Gerber OMEGA CP User manual

Copyright Notice
COPYRIGHT ©2007 Gerber Scientific International. All Rights Reserved.
Portions Copyright © 2001 artofcode LLC. This software is based in part on the work of the Independent
JPEG Group. Portions Copyright © 1998 Soft Horizons. All Rights Reserved.
Ghostscript Included.
This document may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without written permission of
the copyright owner.
This document is furnished to support OMEGA. In consideration of the furnishing of the information
contained in this document, the party to whom it is given assumes its custody and control and agrees to
the following:
1 The information herein contained is given in confidence, and any part thereof shall not be copied or
reproduced without written consent of Gerber Scientific International.
2 This document or the contents herein under no circumstances shall be used in the manufacture or
reproduction of the article shown and the delivery of this document shall not constitute any right or
license to do so.
Printed in USA
GSP, EDGE, and GRAPHIX ADVANTAGE are registered trademarks, and OMEGA, GERBER MAXX,
GERBER EDGE FX, EDGE Match, GerberColor, GerberColor Spectratone, GERBER SOLARA, GERBER
P2C, ImageRIP, Vantage Scan, SUPER CMYK, Gerber ColorID, MacImprint, Matched Technology
System, and ART Path are trademarks of Gerber Scientific Products. Adobe Illustrator and Encapsulated
PostScript are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. Artifex, the Artifex logo, Ghostscript, and
the Ghostscript logo are registered trademarks of Artifex Software, Inc. CorelDRAW is a registered
trademark of Corel Systems Corporation. 3M and Scotchcal are registered trademarks of 3M. Hewlett-
Packard is a registered trademark and HPGL is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company.
MonacoEZcolor and MonacoSENSOR are trademarks of X-Rite, Inc. TrueType is registered trademark of
Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the USA and other countries. Microsoft and Windows, are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
PANTONE® Colors displayed may not match PANTONE-identified standards. Consult current
PANTONE Color Publications for accurate color. PANTONE® and other Pantone, Inc. trademarks are
the property of Pantone, Inc. © Pantone, Inc., 2005.
Pantone, Inc. is the copyright owner of color data and/or software which are licensed to Gerber Scientific
Products. to distribute for use only in combination with Gerber OMEGA 2.5. PANTONE Color Data
and/or Software shall not be copied onto another disk or into memory unless as part of the execution of
Gerber OMEGA 2.5.

Variables
There are many variables in process reproduction of colors generated by the GERBER EDGE and
GERBER MAXX, any one of which may affect the quality of the Gerber simulations of PANTONE Colors,
including:
•Type of media/paper used
•Type of ink film used
•Effective final resolution
•Dot structures/halftones
For optimal results we recommend that the following materials be used:
1. 3M Scotchcal 220-10 or 225-10 Gloss White Vinyl
2. GerberColor SUPER CMYK Foils
THE PANTONE-IDENTIFIED COLOR DISPLAYED ON THE PRINT AND/OR COPY GENERATED BY
THIS SOFTWARE HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED NOR ARE THEY APPROVED BY PANTONE, INC.
TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH PANTONE, INC.'S COLOR VALUES OR STANDARDS. Consult
current PANTONE Color publications for accurate colors.

