[dave111]

I just got a new Roland GX-24 and I've having a hard time figuring out CutStudio.

Maybe someone can help?

1) How do I show the rulers? It's such a pain to try and size stuff quickly without a ruler.

2) Is there a way to automatically get the sheet size onload? Right now every single time i want to cut something I've got to go through a 5 click process (Cutting Setup -> Properties -> Get from Machine -> Ok -> Ok) just to get the page sized!

Right now I'm pretty disappointed with Roland. I already have another (non-Roland) machine using Mimaki FineCut (for illustrator). And it's about 10 times quicker/easier to use than Roland CutStudio.

The sheet size automatically loads. Resizing, spacing, mirroring are all super easy. And there is no need to convert text into outlines before cutting.

The Roland machine itself is really nice, but seems hamstrung by the software.

Does CutStudio just suck, or am I just using it wrong?

 

[Nick Horvath]

I just got a new Roland GX-24 and I've having a hard time figuring out CutStudio.

Maybe someone can help?

1) How do I show the rulers? It's such a pain to try and size stuff quickly without a ruler.
Do you mean the grid? You would click on View, Grid, then Show Grid to display your grid. Once in Grid, you can select Grid Setup to make changes.

2) Is there a way to automatically get the sheet size onload? Right now every single time i want to cut something I've got to go through a 5 click process (Cutting Setup -> Properties -> Get from Machine -> Ok -> Ok) just to get the page sized!
That is what you would need to do each time you load new material or anytime you re-scan your media on the cutter.

The sheet size automatically loads. Resizing, spacing, mirroring are all super easy. And there is no need to convert text into outlines before cutting.
You do not have to convert text in Cut Studio to cut. You would just click on the text tool, type your text, and it is ready to cut.

I hope this helps!

 

[dave111]

1) How do I show the rulers? It's such a pain to try and size stuff quickly without a ruler.
Do you mean the grid? You would click on View, Grid, then Show Grid to display your grid. Once in Grid, you can select Grid Setup to make changes.
No i mean "Ruler", as in measurement marks normally down the left and top margins of the page (such 1cm, 2cm, 3cm). The grid is pretty pointless when it has no labels.
For example in illustrator you can toggle the ruler with Ctrl+R.

2) Is there a way to automatically get the sheet size onload? Right now every single time i want to cut something I've got to go through a 5 click process (Cutting Setup -> Properties -> Get from Machine -> Ok -> Ok) just to get the page sized!
That is what you would need to do each time you load new material or anytime you re-scan your media on the cutter.
That's what I feared. I'm kind of starting to regret that I bought the Roland machine instead of Mimaki. With the Mimaki software it automatically gets the sheet size from the machine when the software loads.

The sheet size automatically loads. Resizing, spacing, mirroring are all super easy. And there is no need to convert text into outlines before cutting.
You do not have to convert text in Cut Studio to cut. You would just click on the text tool, type your text, and it is ready to cut.
I mean when using the CutStudio Illustrator plugin to take text from Illustrator to Cut Studio you have to convert all the text to outlines first.

Got to write some more stuff here....

 

[dcurtisroland]

I just got a new Roland GX-24 and I've having a hard time figuring out CutStudio.

Maybe someone can help?

1) How do I show the rulers? It's such a pain to try and size stuff quickly without a ruler.

There is no ruler function in CutStudio. Clicking on the Properties button or right-clicking on the design and selecting properties will give the opportunity to set specific size. Otherwise, Nick is correct above.

2) Is there a way to automatically get the sheet size onload? Right now every single time i want to cut something I've got to go through a 5 click process (Cutting Setup -> Properties -> Get from Machine -> Ok -> Ok) just to get the page sized!

If it's the same size every time the size can be loaded by default by going into the driver properties through the control panel in Windows. If the sheet size is different every time, the size must be pulled from the cutter each time material is loaded.

Right now I'm pretty disappointed with Roland. I already have another (non-Roland) machine using Mimaki FineCut (for illustrator). And it's about 10 times quicker/easier to use than Roland CutStudio.

For what it's worth, I've spoken to Mimaki owners that regret switching over from CutStudio because they are dissapointed with FineCut. Once you become accustomed to something it's difficult to switch. Ask any Corel user trying to learn Illustrator

The sheet size automatically loads. Resizing, spacing, mirroring are all super easy. And there is no need to convert text into outlines before cutting.

Anything you see on the screen in CutStudio can be cut. All cuttable data is automatically vectorized by the driver.

The Roland machine itself is really nice, but seems hamstrung by the software.

CutStudio does leave a little to be desired as an entry-level graphics package, but it is free and does not have to be used to operate a GX cutter. We have a plugin for Illustrator that is similar to FineCut if you are accustoemd to those features and that workflow.

Does CutStudio just suck, or am I just using it wrong?

It may very well suck for what you're accustomed to doing. Like all change it may be difficult to adapt.

We have some videos on our youtube page and also some recorded webinars in our archive that you can access for free as a Roland owner:
Roland Academy Workshops
rolanddgasupport - YouTube

 

[dtogs]

We have been running a Roland GX-24 on a Mac using the Plug-in for Illustrator for years... it is bulletproof and have yet to find any limitation.