[panthershutch15]

So, a few days back I posted what I am working on for an inlay, but I didn't currently have any design software on my PC, so I was using MS word. It was suggested to me to download a free trial of Photoshop, Illustrator, or Coreldraw. Then, another person stated that Illustrator is what ASM prefers.

I downloaded Illustrator last night and I am having trouble using it. I know that I am pretty fluent with coreldraw as I took a class that focused on it a few years back.

My question is what different ways can I submit my design to ASM. If they prefer Illustrator, can I still submit it in Coreldraw?? Or, can I send them an outline of what I want and have them create it for me and send it back for me to review?

Thank you.

[austin5string]

Originally Posted by panthershutch15

So, a few days back I posted what I am working on for an inlay, but I didn't currently have any design software on my PC, so I was using MS word. It was suggested to me to download a free trial of Photoshop, Illustrator, or Coreldraw. Then, another person stated that Illustrator is what ASM prefers.

I downloaded Illustrator last night and I am having trouble using it. I know that I am pretty fluent with coreldraw as I took a class that focused on it a few years back.

My question is what different ways can I submit my design to ASM. If they prefer Illustrator, can I still submit it in Coreldraw?? Or, can I send them an outline of what I want and have them create it for me and send it back for me to review?

Thank you.

It seems to me that asking them directly might be the best source.

I don't have Corel, but I *think* that you can export in Illustrator format (.ai)

~John

[hachkc]

Cathy or Glenda told me they can except files as JPEGs, Photoshop, Illustrator and something else but I can't remember what it is. I believe as long as you have the basic idea with some details, they'll work with you to get it done.

I've sent my inlays in but I haven't heard anything back from them yet.

[Fins]

I'm pretty sure that ASM is very flexible with regards to format. Chipco on the other hand prefers illustrator & vector art. I've not used Corel Draw but can't imagine that it could not export to a useable format if they couldn't use the files directly. I can't find the e-mail but I believe Bob at PC primarily used photoshop. PS doesn't wrap text all that well so illustrator & other vector programs do a better job IMO. Many use a mixture for that reason depending on the design.

Best to e-mail them and get it striaght from the Horse Head's mouth

Post what you hear back.

Good luck.

[PocketRocket]

If in doubt, you could always export it as a .EPS file. Postscript is supported in most of the industrial graphics applications.

[Poboy]

There are a couple of guys that use Illustrator here, if you have any questions. Someone can probably help out. Otherwise, if you want, post your CorelDraw image and I may be able to copy it in Illustrator and send you the Ill. file.

[circlencircle]

The essence of this issue is somewhat technical but not extremely complicated.

Illustrator is the preferred format simply because it creates Vector based images. Vector images can be resized without any loss of quality.

They will accept the other formats such as Photoshop (Raster images - more commonly known as bitmap) images. The key thing to understand is that if you resize an image like this the quality is degraded - particularly if it’s made larger. If you are creating the image yourself the easiest way to avoid problems is to first make the image at least slightly larger than you know the final product will be and more importantly make it a very high resolution 300dpi or more. Illustrator is not nearly as intuitive as Photoshop and can take much longer to fully take advantage of. Do not be afraid to use Photoshop or Corel Draw, just implement the suggestions I've made and there won’t be any issues.

I would also suggest working with CMYK colors vs. RGB but this is not absolutely critical.

Best of luck!

cnc

edit - PM if you need help, I use both programs extensively...

[Apotome]

Has anyone used GIMP to create their inlays? If so, was it successfull?

Allan

[panthershutch15]

Thanks all for the responses. I did e-mail ASM before posting this, but I do not expect to hear back from them until early next week and did not want to get a start in one program if it was going to be a problem.

Circlencircle---I will have a few basic questions for you probably on Monday that I will send via PM if you don't mind helping. From playing around with illustrator a little bit this morning I found it seems much more difficult than Corel...Thank you.

[Fins]

Originally Posted by Apotome

Has anyone used GIMP to create their inlays? If so, was it successfull?

Allan

I've seen it recommended and used to recomend it but as of yet haven't seen anyone post designs made with it. Almost tried (downloaded it) but then got PS and never tried it out.