Book One: Welcome ................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Introducing the OMEGA Programs...................................................................................3
Running in Demo Mode .......................................................................................................................................4
Chapter 2: Where to Get Help ...............................................................................................................7
About the manuals ................................................................................................................................................7
Warnings, cautions, notes, and tips.....................................................................................................................7
Keystroke and menu choice formats...................................................................................................................8
Accelerator keys.....................................................................................................................................................8
Context menus .......................................................................................................................................................8
Mouse terminology................................................................................................................................................9
Getting help right in OMEGA..............................................................................................................................9
Other Information on the OMEGA CD.............................................................................................................11
Specific technical support ...................................................................................................................................12
Contacting Gerber Technical Support...............................................................................................................12
Gerber web site ....................................................................................................................................................12
Chapter 3: Opening and Closing Files................................................................................................13
Creating a new file...............................................................................................................................................13
Opening an existing file ......................................................................................................................................13
Adding a file to an open PLT file (Importing) .................................................................................................15
Adding multiple files to an open PLT file (importing)...................................................................................17
Placing multiple copies of a file in an open PLT file.......................................................................................18
Opening Gerber Clip Art (GCA) files ...............................................................................................................19
Closing files ..........................................................................................................................................................21
Chapter 4: Saving Files and Viewing Properties..............................................................................23
Saving PLT files....................................................................................................................................................23
AutoBackup feature.............................................................................................................................................24
Saving a file for the MAXX 2..............................................................................................................................24
Saving a copy of a PLT file .................................................................................................................................24
Saving plot files in an older OMEGA format...................................................................................................24
Saving files in formats other than PLT..............................................................................................................25
Viewing Document Properties...........................................................................................................................26
Tracking elapsed design time.............................................................................................................................27
Book Two: Understanding Composer Tools .....................................................................................29
Chapter 5: Setting Up Composer's Work Surface............................................................................31
Composer work surface ......................................................................................................................................31
Window controls..................................................................................................................................................33
Sizing the work surface to the design ...............................................................................................................33
Using the Natural Layout option.......................................................................................................................35
Viewing the design..............................................................................................................................................36
Zooming in or out on the design .......................................................................................................................38
Setting Preferences using Tools > Options.......................................................................................................39
Chapter 6: Using Layers.........................................................................................................................55
Rules for designing with layers .........................................................................................................................56
Using the Layer Manager ...................................................................................................................................58
Using the Layer Menu.........................................................................................................................................66

Print Order and Layers Overview.....................................................................................................................69
Understanding Print Order in Composer ........................................................................................................70
Outputting by layers to GSPPlot .......................................................................................................................72
Importing layers...................................................................................................................................................72
Chapter 7: Selecting the Elements of the Design ...........................................................................77
Selecting elements of the design........................................................................................................................77
Book Three: Creating the Basic Design Text and Shapes..............................................................83
Chapter 8: All About Text......................................................................................................................85
Entering text .........................................................................................................................................................85
Editing text..........................................................................................................................................................103
Using Change Case to alter the case of text....................................................................................................104
Spacing characters, lines and columns............................................................................................................104
Resetting the line spacing .................................................................................................................................107
Setting line length and column height............................................................................................................107
Arranging the text in the design ......................................................................................................................109
Converting text to shapes .................................................................................................................................110
Working with Spell Check................................................................................................................................111
Chapter 9: Creating Shapes............................................................................................................... 119
Techniques for drawing on the work surface ................................................................................................119
Rectangles and squares .....................................................................................................................................119
Circles and ellipses ............................................................................................................................................120
Decorative borders.............................................................................................................................................120
Creating a surround shape ...............................................................................................................................122
Multi-sided shapes (stars and polygons)........................................................................................................124
Adding GerberCUT Targets.............................................................................................................................127
