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I can't imagine how many posts I have seen where people are trying to convert Xara (.xar) files to either illustrator or photoshop or some other format. Many of the answers require that they use another graphics software to accomplish the conversion and I am guessing that the person asking the question probably doesn't have the software or the expertise to do the conversion.
So, here's my thought. Is there anyone that would be interested in starting a little business converting xara (.xar) files to the format that the person or their print service needs?
Needless to say, I would expect that they would have to pay for the file conversion. A person probably won't get rich, but it may be kind of fun and challenging.
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I can't imagine how many posts I have seen where people are trying to convert Xara (.xar) files to either illustrator or photoshop or some other format. Many of the answers require that they use another graphics software to accomplish the conversion and I am guessing that the person asking the question probably doesn't have the software or the expertise to do the conversion.
So, here's my thought. Is there anyone that would be interested in starting a little business converting xara (.xar) files to the format that the person or their print service needs?
Needless to say, I would expect that they would have to pay for the file conversion. A person probably won't get rich, but it may be kind of fun and challenging.
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But you will have to ask me later. I havn't learned this aspect of Xara yet.
Your first on my list as a business partner. We will make Millions. I'm sure of it! http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif
wALDO
Xara Print Guru .......................next year
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I really don't understand why you want to 'convert' Xara files for another illustration app. Either you master Xara and value its features, or you abandon it and switch to Illustrator, Freehand, RealDraw etc.
I don't need anything else. I **do** print everything directly from Xara, or I export it as a Xara X *.eps and place it in Pagemaker if I **really** need a layout software. That's it. And if anything else fails, there is the fabulous TIF format...
So what's your point?
If I would prefer high velocities, I'd purchase a Ferrari. But I'm driving a 4wheel monster truck because it's fulfills my needs better. For the same reason I use Xara - for illustraitons, brochures - you name it. If you think Xara doesn't meet your needs, go ahead and switch, but please don't complain or ask for conversions. IMHO none of the other packages can do anything that might match the Xara X features.
Last week we've been working on setting up theme boards for a customer, using the fantastic color options (child or shade of another color etc) to generate new color schemes just by dragging the color slider. No other software does offer this great feature! My brother spent days to accomplish this task with other apps and he didn't reach his goal, but with Xara we've finished the task in 3 hours...
We've generated TIFFs and EPS from our Xara files, and now the team is working with these great results.
But maybe you prefer a more complicated, 'industry standard' and 'want-to-be-professional' way to approach the task, because you don't know the real value of Xara X?
jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de
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If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jens g.r. benthien: ...I really don't understand why you want to 'convert' Xara files for another illustration app. Either you master Xara and value its features, or you abandon it and switch to Illustrator, Freehand, RealDraw etc....
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
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Yes, I shall agree with you, Jens. At us in Russia speak: if you don't like it — so don't eat it!
http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
Xander
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I do all my work in Xara (except for the 3D stuff). So I do always wonder why people ask for conversions.
If I start in Xara I finish in Xara. To the point were, if I do a drawing in a 3D app for a poster, the output of the 3D app usually ends up in Xara for the labeling etc.
Turan
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Your missing the point. I'm a Xara nut. Have been since Korel actually marketed Xara. That's when I found this program. Never used draw again till now. Never had too.
My point is, one shouldn't have to export to get seperations! Xara should do this. No work arounds should be needed in other programs period. Xara should do the job - "The whole job & nuthin but the job". If it isn't this way then there is a problem, call it a Xara bug, I do.
As anyone who uses Xara or any other program/media knows, workarounds are a part of life. Adapt or be left behind. That's the way it is in our industry & life in general. As a professional illustrator & PC graphics guy, it didn't take long to figure this one out.
Xara is what it is. I'm hoping it will be more. It should be! In the mean time I'll do what I have to do to get more folks using this program & spreading the gospel regardless of my personal issues with it.
Ww
XPG-maybe next week....
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Would like to clarify one thing. I am NOT interested in being the person that would convert xara files for others.
I just threw this out as an idea of a service that "someone else" may want to provide.
If everything can be done in xara, then I don't understand all the posts that take place on how to create a suitable file for printing. Many people that use xara are NOT graphic design experts. They use xara because it is a great vector graphics software, but also because it is very "user friendly and fairly inexpensive.
But, when they create something that they want to get printed they run into road block because the print service they go to has never heard of xara.
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... a reason why you want to make color separations with Xara X. If you want to print 4c colors, you can print to any RIP which will do the rest. That's it. Period. There is no app in this world that can beat a RIP.
