The entry level is Designer for around €450, offering text composition, vector design and layout tools, plus export to print-and-cut Rips. Nesting is offered to save material on large formats. There are features to support print-and-cut machines as well as separate cutters. New special effects including “distressed”.
There are several packages for different applications, all running on the latest 64-bit Windows 10. These are perpetual license products (ie not rented), but you can opt for a yearly service charge that includes support and upgrades. The long established SignLab has been the springboard for a suite of software aimed at signage, engraving and similar professional services. Prices are given in Euros here, but in some cases these are approximate as we have converted them from the price in UK pounds at the current rate, as we don’t have access to official Euro prices. As mentioned before it’s not necessarily an either/or decision, but which of several programs you may run alongside each other. Here we look at the alternatives to Adobe, some of which offer equivalent features. In part 1 of this story we examined the dominant Adobe Creative Cloud suite, especially its vector design programs Illustrator and InDesign. Nearly all of today’s signage is designed on desktop computer software, much of it offering vector graphics with a range of tools and effects.