Freehand drawing..............................................................................................................................................129
Chapter 10: Sizing, Slanting, Flipping, and Rotating ................................................................... 133
Sizing ...................................................................................................................................................................133
Slanting................................................................................................................................................................135
Flipping or mirroring ........................................................................................................................................136
Rotating...............................................................................................................................................................137
Chapter 11: Grouping, Moving, Justifying, and Spacing............................................................. 141
Grouping and ungrouping ...............................................................................................................................141
Locking or Unlocking Objects..........................................................................................................................142
Moving objects on the work surface................................................................................................................143
Justifying.............................................................................................................................................................144
Adding and removing guidelines ...................................................................................................................145
Spacing ................................................................................................................................................................146
Chapter 12: Measuring and Dimensioning.................................................................................... 149
Measuring distance and angles........................................................................................................................149
Measuring the distance around objects ..........................................................................................................152
Determining the area of objects .......................................................................................................................152
Dimensioning Summary...................................................................................................................................153
Understanding Dimensioning..........................................................................................................................156
Dimensioning .....................................................................................................................................................157
The Dimensions Toolbar...................................................................................................................................158

Dimensioning Properties Toolbar ...................................................................................................................162
Book Four: Adding Color to the Design.......................................................................................... 167
Chapter 13: Current Style Affects the Color in the Design ........................................................ 169
Defining the current style .................................................................................................................................169
Setting the current style ....................................................................................................................................170
Setting the current style to none ......................................................................................................................170
Changing the current style using the Extract Style command ....................................................................170
Making a new current style without selecting an object ..............................................................................171
Assigning the current style...............................................................................................................................172
Creating filled text or objects without cutlines..............................................................................................172
Chapter 14: Making, Using, and Editing Palettes......................................................................... 175
Displaying palettes on the Composer work surface .....................................................................................175
Making a job palette using Gerber vinyl ........................................................................................................177
Using Palette Manager......................................................................................................................................179
Using Gerber palettes in Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW.....................................................................182
Chapter 15: Understanding Vinyl Colors ........................................................................................ 187
Displaying a vinyl palette.................................................................................................................................187
Assigning vinyl colors to objects .....................................................................................................................187
Selecting objects of the same vinyl color ........................................................................................................189
Chapter 16: Changing Vinyl Colors to Spot Foil Colors............................................................... 191
Posterizing methods..........................................................................................................................................191
Understanding the Posterize Selected Shapes dialog box............................................................................192
Posterizing a job.................................................................................................................................................195
Troubleshooting.................................................................................................................................................196
Chapter 17: Filling Objects with Colors for Printing.................................................................... 197
Where does the color come from? ...................................................................................................................197
Assigning attributes for printing .....................................................................................................................197
Filling with a clear fill........................................................................................................................................199
Filling with a spot foil .......................................................................................................................................199
Filling with a process foil..................................................................................................................................202
Filling with a gradient fill.................................................................................................................................204
Filling with Spectratone colors.........................................................................................................................207
Editing fill attributes..........................................................................................................................................209
Naming custom process colors ........................................................................................................................211
Changing from a spot fill to a process fill.......................................................................................................211
Automatically convert Process fills to Spot fills ............................................................................................212
Chapter 18: Choosing and Assigning Halftones........................................................................... 213
What is a halftone?.............................................................................................................................................213
Choosing the best halftone for the fill.............................................................................................................213
Non-Optimized Halftones Detected ...............................................................................................................216
Printing with Non-optimized Halftones when Auto-Substitution is On...................................................217
Assigning a halftone..........................................................................................................................................217
Editing halftones................................................................................................................................................218
Substituting halftones........................................................................................................................................218

Chapter 19: Choosing a Fill Color that Matches Printer Output............................................... 221
Printing EDGE Match Color Matching System charts..................................................................................221
Choosing and assigning an EDGE Match color.............................................................................................222
Chapter 20: Making and Using GerberColor Spectratone Colors............................................. 225
Making a Spectratone chart of all possible colors in inventory...................................................................225
Making a Spectratone chart of some colors in inventory .............................................................................226
