# Cutting Software - What are some of the options?



## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

So I just got this new vinyl cutter the other day.

https://www.digitalcuttersplus.com/...ade-to-the-24-ACS-Eagle-Ultraforce_p_156.html

It was a toss up between this one and the Puma III from Synergy 17 - Home - Your source for all your garment decorating equipment and supplies.

I can tell you Stephanie there at Synergy17 is so helpful I REALLY wanted to buy my new cutter from her. But Sandy with KNK Support and Brenda over at Digital Cutters Plus were super helpful too... So it was a toss up!

Now the reason I limited my choice to these two was because both offered the flat bolt on tables and I LOVE THEM!

There were two reasons I tipped for the Eagle... The added downforce offered... I already had a KNK from Brenda and the Stand came with the KNK model and I like the material catch offered on the KNK Stand...

But what really tipped me was the cutting software which brings me to my question...

My new cutter came with KNK Studio... In KNK Studio it has a really neat feature where you can see the cut order of objects and have it even number them for you. See the image below.

There are various way you can sort as well and this one is the nearest option... To me this is huge!

I have a KNK Zing and with it you have to use Make the Cut... With Make the Cut there is no rhyme of reason to the sort order of objects as they cut... The Zing will cut a rhinestone template and cut it well but the way it cuts is crazy... Zig zagging all over the place...

My last cutter was a Red Sail and the software for it was LXI... That software had an option that was supposed to sort objects based on location but it too did a lot of zig zagging all over. That always frustrated me... Lots of time being wasted when cutting a template...

So when I saw the option in KNK where it would really cut the nearest circle and even allow me to see the cut order before I cut I was impressed!...

So I ask this question for others interested in cutter options because I wish someone had asked this when I was doing my research.

GCC Cutters come with Great Cut... Does Great Cut offer a similar option where it will cut the nearest circle in a logical order and as a bonus let you see the cut order. 

WinPC Sign.. .Very Popular choice as well... I wonder if it has a similar feature?

I do know that Stone Cut Pro has a similar feature and at first was the primary reason I was interested in it because to my knowledge it was the only cutting software that had such a feature.

There are lots of cutting software out there... Perhaps others that have those programs can comment if their software has a similar feature?

To me this is huge because I can tell you both my Zing and My Eagle have the same capability in cut speed, in fact most cutters do... But my Eagle will cut a template in half the time or better than the Zing because when it cuts it does so logically in order rather than dance all over the place like the Zing does and to me that's a pretty big deal.

I would be interested to hear others opinions on this.

Kevin


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## ChefScott (Nov 25, 2011)

katruax said:


> GCC Cutters come with Great Cut... Does Great Cut offer a similar option where it will cut the nearest circle in a logical order and as a bonus let you see the cut order.


Under View-Change Order (Shift-R)



katruax said:


> WinPC Sign.. .Very Popular choice as well... I wonder if it has a similar feature?


Yup, it has a similar feature. Under Shape-Order-Display Object Order.

You can rearrange the order in both. The first pic is GreatCut. The second pic is WinPCSIGN 2012.


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

Thanks for the info Scott I think this will be helpful for others... I've never seen those features discussed or demonstrated before and to me when cutting Rhinestone templates it's a pretty big deal because with less knife travel zig zagging all over like my older cutter used to and my little Zing does it's going to finish a template much faster.

Kevin


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## DivineBling (Sep 14, 2010)

Thanks for the kudos, Kevin.

I actually use that feature all the time in OOBling. It gives you the option how how you want to sort and if you want to view the numbers. Then you can zoom in like I show in the second photo to see them better.

It is a great feature!


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

That's a good point Stephanie.... I knew in OObling you could do the same thing because essentially KNK Studio is identical on the cut process as the software are the same from a cut perspective... KNK Studio has no Rhinestone function...

To me the head travel of the knife is such a big deal especially when I see the difference between cutting a template on my Zing compared to my new cutter I'm a little surprised that this is not shown as an important option more often... I had no idea these other programs had this option...

When I was watching a DAS video on Stone Cut Pro they made several important distinctions. One was an Overcut feature to make weeding easier... and another was the order of cutting the objects was optimized, and lastly when you are using a multi cut option the knife does not raise between the first and second cut a very important point there...

I had a Cameo and when you did a multi cut with it the knife would make the first cut raise and then lower and make the second of the same object before moving on to the next object...

Make the Cut and my Zing... Each circle is cut twice without the blade raising which is most efficient and makes the weeding of circles super smooth...

Same with KNK Studio... Same with OOBling... But not so with my old LXI and my cheapo Sign Warehouse Red Sail Cutter... WIth it it would cut the entire design and then... Come back and do it all over again if using multicut... Not efficient at all...

Stephanie... With Great Cut... Do you know if it has a multi cut feature and if it will cut each object twice without lifting the blade between cuts?

Kevin


And hear all these other programs have that function too! Who knew?...

Well I guess we all do now....


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

Thanks Kevin for pointing out this feature. I also have the KNK MAXX with the ACS software. The only problem I have that will cause the machine to do what you call the "Zig Zag" effect is when you have duplicated the same object and are cutting it multiple times at the same time. The machine wants to cut the same circle in each design so it goes back and forth. I have to either select and cut one object/or design at a time or let it go back and forth if I want to cut both at the same time, which I have to agree takes longer to cut and probably adds more wear and tear on the cutter. 

