I still find CASmate Pro (which is Flexisign now) to be the best I have found followed by AI cs2, HP Precision Scan, and Corel X3. I was not impressed with ImagaroZ and returned it.

Grant you CASmate and Flexisign are $3500 + sign making software, I use it for all my vectorization and complex layouts and import it into Corel for the laser output.

Roy:

I'll see if the client will send me copies. The drawings and models were for gates for the St. Louis Zoo. The gates are going to be constructed of a particular kind of steel which rusts quickly and evenly and the rust provides a durable finish. Each drawing repesented a layer of steel depicting an element of the overall design.

This steel will be welded in layers with one image on top of the other creating a jungle scene. One gate is a cheetah scene the other a rhino.

The challenging part of the job was making the spots of the cheetahs. I decided to raster them (all the way through the board) rather than vector them. So many tiny spots would have been a nightmare to vector.

After completing the cutting I took the material to the model builder for gluing and painting and framing. The frame represents a 4" steel box that surrounds the entire gate and provides the support for the hinges.

I collaborated with the model builder because the job was originally his but his lasers will only vector and he couldn't make the drawings work.

Chuck:
I agree with you on Photoshop. I use both Corel Photopaint and Photoshop. I think Photoshop wins hands down when it comes to photo editing and manipulating graphics. PP has it's good points but PS has more.

Corel X3 is good, a lot better than some prior editions. The Powertrace thing is OK, but as someone else said, the one that comes with Flexisign and Enroute (same company) is really good, but those are super expensive softwares. I have the one in my Enroute CNC toolpath program.

I agree with enhancing your bitmaps before attempting to trace them. Just get in there and work on the things that don't look right. I usually change the contrast and such. Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck!

Thanks Larry,

This thread has been enlightening to say the least.....it is great that so many folks shared their opinions and ideas..... I learned a lot......

Illustrator CS can open CDR 10 and under files, as CMYK or RGB.

I use both Illustrator CS and Coreldraw 12, and honestly there's not a lot of difference between both. There both just as good for vectoring.

Thank you William,

I appreciate your input. The conclusion I have come to is to Keep on using X3 and upgrade Photoshop.

I will try some of the tricks mentioned here regarding pre processing as well.....

Thanks again for your help.