Printing a chart of Spectratone tints................................................................................................................228
Filling objects with Spectratone colors............................................................................................................229
Chapter 21: Assigning PANTONE Colors ........................................................................................ 231
Using ColorID to choose software simulations of solid PANTONE Colors..............................................232
Chapter 22: Strokes ⎯Adding Print Thickness to the Outline of Objects ............................ 233
What is a stroke? ................................................................................................................................................233
Adding strokes to an object..............................................................................................................................233
Editing stroke attributes....................................................................................................................................236
Global stroke width editing..............................................................................................................................237
Converting strokes to shapes with Expand Strokes......................................................................................238
Book Five: Making the Design Print and Cut Correctly............................................................... 241
Chapter 23: Before Printing or Cutting, Check the Design ........................................................ 243
Using the Select and View menus to check a job...........................................................................................243
Checking and selecting vinyl colors................................................................................................................244
Checking and selecting fills and strokes by color .........................................................................................244
Checking and selecting fills and strokes by color type.................................................................................245
Checking and selecting fills and strokes by halftone type ...........................................................................245
Checking and selecting which objects will cut, print, or both.....................................................................246
Checking and selecting images and image templates ..................................................................................247
Checking and selecting overlaps, overprints, or primer ..............................................................................247
Checking and selecting Small Text by color type..........................................................................................247
Checking and selecting open shapes...............................................................................................................247
Checking and selecting Locked Objects..........................................................................................................247
Checking and selecting Clipping Paths ..........................................................................................................248
Checking and selecting dimensions ................................................................................................................248
Selecting stacked objects on the work surface ...............................................................................................248
Chapter 24: Five Steps to Successful Output................................................................................ 249
Overview: 5 steps to successful thermal printer output...............................................................................249
1. Check and assign the vinyl color.................................................................................................................249
2. Check and assign fills and strokes...............................................................................................................250
3. Check and assign or remove object cut lines..............................................................................................250
4. Check and rearrange objects in the stacking order ...................................................................................250
5. Combining and filling groups for printing ................................................................................................251
Chapter 25: Solving Printing and Registration Problems........................................................... 253
Check the job ......................................................................................................................................................253
Poor print-to-cut registration ...........................................................................................................................253
Poor print-to-print registration........................................................................................................................254
Changing the vinyl and foil print order .........................................................................................................262
Printing a light color over a darker color........................................................................................................264

Changing the darkness of prints......................................................................................................................264
Correcting colors for images ............................................................................................................................265
Book Six: Color Management and Importing/Exporting Files .................................................. 267
Chapter 26: Practical Hands-On Color Management .................................................................. 269
Step 1: Setting up Color Management ............................................................................................................269
Step 2: Setting up Image Thumbnail ...............................................................................................................271
Step 3: Assigning the vinyl family...................................................................................................................272
Chapter 27: Importing Files into Composer .................................................................................. 273
Understanding the Import dialog box ............................................................................................................273
Choosing the best import filter ........................................................................................................................276
Understanding graphic file formats................................................................................................................277
The role of Color Management when importing files ..................................................................................279
Importing common file types...........................................................................................................................280
Importing Raster file filters - TIF, BMP, JPG, GIF .........................................................................................280
Importing Adobe format files (AI 7.0 or higher, PDF, EPS, or PS) .............................................................282
Importing AI 1.1 thru 8.0 and CMX 5.0/6.0 files for vinyl printing ...........................................................289
Importing AI 1.1 thru 8.0 and CMX 5.0/6.0 files for vinyl cutting .............................................................290
Importing AI 8.0 or earlier, CMX (5.0/6.0), or EPS files...............................................................................292
Defining a Cut Contour in other software......................................................................................................299
Importing CorelDRAW clipart ........................................................................................................................300
Importing CorelDRAW Drawing Format (CDR) files ..................................................................................301
Using the Clipboard to import data into Composer.....................................................................................301
Importing other file types.................................................................................................................................302
Importing Gerber Clip Art (GCA) file ............................................................................................................302
Importing DXF files using the (GSP) AutoCAD Drawing Interchange Filter...........................................303
Importing AutoCAD Drawing Format (DWG) files.....................................................................................304
Importing Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) ....................................................................304
Importing Microsoft Windows Metafile (WMF) ...........................................................................................305
Chapter 28: Exporting Files from Composer................................................................................ 307
Exporting all or portions of a file.....................................................................................................................307
Exporting to a Hot Folder.................................................................................................................................310
Exporting common file types ...........................................................................................................................311
Exporting to BMP, GIF, JPG, or TIF file formats ...........................................................................................311
Exporting to Adobe Illustrator – AI or EPS format using the GSP filter....................................................312
Using the Clipboard to Export Data from Composer...................................................................................317
Exporting to an Encapsulated PostScript File (EPS) or Adobe Illustrator File (AI)..................................317