If the RIP of your printing co can't handle the output, they should update the RIP.
See what I mean?
jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de
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If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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Jen & everyone else...
I don't think I've made myself clear. The problem is with spot colors illustrations relative to seperations.
If I do a spot color drawing with blends, linear fills, glass effects, shadows & bevels. Send it out to the printer as seperations, I loose most of my drawing. I'm not talking about CMYK seps but Spot seps. Xara can not do this. It's a Bug. If you can draw with it, one should be able to print with it as well.
Perhaps I could be missing something. You mentioned ripping. Is this relative to spot or CMYK? In Xara or 3rd party software?
Where I work now we provide in-house t-shirt(clothes) designs (art) & prints. Graphics output direct to a high quality lazer printer on vellum. From there it is burned onto screens for printing on multi-print presses. They can hold up to 11 screens per design.
I think though that we are both correct. I could be missing something though. If I'm incorrect please feel free to set me straight as I am willing to learn. I want Xara to be the main vector tool here, not Draw & Illustrator, as is currently the situation.
Till next time
Ww
Xara Color Spot Seperation Guru - one step closer!
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I forgot you meant printing on t-shirts. In normal printing situations (on paper) you use a RIP = Raster Image Processor). It's built-in into a Linotronic and handles all color separations, dot sizes,screen resolution (LPI), overprinting etc to either generate the film sheets or the data for a Direct Imaging system like the Heidelberger DI Quickmaster.
I've read somewhere that you can purchase a software that emulates a RIP for desktop publishing, but I really don't have any additional information about it.
Sure, as far as I know some apps do convert Pantone colors, but usually Pantone colors are used as 'spot' colors for a reduced color set printing process, that means you have 2 Pantone colors which means you have two film sheets in black and white for printing - not a color set. The printer will use just the two Pantone defined color mixtures to apply or print the exact colors. In a 4c process Pantone colors don't make sense, because in this case each Pantone color means an additional film sheet or printing plate.
In the past when the printing process was more expensive many companies used spot colors for their logos, but with todays inexpensive 4c processes the spot colors are somewhat absolete.
A spot color is meant to print without a screen, whereas a 4c process will mix any color out of a range of 16.7 million colors - but the colors will be overprinted with screens of different angles...
So if your task differs from a standard printing process, I can't offer a solution because I don't have enough experience in this particular area.
Thumbs up!
jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de
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If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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Yep! DoKo, I'm guessing the folks who got hot under the collar here have never had to deal with screenprinting garments. DoKo is NOT attacking Xara, and he is absolutely right, and I used to dream exactly the same thing he does.
I have to supply artwork for the rag trade and .xar files are no use to any printer I have ever dealt with. However most use all or at least two of the Freehand-Draw-Illustrator triumvirate. Unfortunately, each of these three programs lacks at least some of the features of Xara X (besides all being much less intuitive to use).
A little while ago, Emanuel posted this workaround for exporting Xara X files:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Make your vectorial work in Xara using a CMYK palete.
Export to CMX32 (the color model is maintained)
Open in Corel (I use version 9)
Export to AI or EPS
Open in Freehand or Illustrator in a PC or a Mac
Save natively in that format.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I asked why Emanuel recommended this procedure and Gary answered:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>In a nutshell, Illustrator 7 lacks the support for many of the things Xara can do, such as gradient transparency, soft shadows, bevels, etc. even if you convert the editable shapes which in the case of shadows and bevels, converts them to bitmaps.
Corel can export to a newer version of AI format including PDF for Illustrator 10 as PDF is now the basis for Illustrator's export.
So Corel serves as an interpreter.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
However, Illustrator 10, Freehand 10 and Draw 11 are STILL far short of the full range of Xara X features, so no matter how you work around the problem, you are not going to get gradient transparency in Illustrator or elliptical fills in Draw. And you will STILL find many of your effects mangled in the export.
So my advice to DoKo on this issue, based on much sad experience, is this: when preparing art for screenprinting, find out what program the screenprinter's art department prefer, and tailor your work to that. In other words, don't use any Xara X features that won't be supported at the other end.
By this I mean, for e.g., instead of transparency, use a fill; if you need a bevel effect, do it by hand, not with the bevel tool; if you need shadows, do them by hand, not with the shadow tool; convert everything to editable shapes before exporting, etc etc.
You must also be prepared to clean up the exported image and do some final work to get it right -- applying feathering, etc. So you will have to get your hands dirty, after all!
