Q: What sort of computer should I be using with your Wrap Wizard, Wrapture Full and other really large files you offer? Mine sits here with a spinning hour glass forever (it seems.)

A: We use custom computers built by my good friend Casey Yonemura of www.signburst.com Our machines are dual-quad core 64bit machines specifically built for high-end graphic intensive applications such as Adobe Photoshop and others. With the right machine, working with these huge bitmaps is much, much easier and faster as well. 'Off the shelf' machines aren't built for the demanding environment you and I work in. Get the right tools and the job can be easy and fast.

Q: What kind of Wrap vinyl do you use / recommend?

A: There are new Wrap vinyls available from 3M, Avery, Oracal, LG Chem, MacTac and others. All of these vinyls are so advanced compared to the 'old' days of premium cast is not even a comparison! Get one with Air Egress technology and you are well on your way to success. The one to choose between these companies will depend upon your level of skill installing, and your preference as to initial tack. All of them are very carefully manufactured for use in wrapping vehicles and are durable.

Q: What kind of Laminate do you recommend?

A: Choose a laminate that is as high a quality as the base film you intend to print on. Keep cast film and cast laminate together to avoid problems later on. A cast vinyl with a calendared laminate will shrink at different rates and cause problems which will often result in a re-do for free. Avoid those problems by choosing the highest quality base wrap vinyl and laminate and you'll simply avoid most of the problems that will certainly appear.

Q: What kind of printer do you recommend?

A: Roland, Mimaki, Mutoh are the 3 main printers used in the vinyl business. They are all good and offer unique features. I prefer a separate printer / cutter combination so I can keep my printer printing non-stop and use the cutter when I need to without interrupting the printing process. Keep your eyes open for HP and Fuji as they move into the vinyl market later this year. I believe the new generation of printers soon to be available will be a real game-changer.

Q: When I try and open some of your really huge files in Photoshop, it throws an error. What's up with that?

A: Photoshop ver. 7 or older has a finite pixel limit. Starting with CS and newer, Photoshop doesn't have that pixel limitation. Upgrade your old version and you'll be fine.

Q: How do I remove the white background from one of your flattened .tiff files (or) a .jpg file when working in Flexi?

A: It's called a 'Mask' command in Flexi. It's located under the arrange menu. Basically it's putting a vector on top of the bitmap, selecting the two, then clicking Mask. When in doubt, either read the manual that came with Flexi, or click on the HELP menu and read about Masking an image.

Q: How do I remove the white background from an image in SignLab?

A: It's called "Clipping". In Signlab first import the bitmap. Then place a vector (or create a vector) that is the desired shape. Place that vector on top of the bitmap and move it into position. Select both, click Arrange / clipping. If you are still unsure how to perform this task, consult your manual or click the Help menu and read about 'clipping'.

Q: I'm using your library of bitmap fills and background in Flexi. I designed a large body wrap by masking lots of fills into shapes. Now when I try to print the file, my printer just sits there. What's wrong?

A: All of our files are compressed when we ship out the DVD to you. When you open them, the file is decompressed. A decompressed file is much larger in size. When you 'mask' or 'clipping' a bitmap into a shape, the entire bitmap is still there, you just can't see it because of the clipping mask. If you put a lot of those into one file, the file can quickly get to 1GB+ and beyond in size. The resulting huge print file can take forever to RIP on a slow computer. Designing in Adobe Photoshop, then saving it as a single high-quality .jpg or flattened .tiff will reduce these file sizes tremendously making them easy to open, save and RIP.

Q: How do I do that in Adobe Photoshop?

A: We don't sell Adobe Photoshop, but we do recommend it. We offer the "Pro Designer" Photoshop training for vinyl that will teach you the basics of killer design for vinyl in Photoshop, then get your work back to Flexi, Signlab, or directly to your RIP for output. Pro Designer can be purchased through any authorized Aurora Graphics dealer. To find a listing of those dealers, click on the DEALER button on our website.

Q: Can I use Adobe Photoshop Elements instead of Photoshop?

A: You can use it, but it doesn't have the functionality of Photoshop, so you won't be able to do all the cool editing that Photoshop offers. Photoshop elements ability is limited.

Q: I can't seem to play the CD I received from Aurora Graphics.

A: Make sure you have a DVD player. Nearly all of our products now come on DVD using DVD+ media. To find out if your player is a DVD+ player, check the following: START / MY COMPUTER / VIEW SYSTEM INFORMATION / HARDWARE / DEVICE MANAGER / and then click the little + beside your CD / DVD drive. You will see the drive name, model number and also what it supports.

Q: My CD / DVD has worked fine for a long time, but now doesn't read anymore. What happened?

A: CD's and DVD's can die for a multitude of reasons: excessive heat, scratches, dropping on it's edge, and being bent are all common abuses that can cause a disk to stop reading. If you have a defective disk, send back the disk for a replacement. There is a small charge to replace disks.

Q: I have Easy 3D Bevel and it won't run properly now. What's the problem?

A: Easy 3D Bevel is no longer in production, and isn't supported any longer. Easy 3D Bevel won't run with Adobe Photoshop CS3 or later, and won't run on Windows Vista. Refer to your instructions that came with Easy 3D Bevel, or watch the tutorials that are located on the disk for more information about compatibility.

Q: I need 300dpi resolution minimum to print on my vinyl printer, because I'm printing at 720 X 720dpi. Why are your files 72dpi?

A: 72dpi resolution of the full-scale print image is the industry standard. If your artwork is created at full scale, 72dpi it will print beautifully. If your artwork has to be blown up from 72dpi, it could result in a rough, pixelated print. Aurora Graphics artwork is already created at full scale. (You may have to reduce the scale in some cases.) And the 720 X 720 on the printer settings is actually lines per inch and has nothing to do with the resolution of the print file itself.

Q: How do I ___________________ in Flexi?

A: We support everything we sell, but we don't sell Flexi. Consult your owners manual, the on-line HELP menu, or take a Flexi training class to learn how to use it's features.

Q: How do I put fills into Flexi's fill palette?

A: Read the manual that came with your Flexi, consult the HELP menu, or take a Flexi training class to better familiarize yourself with the many functions of that software.

Q: When I print gray, it turns sort of green looking. What's wrong?!

A: Gray and Red are two of the most difficult colors to hit with most RIP's This is the fault of the RIP, not the image itself. Contact your RIP mfg and have them fix it for you. A high quality RIP will hit those colors more accurately.

Q: I want to purchase your software, but your website says contact a distributor. Why is that?

A: As of Jan. 2008 Aurora Graphics sells through our distributor channels only. You can find a listing of those dealers on our website.

Q: I bought your software and then tried to re-sell the disk on E-bay (or some other on-line venue). Is that OK?

A: No. Our license clearly states the software cannot be re-sold on any online venue including but not limited to E-bay. This is a direct license violation and is not allowed.

Q: How do I install fills into SignLab's fill palette?

A: Consult your SignLab user manual or Help menu and search for 'Fill Palette' or 'Define Pattern' for instructions.

Q: Hardware in Print Craft 2 & Monster Wrap looks like a black dot. What's wrong?

A: As the instructions point out, that is a clipping mask on top of the hardware image. The clipping mask is used to remove the background off of the nut / bolt / screw etc. in Flexi or SignLab, Corel or Illustrator as these programs don't support transparent .tiff, this is the work-around.