Exporting to an AutoCAD Drawing Web Format (DWF)............................................................................319
Exporting to a DXF (GSP) AutoCAD Drawing Interchange File ................................................................320
Exporting to AutoCAD Drawing Interchange File (DXF)............................................................................321
Exporting to a Gerber Artwork Definition File (GAD).................................................................................322
Exporting to Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language (HGL)..........................................................................322
Exporting to IGES Drawing File Format (IGES)............................................................................................323
Exporting to a Z-soft PC Paintbrush Bitmap (PCX)......................................................................................324
Exporting to Adobe Acrobat File Format (PDF)............................................................................................326
Exporting to PhotoShop File Format (PSD)....................................................................................................328
Exporting to Microsoft Windows Metafile (WMF) .......................................................................................329
Exporting to WordPerfect Graphic File Format (WPG) ...............................................................................331

Chapter 29: Using File Converter .................................................................................................... 333
Choosing File Converter options.....................................................................................................................333
Importing multiple files (batch conversion)...................................................................................................334
Exporting multiple files (batch conversion)...................................................................................................334
File conversion troubleshooting ......................................................................................................................335
Chapter 30: Remapping Colors for Imported CMX Files ............................................................ 337
Understanding color models............................................................................................................................337
Book Seven: Adding Artwork and Other Files to the Design .................................................... 343
Chapter 31: Working with Images ................................................................................................... 345
Adding images to the design ...........................................................................................................................345
Saving an embedded image .............................................................................................................................350
Changing from a linked to an embedded image...........................................................................................350
Importing paths from an image.......................................................................................................................351
Viewing images in the design ..........................................................................................................................352
Editing images in Composer ............................................................................................................................355
Updating an image file in OMEGA.................................................................................................................357
Filling images .....................................................................................................................................................358
Chapter 32: Converting Images to Cut Shapes ............................................................................. 361
Converting a color image to a cut shape ........................................................................................................361
Converting a black and white image to a cut shape .....................................................................................364
Chapter 33: Adding Cutlines to Artwork ........................................................................................ 367
Using Generate Decal Cut ................................................................................................................................367
Chapter 34: Using Clipping Paths .................................................................................................... 373
Understanding Clipping Paths ........................................................................................................................373
Chapter 35: Scanning Artwork.......................................................................................................... 379
Storing and outputting scanned images.........................................................................................................379
Methods of getting scanned data into Composer..........................................................................................383
Methods of vectorizing raster data..................................................................................................................385
Color Management and scanning....................................................................................................................386
Chapter 36: Digitizing Artwork ......................................................................................................... 387
Installing the tablet ............................................................................................................................................387
Understanding the digitizing process: an overview.....................................................................................388
Preparing artwork for digitizing .....................................................................................................................389
Using the digitizing puck .................................................................................................................................390
Using the tablet ..................................................................................................................................................391
Digitizing the artwork.......................................................................................................................................391
Digitizing: examples and tips...........................................................................................................................391
Digitizing shapes ...............................................................................................................................................393
Editing the digitized design .............................................................................................................................394
Digitizing exercises............................................................................................................................................395
Book Eight: Editing the Design and Shapes .................................................................................. 403

Chapter 37: Using the Edit Menu..................................................................................................... 405
Using Undo and Redo.......................................................................................................................................405
Copying parts or all of a design.......................................................................................................................405
Using Duplicate to copy and offset an object.................................................................................................407
Deleting parts of the design..............................................................................................................................407
Chapter 38: Detail Editing Segments and Points of Vector Objects........................................ 409
Selecting objects or parts of objects for editing..............................................................................................409
Copying and pasting segments........................................................................................................................411
Changing curves to lines and lines to curves.................................................................................................411
Aligning points...................................................................................................................................................412
Adding points to objects ...................................................................................................................................413
Deleting points from an object .........................................................................................................................415
Using the Move Tool (hook).............................................................................................................................416
Moving points ....................................................................................................................................................417
Moving segments...............................................................................................................................................419
Bending line segments ......................................................................................................................................421
Changing the flex of curves..............................................................................................................................422
Closing open points with the Move tool ........................................................................................................422
Automatically joining open shapes.................................................................................................................423
Dividing an object into multiple objects .........................................................................................................424
