Strata Support - The five questions posted most recently:

Uninstalling - I uninstalled the trial version, and then installed the Enfold I purchased. It's not working.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:54:00 GMT

You don't need to uninstall the trial version, you just need to activate it with your purchased serial number. When you purchase Enfold, Strata provides a download link for an Enfold installer - use this to make a backup copy of the installer.

However, if you have tried to uninstall Enfold, you must remove ALL of the files listed below. Removing only some of them will result in installation and application errors.

You will need to remove the Enfold program folder and a couple of other files and folders, and then reinstall Enfold. The files you need to remove are:

For Macintosh Users:

/Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS4 (& CS3) ->Esko-Graphics

/Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS4 (& CS3)/Plug-ins ->Esko-Graphics and Strata

/Applications folder:
Strata Enfold 3D CX program folder

/Library/Receipts:
Enfold 3D CX Sample Files.pkg

Strata Enfold 3D CX.pkg

For Windows Users:
Run the Uninstaller Control Panel to remove the program.

Calibration Mat - How can I create different size Foto 3D calibration mats?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:28:00 GMT

Foto 3D will print mats up to the size of the page in the printer. If you have access to an A3 printer for example, you can print a larger mat. Foto 3D will also print larger mats across a number of pages which can then be glued together. Make sure the resulting mat is flat and accurately produced.

You can print the mat from within Foto 3D, or you can find the Calibration Mat.pdf file (located in the application folder) and print from that.�

How does Foto 3D handle highly transparent or reflective objects?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:23:00 GMT

When you look at a transparent object what you mainly see is a distorted image of the background that changes from one direction to another, not the object itself. Although Foto 3D can capture the geometry of the object if the masks are accurate enough, the surface texture generated from lots of images tends to be blurred and confused. This is something Foto 3D shares with all 3D modelling packages. Advanced users can edit the textures to improve the results but the model may still look lifeless compared to the original unless the rendering can show the effects of transparency.

Although highly reflective objects similarly reflect the background, the results tend to be much more acceptable, and if an environment map is added so that the reflections change with the direction the object is viewed from, then the objects will look convincingly reflective.

Object size - What size objects can Foto 3D model?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:21:00 GMT

Theoretically, there is no limit to the size of objects that can be captured with Foto 3D CX 2. The most efficient way to capture an object is with a calibration mat. However, if an object is too large for a mat, you can use the Marker system.�While there is no size limit, you do need to be able to get photographs from all the way around the object from 10 to 20 directions.

In the User Guide, see "Chapter 7 - Using Markers" for an explanation of how to create a 3D model from photographs without using a calibration mat. The User Guide is located in the Help menu.

Thickness - Is there a way to add thickness to a carton using Enfold 3D?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:57:00 GMT

Unfortunately, Enfold 3D does not currently support a thickness function. You can export the 3D model from Enfold 3D and bring it into Strata Design 3D CX where you can add elements to mimic thickness. However, it can't be done directly in Illustrator with Enfold 3D.

Enfold 3D is developed by our partner EskoArtwork. They do offer products that allow you to set the thickness of the material. These higher end products are predictably more expensive - but excellent for some of these types of functions.