This also is a pain when you are cutting vinyl and gang a bunch of the same duplicated wording on one sheet and want to cut it at one time. It cuts the same letter in each design before moving on to the next.

Is there a certain selection in this sort feature that would elevate this problem?


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

That's super weird... I haven't seen that yet so I will have to test it as you have my curiosity... I can tell you that with Make the Cut and LXI it would cut the entire first object before moving on to the duplicate... It would really be weird to me if KNK Studio didn't do the same... I will run something to test it out and post back...

Kevin


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

Kevin I would be curious to know if this happens in your Klick-N-Kut software too. I purchased my KNK MAXX about 3-1/2 years ago so maybe there has been changes to the software program since I purchased mine. 

I've tried a few different functions but can't seem to make it finish cutting one object completely before it moves onto the next object when it has been duplicated. 

I'm wondering if Oobling does the same thing?


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

BlingItOn said:


> Kevin I would be curious to know if this happens in your Klick-N-Kut software too. I purchased my KNK MAXX about 3-1/2 years ago so maybe there has been changes to the software program since I purchased mine.
> 
> I've tried a few different functions but can't seem to make it finish cutting one object completely before it moves onto the next object when it has been duplicated.
> 
> I'm wondering if Oobling does the same thing?


You can get KNK and ACS Studio to cut your shapes any in order you wish. The feature has always been available. In the cut preview window, click on the red icon and then select either Horizontal or Vertical. Check the box to display the order and then you'll see what Kevin shows in his screen shot in the opening post of this thread. Note that you can also choose the cut order in other ways, but most of the time, users are happy with either vertical or horizontal. More about this is covered in Section 4.6 of the KNK and ACS user manuals.


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## dan-ann (Oct 25, 2007)

Thanks Sandy I never knew this with acs and knk maxx. I often wondered why mine cut all over the place . Just goes to show I learn something new every day. I love my maxx it cuts so well and now I am sure it do so faster


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

SandyMcC said:


> You can get KNK and ACS Studio to cut your shapes any in order you wish. The feature has always been available. In the cut preview window, click on the red icon and then select either Horizontal or Vertical. Check the box to display the order and then you'll see what Kevin shows in his screen shot in the opening post of this thread. Note that you can also choose the cut order in other ways, but most of the time, users are happy with either vertical or horizontal. More about this is covered in Section 4.6 of the KNK and ACS user manuals.


Thanks Sandy...I will have to try switching to the vertical or horizontal cut option and see if that solves the problem.

By the way....is there any new software coming out for the KNK MAXX cutters? I like some of the new fill features some of the other softwares have but I am very comfortable with what I am using and don't have the time to learn a new program.


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## dan-ann (Oct 25, 2007)

I just set my maxx to cut horizontal and cut and it did a much faster more organized cut. I went thru the acs manual when I first got it and was totally new so a lot of things did not mean much to me. I think I need to go back thru it again now that i am more familar with stoning and cutting


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

BlingItOn said:


> Thanks Sandy...I will have to try switching to the vertical or horizontal cut option and see if that solves the problem.
> 
> By the way....is there any new software coming out for the KNK MAXX cutters? I like some of the new fill features some of the other softwares have but I am very comfortable with what I am using and don't have the time to learn a new program.


Actually we will be selling a new program called Artistic Crystals very soon. It's been released but we have been waiting on an update that will allow it set the origin on the KNK Zing. Anyhow, it has the plugins for cutting to all of the KNK and ACS cutters and has some REALLY great rhinestone designing features.


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

OH NO! I'm so excited! Artistic Suite v6... I HAVE IT! Well I have the old version of it and I've used it for YEARS and YEARS... Artistic is the same as DRAWings but just with a different name...

Artistic Suite Version 6... $799.00 does rhinestones and embroidery... Works as a CorelDRAW Plug-In and it's AWESOME! Well the embroidery part of it is...

I was quoted $399 MSRP for the Crystal Edition but I was told they would be offering at a discount off of that...

I'm told it will cut to the Zing right now which I have... Sandy could confirm...

So I'm pretty excited about that...

This truly looks to be AWESOME! $799 for crystals and embroidery and works inside CorelDRAW?

I'm all over it... I have to do a little more looking but I'm pretty excited!

I know what I'm doing tonight!... Watching Videos!

Software | Artistic Creative Products

Kevin


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

Another point on this... Because it works inside CorelDRAW I'm guessing it would export a EPS and you can cut with your own cutting software to any cutter?...

I just know how great the embroidery part is and if the crystal part is half as good and it certainly seems to be by looking at the videos it will be a game changer if you ask me?... 

Maybe I'm too excited though... RESEARCH! I must do some RESEARCH!

Kevin


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

It will cut to the Zing right now, but you cannot set a new origin. It immediately cuts where the blade carriage is located when you first turn on the Zing. But the update fixes that and you can see it in the demo video that's out right now. 

As for export options, the version I was sent to test will export as SVG but not EPS. Still, you can use Inkscape to convert SVG to just about any other format.


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