And finally, all this means that your dream ain't never gonna come true, DoKo because, quite simply, no other program can do all the things that Xara X can do.
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by DoKo:
I can't imagine how many posts I have seen where people are trying to convert Xara (.xar) files to either illustrator or photoshop or some other format. Many of the answers require that they use another graphics software to accomplish the conversion and I am guessing that the person asking the question probably doesn't have the software or the expertise to do the conversion.
He Doko, shit on another convertion from xar. file to shit Illustrator or another, I axept only my xar. file and to export it to JPEG Or Tiff and with this i can print my file in evry printshop, and you Mr.wW Waldo Saldo or what is it if you want to make a busines with him then make your busines in Xara X and xar. file, it will be better for all Xaranas or not??????:::::::::
I wonder why i never want to post any something here now because all this people,they want to convert our xar.file to another shit graphicsprogram, i think we do not need this......
Regards...
Lord (Mohamed)
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By this I mean, for e.g., instead of transparency, use a fill; if you need a bevel effect, do it by hand, not with the bevel tool; if you need shadows, do them by hand, not with the shadow tool; convert everything to editable shapes before exporting, etc etc.
You must also be prepared to clean up the exported image and do some final work to get it right -- applying feathering, etc. So you will have to get your hands dirty, after all!
And finally, all this means that your dream ain't never gonna come true, DoKo because, quite simply, no other program can do all the things that Xara X can do.[/QUOTE]::::::::::::
He Marius, i agree with you, have you seen my Topic: Xara vector drawing in Xara Gallery, it was something like challenge between me and all the poeple from Illustrator.world, i draw in Xara X the sony Camera without all effect in Xara, i wish you can see this Topic, it was in Xara Gallery from july 07, 2003 19:14 under Topic: Xara vector drawing....
Regards...
Lord (Mohamed) http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif
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Mohamed, I remember that fabulous drawing (and the equally impressive wireframe) very well. Which leads onto another point, that pure talent is golden . . . doesn't matter whether you use a computer or a stick of burned wood!
Also that is an excellent point about using bitmaps. When really desperate with printers, I give them as good a .jpg or .gif as I can, at the right size for the final print, and they can always make pretty good positives out them.
That means you don't need to undergo any export blues at all.
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I've gotten quite good at converting xara files into Illustrator files. The toughest part used to be converting the complex groups and shapes into something useable. For most of my projects simply exporting them as a 300dpi, RGBA PNG and applying a clipping path to it with Photoshop does the trick. I do this because I've noticed a barely distinguishable square "ghost" around it if it's in front of a colored background.
Then I import it into Illustrator and adjust dimensions and coordinates accordingly. It takes a while but the result is better than anything I could accomplish with Illustrator.
Oh, and don't forget to convert text to shapes. Adobe programs choose to load fonts differently.
All Your Graphic Are Belong To Us
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For me Xara X and xar.file is Xara X and xar.file and if the people of whole world think like this, Xara wil be alive and someday it will be the Industry Standerd Graphicsprogram, i will waiting for this, but if evrybody like our new newbi in Xara thinks like what doko and saldo waldo thinks, then Xara will be not alive, sorry i,am a stranger to all of you in speaking, in Graphics and in thinking, yes yes and another yes, but i do not axept that another swomebody of all the world wants to convert the xar.file to another Graphicsprogram, now i said and i told all of you please think Xara and not another!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards...
and thanks...
Lord (Mohamed)
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Hey, I like this stuff! This will help with Xara Spot printing in this office! Right off the bat I'm gonna have to remove my drop shadow, bevel & contour buttons from my toolbar on the left.
""Note to self"...Draw blends, shadows & bevels the old way!" Also noticed that I'm going back to using colored lines for volume & shape. Rather than fades & blends. Although the blend tool will work if I keep to solid colors. (like working in crap draw 5)
I'm on it now! Will have to keep tweaking the exports from Xara to Draw for printing. Draw is so interface un-intuitive. No short cut buttons for tools, no NAME GALLERY (awesome tool BTW). Too much clawing at Draws pull down menu's, well, a bummer to say the least.
Regarding exporting complex Xara dwgs to Photoshop as TIF's or JPG's. Corel markets another program called Knockout. It's a Photoshop plug in that was developed by PROCREATE for motion picture blue screen technology. It's a magic wand type of tool, only on steroids. I'm seriously thinking of getting this thing - the first version. Anyone heard of it or used it? Corel Procreate Knockout- here's the links;
http://www.unleash.com/oneuser/part004-knockout.asp
http://www.unleash.com/oneuser/part020-knockout2.asp
Time to start converting...
wALDO sLACK - get it right!
