I do the complete layout in color.

Then I duplicate the entire layout and move it away from the original.

Next I draw as many "rectangles/boxes" as there are different colors in the layout and place each color component into it's respective rectangle. Each of the rectangles is the same size as my cutting page (the actual cutting "width" is the same, the length of the rectangle is adjusted to contain each individual color).

Using this method I can determine exactly how many yards of each color are needed to do the job. And that also assists me in the actual pricing of the job.

when it comes to actually cutting, each color set is just moved onto the actual cutting page area as I want to cut them, leaving the "handles" around that particular group of objects. In the print dialogue window I also hit "selected only" before I go to "print preview" to verify that I have the correct vinyl size and page size set up.

I use Object Manager and setup one layer for each color in the file, plus another layer that contains registration marks.

You can turn off the visibility for each color seperately plus turn off the printing for layers when you dont want to cut them.
This way there is no need to move objects around or create duplicates and blast everything apart.

Lets say you have three lines of copy and three colors. The top line has yellow letters with a black outline, the second line has orange letters, the third line has yellow again. Do the design work and asign the hairlines. Open object manager, in the upper left there is an icon for adding new layers, we will need three here so click it twice. Seperate the top line, the outline/contour and the copy. Select both lines of yellow copy. Click the arrow in the upper right of the object manager box. Choose move to layer, using the arrow that will come up choose layer two. Do the same process with the orange copy moving it to layer three. When you click on the little eye icon it shows what is on that layer. The printer icon shows what layer will be cut. Click on the printer icon for layer one with black loaded in the plotter. Layer two with yellow in the plotter and three with orange.
If you put registration marks in the layout put them on all layers.

Awfully wordy I know, and the first few times you actually do it , seems like a lot of work and somewhat confusing. After that it's second nature and takes NO time at all. Just like cutting direct.

In that case I would just add registration marks closer to the smaller piece which also do not interfere with the larger pieces, then I would change the size in the printer setup but I would still use layers to turn the colors on and off for printing.

well i ain't saying
hehehe

ahh ok then i'll tell

i really had to think about this post on account of automatic things we do are always much harder to explain than to do

ive been cutting with corel for a while now (grin)
and im sooo bloody lazy that i'll find the easiest (for me) way out of work that i can
so for what its worth, here goes

i design in full colour for artwork approval by customers or just for my own use, in real size.

i select everything on the page and hit the + key to make a copy, move it to one side of the original and then the file is saved.
that took 2 clicks and 1 keystroke

i select all the items for one colour and hit 'group' then click left on the 'no colour well' to clear the fill, then click the right mouse button on the colour this lot will be, to give it a cuttable outline.
that took 4 clicks

I click on a colour group then I hit the print icon.
2 clicks

in the print window i click 'selected' (you only have to do this once all day if you hit apply)
then click on 'print preview.
2 clicks... or only 1 depending on time of day!

i aways have my placement set to 'top left' for the older rolands
hit print.
1 click

this all works fine if the layout is for sumfin small
i leave it as is in the design to cut.

but in truth i hate wasting vinyl (at $480 a roll, cause don't ya know we import it all from up-over) so most of the time i do collect all my bits together before grouping.

i figure 'hey i know how to use a tape measure' and since everything is dry hinged to apply its really not like the old days when we had to waste time drawing lines n stuff.

i go back to the draw screen and select the original colour layout hit 'print' to send it to a printer and select the scale i want... ususally 10% so that measurements are just tooo easy to work out.

we weed it, tape it, and stick it

then the printed sheet is stapled to the work order and chucked in devo's 'in tray' for invoiceing.

hey that took way longer to type than to do, and heaps more clicks n keystrokes... my fingures are tied now

I'm a small 1 man sign shop, not a distributor but at $480 a roll, you can inport it from me! HeHeHe And besides I'm only halfwayup halfwayover.

I work pretty much like you said Gail. Actually Dave's sounded closest to what I do, but I skip the boxes & just consolidate all the same color componants into cut-files tailored for the vinyl size.

If I have a lot of cuts like my recent banner job (four 3' x 10' 2 color w/ drop shadows) I'll set up my cuts to about 8' lengths, & when the same grouping gets cut 4 times I'll drag 4 copies around the screen until every cut grouping is lined up ready to cut & displaying in the color it should be cut out of.

Now, I can drink beer, jam some good tunes, & work on some edge jobs on my other computer while I work through the cut files. each time a cut is complete I delete that grouping before I select the next one to send to the plotter.

I barely look at the cut vinyl more then enough to check that the plotter hasn't went haywire yet. No real thinking to keep track of whats done, & whats left to do.

the exchange rate is a killer for us, i dont know about other shops but we are painting way more now days than even 10 years ago.

paint we make here in oz, vinyl we dont

i had a rep from one of the supply companies ask me why i bothered to mask stuff and then had to paint it when it was easier to vinyl the thing (i was working on a banner at the time)
like i told him, the mask is 1/4 of the price and the paint was cents not dollars
he still didnt really understand i dont think

one of the things ive found im doing more with regard to the smaller signs is picking out a registration colour, you know if there is a fair bit of black in the layout i'll cut that and lay it down as you mentioned using a weed box the same size as the background, then cut a lot of the 'other' stuff out of the vinyl off-cut pile
saves heaps of wastle that way asn speeds up the job no end

The best deal is when I plan ahead and order a pallet from Product Sign Supplies in San Jose Calif. 1-800-540-9199 They will pack up a 4' x 4' pallet with maybe 10 to 20 rolls, some aluminum, mag sheeting, even half sheets of sintra or alumilite whatever, & put it on a barge for me. less then 20 days later a truck brings it from the harbor to me for a total freight cost of a little over a $100. (Varies according to actual weight, but always the best deal by far)

You could paint unusual colors on white vinyl to get around stocking them, & then still get the labor saving advantage of cutting letters on the plotter. (This being said by one who lacks the hand lettering skill, so to many here maybe painting, plotting & weeding vinyl is much more work then getting busy with the brush, but for some jobs I'm sure this is a viable option.)

[ November 04, 2001: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]