I'm a BIG fool.........

[pigtailpat]

I'm posting so everyone should TRY to learn from my mistakes.........

Eons and Eons ago, back in 2009, when I got my very first cutter (a cricut naturally), it sat from November to December untouched as I was afraid. Right after the x-mas mess, before the first of the year or shortly thereafter, I then first saw SCAL, and I didn't like it very much then. A few days after that I was among the early adopters of MTC along with rach and quite a few others. I've been a loyal .mtc girl, except for a very long period of working almost exclusively in funtime as I was cutting pretty extensively with the gazzy.

When I got my sweet kitty last year in 2011, I went back to alot of .mtc cutting. On and off I looked at SCAL, but I really didn't like those handles and you know, I never actually tried cutting inside SCAL. But, on and off I have had problems in .mtc, and love signcut and inkscape, really cool and love the smooth cutting in signcut. I love how it makes that sound in signcut (yeah even with my bad hearing, I can still make out the sound - actually I sort of *feel* it but I digress).....

Coming back and forth here after my many lapses, I'm seeing more of us also having some problems on the .mtc side, and it is not just my imagination. So, in an effort to give myself as many options as possible if my worst fear happened (a total loss of compatibility of the cat with .mtc), I decided to download a trial of SCAL. I was expecting the trial to not work, as in the past, SCAL had a policy of strict time limits on the trial, and I thought I would not be able to even run the trial due to my past flirtations with it.

I was wrong and I have been proven to be really stupid by judging this software by how it looks. I never once even tried to cut with it. The cat sings with SCAL in the same way as it sings in signcut. Beautiful cuts are mine again! I am not trashing the inkscape-signcut combination, as I love it too. When very significant editing is required, I will probably continue to rely on inkscape. But SCAL seems to do very well, I put it through a few tests in trial mode (yes I got the image slashing). But this is enough to know that I want to pay for the software and get it. I will probably be bugging rach again the same way we learned together in the early days of .mtc, but perhaps some of the prior experience will transfer over to SCAL.

Please learn from me. I was taught a pretty big lesson, which I won't forget anytime soon. I will probably make my purchase in the morning, as I am too tired to do another mental thing. Been putting SCAL through experiments the last few hours to make up my mind. It's made up.

Pat

[Retta]

Aw - so glad it worked and I think we all can be the same way. Loving that it worked for you.

[PennyDuncan]

Oh Pat.....like you I LOVE Inkscape and also have Signcut.......but when I went back to SCAL I fell in love too...Brandon has come such a long way with the program......Welcome to the otherside!!!

[rachellann]

Oh Pat.....like you I LOVE Inkscape and also have Signcut.......but when I went back to SCAL I fell in love too...Brandon has come such a long way with the program......Welcome to the otherside!!!

So True Penny as I mentioned to pat early this a.m. that scal has changed a lot and she should try it.

[pigtailpat]

Both rach and dawn, both of them, encouraged me to give it a try. It was among the reasons why I decided to try and I am SO glad I did.

Love to all..

Pat

[kathybessey]

I guess I don't understand the problems everyone seems to have with MTC, I have not had any real problems since I starting using the software back in 2009. I too started with a grasshopper and moved up to my Cougar. Maybe it's because I don't do a ton of editing or creating my own files in it. I have never owned SCAL, looked at it back in 2009 and decided to go with MTC and never looked at it again. Glad you found a software that makes creating fun for you. Guess maybe if I save up the money I will give SCAL a try someday.

[kim]

I m so glad you posted about SCAL. I have been considering SCAL and even downloaded the trial, and gave it a shot. Like it a lot better than i did years ago, but still have some "issues" on the learning curve. Plus tried an engraving file and it got bogged down. I really would like to find something that would do my engravings AND I dont have to have a master's degree to figure out how to work the software. LOL.

[Phyllis]

Pat, I have both MTC and SCAL and both are good programs, but I am like you, I used MTC more. I just got tired of the problems with fixes to run it on a Mac. I love the fact that SCAL has a true Mac version and I am devoting my time now to learn more with it. I have given up hope of Andy doing the true Mac version. I know he has it for the Zing but that doesn't help me. Just my little 2 cents.

[Thyme]

Pat, glad you decided to try it, its come a long way and Brandon is doing a superb job!
Kim, Scal should work fine with engraving files. Do you want to email me the file and I will check it out?

[Suzan]

Goodness Pat, I sat here chuckling as I read. I don't think you are alone, and don't beat yourself up to hard. We have all been down the same road. Glad you are loving scal.

[kim]

Dawn, Thank you for offering, but I think it may be my computer. It has been bogging down the last few days and I need to probably do some cleaning or something on it. I am going to try it on my laptop later and see how it does.

[Angel135612]

I also got SCAL when it first came out, and wasn't happy with it. I got MTC when I heard about it, and used it almost exclusively. I started learning Inkscape and the more I learn the more I like it, as it can do so much. But because it can do so much, it is intimidating when you first try to learn it. I recently got SCAL and I'm giving it another look. So far, what I have seen is a HUGE improvement over the first version I had years ago. I still need to learn how to do some things in SCAL, but I think it is going to be a great program to have for my cutting.

[Thyme]

Dawn, Thank you for offering, but I think it may be my computer. It has been bogging down the last few days and I need to probably do some cleaning or something on it. I am going to try it on my laptop later and see how it does.

Okie dokie

[pigtailpat]

Did my first post purchase cut, worked great first time and no material waste. I did an x-mas stocking pattern template out of the thin plastic. Used rach's suggested settings on another thread, I used 150 force, and speed 205 (she actually suggested a speed of 230 - I was being conservative) and worked great. I only used a regular blade too - not even the heavy materials blade - on click 2. Used the old CD set method (even though I have the new holder) as insurance because I was doing a heavier material. So now I have a great template to trace from. This particular pattern calls for cutting the batting out of the template shape first, and sewing strips of fabric to the batting. An interesting concept. So my kitty is so helpful to me in many ways besides just cards.

What is the overcut setting in the cut menu? Does it act the same as the way in menu in signcut? I forgot to ask about overcut before I went ahead, but would like to know - I will bet I need it for heavier items. My cut did OK, but it almost didn't complete (match the beginning and ending), and I feel the overcut would have worked better. However, I got a great useable first cut, and I'm happy.

Pat

(PS - I will be asking more SCAL questions in the near future - hope everyone can put up with me!)

[PennyDuncan]

Wahoooo...WTG Pat!!!!! The overcut allows the cut to extend past the starting point just a wee bit...

[pigtailpat]

Thanks penny - if I need to cut more of this template, I will experiment with the overcut. Just for kicks, I went back and tried to hand trace the pattern onto the template material in a scrap area of the material I just used, and tried to hand cut with scissors. Whoa! Talk about inaccurate! The machine did the gentle curves of the piece so much better than I could with scissors, which will translate well when I have to cut the batting. If I wasn't so afraid the batting tearing so much during the act of cutting on the cat, I would just cut the batting. I do not think batting is a good material to use on the cat. It is too fibrous I think.

Pat

[Retta]

Pat that is so very cool. These machines just make life a lot more fun even if we are using them for work! LOL

[PennyDuncan]

Yeah I would think it would be too....almost too "fluffy" if that makes sense....LOL Would be interesting to see though!!

[Tyler]

Hi Pat - the Overcut is all explained in the LC - I sent you an email so you can get signed up.

[Elizabeth]

I purchased SCAL while on vacation. I haven't cut anything yet, but I was really impressed with all of the improvements. I am excited to get it set up and actually cut with it.