Question on how epilog and trotec handle files of raster images

[Ben Dalton]

This is my first time posting, so I hope this is an acceptable subject... I'm looking into a new laser to replace my GCC Explorer 2, 40 watt machine. I'm leaning toward an Epilog Fusion, a Trotec Speedy 400, or a GCC Spirit GLS (all with at least 60 watts). I like what I've seen and what's been posted here on SMC about the trotecs and epilogs. I just had a question on how files are handled by trotec and epilog software. Let's say I have a 12" by 12" tile or wood piece, but it only needs 4" by 4" engraving in the middle. I can lay out the file for a full 12" by 12", put the 4" by 4" image where I want it in the space, and when I send it to my GCC machine, it automatically takes out all the blank space in the file, and only moves over the 4" by 4" image when it is actually engraving. Do the epilogs and trotecs handle files the same way? I hope I described my question well enough.

[Mark Sipes]

Sure Create a 4 x 4 tile and center it in the 12 x 12 area , put it in the ur, ul, lr, lr any where on the table it only see the 4 x 4. Hey, create 9 different 4 x 4 s and engrave them all on the 12 x 12 tile, or duplicate the one and engrave 9 4 x 4 of the same image.........very flexible..

[Ben Dalton]

After looking at more posts, I think the big difference is job control. The GCC Explorer I have now uses a simple print driver, but doesn't have any job control software. You send an image to the laser, and control the job from the machine. Doing it this way, you send over a master file with all the engraving you want to do in one run, and the machine takes out the empty space from the master file. Using job control, you just place the exact image where you want it to engrave in the work area and away it goes. Same results, different way to do it. Is that a correct interpretation? It seems like you just have a lot more options and versatility with job control. The new epilog fusion is suppose to have new job control software that is really good. Has anyone heard anything about it, or even better used it?

[Gene Howard]

With Trotec JobControl you do have control over whether it auto-crops to the actual rasterable/cuttable area ("Minimize to Jobsize" checked) or sizes the job with your exact dimensions ("Minimize..." unchecked). The other option is that JobControl can be configured to act on different recognized colors from your artwork. You can set one of these colors to "Skip" as the action which will let you draw a border around your artwork to maintain the overall job size without the laser actually engraving or cutting the line.

[Ben Dalton]

Gene, Thanks a ton... That is exactly the response I was hoping for. This forum is the best, I seem to always find the answers I'm looking for.