Centerline Text Feature

[Rocky]

I notice that there is an add-on piece of software ($100) called "Centerline Text". Since the CarveWright Designer software has text, what would be the advantage of buying this add-on? Has anyone bought and used it?

Thanks,

[supershingler]

do a search on the centerline

i use is almost exclusively on my signs
expecially wheni do corian work

well worht the 100 as far as im concerned

good luck

kendall

[Kenm810]

Hey Rocky,

I agree with kendall, I use it 90% of the time on my projects.

[Rocky]

Thanks for your replies. Can you tell me why it's worth? Advantages?

I know, I ask too many questions. :D

Thanks,

[Kenm810]

For me the recessed text makes it a bit easier to produce a more professional looking sign or plaque,
with a little less chance of the text being damaged or chipped after it’s finished.

[ChrisAlb]

Can't beat having centerline. Although I "generally" prefer having my text stand out rather than carved in, I just got a big contract where the customer prefers it carved in. Sure am glad I have it.

It allows for more variety in what you can do. Also, very small text is better with centerline as thin raised text will tend to chip out.

Worth every penny in my book.

[Amonaug]

Another advantage is Centerline carves faster than Raster or Outline.

For speed it's

Centerline > Outline > Raster

[Rocky]

Thanks, folks! I have a CarveWright on order. Once I receive it, and get it up and running, it sounds like Centerline is my next investment.

[Kenm810]

Rocky,

When the time comes, that you do order Centerline from CarveWright,
remember it is already in the CW Designer software that comes with the machine.
When you call LHR to purchase the CL licence,
they will give or Email you a code number to open centerline text on your machine.

[Digitalwoodshop]

In the Dark Ages over a year ago before Centerline was available some nice Beta Testers that DID have Centerline from a very first issue and had it stashed away on a D Drive in there computers... They would share the Centerline Text with us new guys that did not have access to it by converting our text to Centerline. So I would send them a mpc with my text layout in Raster and they... The Beta Gods, would click on my text and change it to Centerline and send it back. I could now open it and resize and move it. But if I tried to change the text it would revert back to raster. I would just use the undo and go back a step. So I could carve Centerline Text.

But bothering them when they were BUSY was like being in a Hotel and paying FULL PRICE and having to call room service for 3 sheets of T Paper every time you wanted to work on Cling On's..... Thanks for the Charmin... here is your tip.... I really gotta GOooooo.

Then a great guy named Greybeard over in England who was following the forum but was unable to get a machine due to the environmental regulations of the circuit board lead used in the machines and other chemicals or something to that effect.... Anyway.... We came up Graybeard's Font Boards. So I open the Centerline MPC Font Board and if I wanted to spell CAT in Centerline, I would highlight the "C" and copy it on his board. Then in my board press paste and WOW.... A Centerline C..... Then the A and the T..... Now I placed them in the general area I wanted and selected all of the word like "CAT". Then using the alignment keys on the top of designer that look like domino's, select the one that aligned all the tops together at the same height. Then using the left and right arrows, move them from C AT to CAT..... Lots of work.... but I did this for 5 months making lots of signs....

Then I had him send me a Script font and this is where I got confused.... I would make all the letters 2 inches tall in script and try to connect the tails to make a script word... Well what I found was the tails did not line up.... It was not until Graybeard pointed out that Script is different heights and I needed to group ALL the letters together and SCALE them bigger and smaller as a group and then they will always match.....

SO.... We found a way to work around NOT having Centerline for over a YEAR.... We can find a Work Around for the 1.130 Cut Path..... Make 3 or 4 MANUAL CUT PATHS with TABS.....

Here are the Font Boards to play with... As long as you don't make changes to the Text properties it will work. Your machine will never Know you are Cheating it....

At least it worked in 1.119 and 1.120 like that... 1.130..... Might be blocked...

Had Centerline been available a year ago My business might not have taken the WRONG ROAD of Tourist Products and stayed on the ROAD of SIGNS.... My Solar 911 LED V Carved Signs took a BACK SEAT because the Centerline was SO HARD to work with. Greybeard never thought of sending me a set of Font Boards with BOLD TEXT on them.... So many of my projects were TRASH because I was using the Text FONT board in NORMAL not BOLD and it just did not carve deep enough to work for my projects. I lost literally Thousands of Dollars in Possible Business after moving to Tourist Products.

