Cutting Software Solutions

Cutting software is required to control any cutting plotter; this is usually supplied with the device. However, there are some differences in the type and scope of the software applications, ranging from simple printer drivers and plugins as extensions to standalone software solutions.

One relatively simple yet highly efficient solution for controlling a cutting plotter is to use printer drivers, which are widely available and employed by many hardware manufacturers.  With this type of cutting software, installing the appropriate driver ensures that the cutting plotter is subsequently recognised as a printer by the operating system. This allows a cutting design from the graphics software being used – such as CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand – to be processed directly.

A plotting job is sent as usual via the File – Print menu in your graphics software. Specific cutting parameters, such as media format, offset correction or even the graphics software being used, can be set within the driver itself.

However, the range of functions is limited. Setting up the cutting area, mirroring and rotating, as well as some other functions familiar from cutting software, are generally not available in plotter drivers.

Plug-ins are extension solutions for graphics software that is already in use. Typically, starting from a current graphics application, the relevant cutting software is activated via a shortcut command, e.g. ‘Plot/Cut ’. The cutting parameters can then be selected there and the plotting job started. The advantage of a plugin is similar to that of a printer driver: direct availability without wasting additional processing power and without the need for additional training in a new graphics environment.

Plugins are usually supplied free of charge by the cutting plotter manufacturer to enable straightforward operation alongside the graphics software the user is already familiar with.

Examples of plugins include CoCut, Signcut and CuttingMaster.

The most comprehensive solution consists of fully-fledged, standalone software programmes designed for the professional production of complex graphics. This option covers all the functional requirements for creating vector graphics, as well as editing them and plotting them using a cutting plotter – without the need for separate graphics software.

These cutting software programmes are usually available in various versions with a dongle. They contain driver libraries for all standard devices on the market and are therefore particularly versatile.

Examples of standalone software solutions for cutting plotters include, for example: