1) Eh. Generally I don't trust autovector. I've personally gotten the best results between the two out of Corel, but that might be because I've used it more and thus I'm more familiar with its particulars.
FlexiSign has a really good Autovector, but isn't worth the $3500 price tag. ImagaroZ (www.graphicalsystemsusa.com) is the best by far and it includes font recognition.
2) Generally, yeah. If you're working form a print driver you should be able to run from anything with a print command. I found Corel to be easier, though, because of the way it's set up and, again, familiarity. Vinyl plotters have cutting plugins available for both. Engravers you're probably out of luck.
3) I don't think it will take a native .cdr file, but I don't have Illustrator installed at home right now to check. It will accept an exported .ai file, though. Corel is iffy about taking files made in Illustrator, however.
In the end, Illustrator is very powerful, once you get past the learning curve. Sometimes it's too powerful to bother with if you're doing single color setups for Engraving, but for multi-colored art for printing it's a winner.
I'd use whatever you're most comfortable with. It is good, though, to have a working knowledge of both.
Sei |