Signs are 90 % of my PAYING Business today..... And Clocks using Centerline.... I was really SHOT in the FOOT by the lack of Centerline....

SO with that, I post Greybeard's New Times Roman FONT BOARD. I made a second set and made them BOLD...... and made 2 sets of LOWER CASE letters one BOLD.....

So for the guys that don't have Centerline Text YET.... You can select each letter and place it like Stamps on your board and it WILL CUT as Centerline.... I think..

For the money I LOST I could have bought a Shop Bot WITH Centerline....

It must be the Water up here making all the guys GRUMPY.....


AL

Solar LED Signs being revisited....

[Rocky]

Quite a story, Al. So, I can assume a "yes" vote from you as far as Centerline is concerned.

Speaking of the "dark ages", I started in computers when RAM was "magnetic core memory", 12K (yes 'K') was a lot of memory then; now I'm showing my age.

If interested in "magnetic core memory", check this link:
http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/pdp-11/core.html

[TerryT]

Ah.. the good ol' days. I started with RS color computer and commadore 64. When you turned on your computer you had to load the operating system from an audio tape deck first and then what ever program you wanted to run, also from audio tape. I was soldering sockets together in order to piggy back memory chips. Increasing 64K machines to 128 K.

[Rocky]

Ah.. the good ol' days. I started with RS color computer and commadore 64. When you turned on your computer you had to load the operating system from an audio tape deck first and then what ever program you wanted to run, also from audio tape. I was soldering sockets together in order to piggy back memory chips. Increasing 64K machines to 128 K.

64K, you were living the good life! :cool:

[ncamp]

Ah.. the good ol' days. I started with RS color computer and commadore 64. When you turned on your computer you had to load the operating system from an audio tape deck first and then what ever program you wanted to run, also from audio tape. I was soldering sockets together in order to piggy back memory chips. Increasing 64K machines to 128 K.

I remember upgrading my color computer from 16k to 64k. I bought 4 gig of memory the other day for less than those chips cost.

[jspringertx]

Ah.. the good ol' days. I started with RS color computer and commadore 64. When you turned on your computer you had to load the operating system from an audio tape deck first and then what ever program you wanted to run, also from audio tape. I was soldering sockets together in order to piggy back memory chips. Increasing 64K machines to 128 K.

There was no greater feeling than to spend 15 minutes loading your program only to find that the tape reader malfunctioned and the program didn't load.

Our first telephone system had 8K memory cards (5 of them) and it would take 15 minutes to load the basic program into the system. The system would come up and I would immediately have to terminate all calls in progress to load the moves and changes.

And to think that this same computer operated the navigation system on the Army tanks in the early 80's.

[fwharris]

Ah.. the good ol' days. I started with RS color computer and commadore 64. When you turned on your computer you had to load the operating system from an audio tape deck first and then what ever program you wanted to run, also from audio tape. I was soldering sockets together in order to piggy back memory chips. Increasing 64K machines to 128 K.

Terry,

I still have my commadore 64, tape drive, printer and cartridges/tapes. Of course they are in a box in the garage.
Great system. Can't recall the name of the game, but the kids loved the one that was like a treasure search. no screen graphics just word input. Years later when we would talk about it they would describe all of the rooms etc. like they could see actually see it. Did a great job for emaginations...

[Amonaug]

Terry,

I still have my commadore 64, tape drive, printer and cartridges/tapes. Of course they are in a box in the garage.
Great system. Can't recall the name of the game, but the kids loved the one that was like a treasure search. no screen graphics just word input. Years later when we would talk about it they would describe all of the rooms etc. like they could see actually see it. Did a great job for emaginations...

Zork? Great game :) Started on a Radioshack TRS80, 8K memory UPGRADED to 16K :D Thought I was in heaven when I got my C64 and had a whopping 64K to play with in programming! Moved on to the Amiga 500 upgraded to 1 MB.

Then I had to jump on the PC wagon :( I miss my Amiga, Waaaay ahead of it's time.

[Rocky]

Just to prolong this thread :rolleyes: I should mention that in an earlier time (much earlier) I coded for an IBM 1401 with 12K (WOW, all that memory). And, the 1401 was about the size of 2 refrigerators side-by-side. My cell phone has about 90,000 times that amount of memory.