Making the corners of an object rounded using the Round Corner tool....................................................425
Sharpening the corners of an object using the Sharp Corner Tool..............................................................426
Changing the corners of an object with Fillet Corner ...................................................................................426
Smoothing objects with the Smooth Path tool ...............................................................................................428
Freehand Drawing.............................................................................................................................................429
Designate the first point of a shape.................................................................................................................429
Chapter 39: Reducing the Number of Points with the Thin Command .................................. 431
Removing points................................................................................................................................................431
Smoothing jagged edges ...................................................................................................................................432
Controlling the number of points thinned .....................................................................................................433
Minimizing the error between remaining points after thinning .................................................................435
Book Nine: Adding Flair to the Design ........................................................................................... 437
Chapter 40: Outlining Objects .......................................................................................................... 439
Creating outlines................................................................................................................................................439
Hiding, encasing, and contouring objects ......................................................................................................441
Changing the spacing between multiple outlines .........................................................................................443
Adding and deleting outlines ..........................................................................................................................446
Editing outline settings for sharp corners ......................................................................................................447
Saving the outline for later use ........................................................................................................................447
Chapter 41: Adding Shadows ........................................................................................................... 449
Creating a shade or drop shadow ...................................................................................................................450
Creating a cast shadow .....................................................................................................................................451
Choosing the shadow output options.............................................................................................................451
Creating different types of jobs using Shadow..............................................................................................454
Editing or deleting Shadows............................................................................................................................457
Viewing the Design ...........................................................................................................................................457
Exercises..............................................................................................................................................................457

Chapter 42: Distorting and Warping Objects ................................................................................ 463
Distorting an object............................................................................................................................................463
Warping an object..............................................................................................................................................464
Chapter 43: Fitting Text to a Path.................................................................................................... 469
Working with the Fit Text to Path dialog box................................................................................................469
Selecting, reverse selecting, and deselecting text ..........................................................................................470
Positioning text along the path ........................................................................................................................471
Changing the spacing of text............................................................................................................................473
Changing the height of text ..............................................................................................................................474
Reversing the path.............................................................................................................................................475
Hiding the path ..................................................................................................................................................475
Changing the angle of the text .........................................................................................................................476
Slanting the text..................................................................................................................................................477
Fitting shapes to a path .....................................................................................................................................478
Using text as a path............................................................................................................................................478
Magnifying text using tools..............................................................................................................................479
Chapter 44: Creating Special Effects............................................................................................... 481
Using the Effects dialog box.............................................................................................................................481
Using Special ......................................................................................................................................................483
Using Stripes.......................................................................................................................................................485
Using Layers.......................................................................................................................................................488
Using Overlap ....................................................................................................................................................492
Using Contour....................................................................................................................................................494
Using Effects Library.........................................................................................................................................494
Book Ten: Repeating Text and Objects .......................................................................................... 499
Chapter 45: Repeating Objects ⎯Text or Shapes....................................................................... 501
Repeating in a line, matrix, or diagonal pattern............................................................................................501
Changing the spacing, size, and alignment for repeats................................................................................502
Chapter 46: Merging Text and Numbers ........................................................................................ 507
Repeating and merging text .............................................................................................................................507
Repeating text with AutoNumbers .................................................................................................................511
Merging text with AutoNumber......................................................................................................................514
Book Eleven: Managing, Converting, and Designing Fonts ....................................................... 515
Chapter 47: Managing Fonts............................................................................................................. 517
Exploring the Font Manager program ............................................................................................................517
Viewing Gerber Fonts in Font Manager .........................................................................................................520
Renaming a Gerber font style...........................................................................................................................522
Chapter 48: Viewing and Printing Installed Fonts ....................................................................... 527
Opening Font View............................................................................................................................................527
Viewing the list of installed fonts ....................................................................................................................527
Printing the installed fonts ...............................................................................................................................531
Locating and copying characters in Font View .............................................................................................535
Chapter 49: Converting TrueType Fonts to OMEGA-Compatible Fonts .................................. 539
Using Font Converter........................................................................................................................................539