudio realized that the image outline command is rather primitive and results lack precision. That video on youtube that shows the superman logo seems so perfectly cut, but in real life, the outline feature is horrible! does is translate to the final work? can you notice its imperfection when cut and stamped? thanks.


The tracing command can be tweaked under File/Preferences/Curve

This tab has adjustments for Angle tolerances to change the way the tracing function works. It can smooth better for lower resolution images or stick tightly to higher resolution images.

-Dana


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