Advice on which Corel Draw version for Plasma CAM use?

My husband is now running his own business using a Plasma CAM (CNC machine).  We are making customized products for people.  The main problem is that most files have to be converted to bmp, then sent to the Plasma CAM software and once there it looks horrible.  At times, husband will trace the picture with a pen and paper, scan, convert to bmp, still redraw & redraw, and so on.  It's very, very time consuming (time we do not have right now)

On a CAM forum, many have recommended Corel Draw for converting our files to dxf for CAM use.  However, the latest version of Corel Draw is $500   We are just starting up and on a very tight budget so I was wondering if someone here could offer some advice on this?

I have found a version of X5 on Amazon.com for $55 but the reviews say it's a stripped down version.  I also read about people purchasing Corel Draw from third party sellers and I'm a bit unsure of all that.

I am hoping there will be a CAM user out there who understands my needs  :-D  Oh and the things I read on the Plasma CAM forum referred mainly to versions 9 and 12 but I am learning those are older versions--I do not know where to purchase these. 

We need something easy to learn & use.  Husband is not totally PC savvy.  I used to have a version of Corel Video Studio and found it very simple to use.  Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

 

 

 

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  • The price to play poker is $499. Given that X6 has been released, I couldn’t give you any good reason to buy X5. As you mentioned, be very scared of the online outlets selling at highly discounted prices. One thing you will probably need is VBA support and that can be missing in the lesser versions. Of course that is assuming they are even legal products.
     
    One of the biggest features you need is a way to output GOOD DXF files. CorelDRAW alone is horrible at that. Most likely you’ll find to look at DXFTool as it was designed specifically for that workflow. Yes, it is a commercial add-on. You’ll find more details on it at http://www.unleash.com/mediasales/webapp/DXFTool_Standard_Edition-b-details.aspx .. Note that it is currently not available for X6. I know the author is working on an updated version so you may want to hold off purchasing it for a while.
     
    Your husband will not learn CorelDRAW overnight. Most advanced users still learn something new every single day. He simply needs to get good learning tools (I offer those, see links in signature) and dedicate the time to learning the software.
     
     
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