XSPSG
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If you think that is good for you and the shitt Furistrator, then work please with only Illustrator, and do not toutch Xara X........
Regards...
Lord (Mohamed)
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Thanks.......
And more Regardes to you Mr.
PLease think Xara and not another....!!!!!!
Lord (Mohmed)
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I WISH ME THIS DEBATE BETWEEN ME AND THE Illustrator.world people oooooonly....
Thanks...
And Regards....
Lord(Mohamed)
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Lord,
I was speaking purely in terms of converting for the purpose of sending it to a print shop. The harsh reality is there aren't any local print shops that have even heard of Xara, let alone print files from it. So given the choice between not getting my work done and spending 30 minutes converting something to Illustrator I'd rather choose the latter.
This doesn't mean I don't support the program or aren't loyal to it. It's still my first choice for all of my graphic projects but the reality is I'm using a program that not many people here in the states have ever heard of.
Truth be told, I HATE Illustrator, I find it too clunky for what I do, but the sad fact is that I work in print sometimes and Illustrator becomes a necessary tool and we were discussing the best ways and methods we use to convert .xar files to fit another program. This isn't a post about choosing sides or loyalty, so please try to keep it on topic.
All Your Graphic Are Belong To Us
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I`m very sorry, but this DEBATE about Xara X and the another Programs make me angry, and then i can not stop my self, sorry again, i understand your point now, and believe me, if i can open Print shop by me here in Graz (Austria)only to print the xar.file i will do it.
Sorry again
Regards
Lord(Mohamed)
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It's okay, god knows I've tried to convert as many people as I could over to xara (got all the other developers using it for their graphics http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif ) but I've noticed that the guys at my local print shop aren't nearly as open minded, especially considering my work usually brings in less than $1,000 a year for them.
One happy note, our on-site creative services shop let me print stuff directly to their plotter and the results are fantastic.
All Your Graphic Are Belong To Us
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I've played the game with printers, but with my current guy have reached a happy solution for both of us. I supply him with high-res, font-embedded PDF files.
And the app I use to generate them is only $10 USD (I haven't had the heart to tell him yet - he assumes I'm using Acrobat, which satisfies his Adobe-centric worldview).
I've just used Xara to produce a centenary logo for our local infantry regiment - it's currently on stationery and letterhead in full colour - so I can attest that the result is flawless (bevels, blends and all).
Jackie
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that relates to this issue which I forgot to bring up was that some of Xara's unique effects are actually impossible to export into other vector drawing programs because of the way Xara achieves them. Gary pointed out that shadows and bevels are translated into Corel Draw as bitmaps -- that is because they are bitmaps to start with. Xara creates them as bitmap fills but this is not revealed to the user unless you convert them to editable shapes and ungroup them.
In other words, these effects are great if you are for e.g. making web images and plan the final version to be a jpg or animated gif. But they are no use for any application that demands a vectorial file.
So it's another reason for following Mohamed's example and doing more of this stuff by hand!
Sorry to keep ruminating on this topic. It exercises a dull fascination over my decaying old brain (49 next month).
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What is that $10 PDF app? And what are your Xara settings when you export?
Sheffield Abella
www.sheff.com
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PDF995 (although I went wild and spent $20 to get the whole suite): PDF995.
It installs as a virtual printer, so you just go to "File", "Print". Select pdf995 from the printer list and set the properties through the print dialog "Properties" button. Choose the "Advanced" button to set dpi, fonts, etc. I generally use 1200 dpi with "Download as Softfonts" to generate files for my print guy. Works a treat.
The suite apps (pdfedit and signature995) add functionality - pdfedit allows me to combine pdf files, batch produce pdfs from a selected file list, add page numbers, bookmarks, convert pdf files to images, make URLs clickable, etc. Signature995 allows me to digitally sign and encrypt pdfs. The three apps together cost $19.95 USD and are well worth the money.
I'm trying their new product right now - UltraPDF. This is a bit like Microsoft Binder on steroids, and even includes Flash support. You can build multimedia right in, and it makes a nice slideshow app. For another $9.95, I'm almost certain to be registering this one soon.
Both apps work without registering, though - they are adware but not spyware. If you don't register, using the product will open your browser to a ad page. Register, and that doesn't happen any more. Very slick.
