Hey guys! I’m wondering if anyone can share what they do to avoid the ridiculous Adobe Creative Cloud membership fees every month? I don’t want to switch programs since I know Illustrator and I don’t want to take time to learn a new program. I would really prefer to continue using Illustrator but I gag every time I see my $52 charge come out of paypal every month especially since I don’t use any of their other apps/programs. I’ve been looking into using older version and just paying a one time feel to purchase a used version but I’m hesitant without knowing for sure that it will work seamlessly with my glowforge. Can you Illustrator users share your hacks and advice on this topic?
Illustrator-only subscription is available for $20.99 a month (if paid annually).
Yep. Illustrator CS5 and forward work seamlessly with the Glowforge, and no monthly fees. Same functionality in CS5 and CS6 as the current subscription…just not quite as pretty.
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“Same functionality in CS5 and CS6 as the current subscription” Same ability to export files compatible with the Glowforge" would probably be more accurate 
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No actually, i can do everything i need to do from a design standpoint in CS5, which is what I use. Might take a stroke more here or there, but it’s fully functional from a design standpoint. 
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Sure, that makes sense, but in your comment you’re discounting several years of work of improvements to the app. “fully functional” is not the same thing as “same functionality” when comparing them.
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I paid $120 for the CS suite on Amazon, V 17.0.1 not sure if that is 5 or 6. No fees.
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Inkscape is free.
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Thats a fantastic deal, link? (17.0.1 came after CS 6)
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Don’t want to argue, I’m sure CC is better… I just don’t see anything in the several years of “functionality” that have been added since CS5 that would induce me to continue to pay a subscription fee to get it. I can do every single thing i need to to create designs for the Glowforge with CS5. So why would I pay for something I can already do? I don’t need bells and whistles, I need something that consistently works. And if someone with CC can turn out a fabulous design five minutes faster than I can because they have a new button…cool. Just not worth an extra fifty bucks a month to me. 
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For sure, OP didn’t want to switch applications though.
$20.99 a month 
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Not even $20.99 a month…that’s a whole sheet of Proofgrade.
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I’m also using CS5, on a Mac. It works great as far as designing things for the Glowforge. Only problem is Illustrator has become increasingly wonky as I upgrade my operating system. I’m on El Capitan now, and this version of Illustrator is officially not compatible although it works pretty much okay for me. But I know if I ever upgrade to a newer version of OSX I will probably have to start subscribing to CC.
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on Amazon?? I looked on there briefly but didn’t see anything…do you have a link?
Really? I bought it last year.
No, sorry no link, and I just went looking for it without success. That price had me initially wondering how legit it was, and now since it’s gone…?
It is fully functional, was a freaking 13GB download.
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Ya, I’ll look again but I’m finding myself browsing Ebay instead.
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Yes, I know, hence the small type. Buuut, since you pointed that out, maybe I should make my point more explicitly. It’s just worth considering if you really want to get out from under Adobe’s pricing model. If you know illustrator, you’ll pick up Inkscape very quickly, they have a very similar feature set for most things. I get not wanting to change, but in case it’s not 100% out of the question, there it is.
I guarantee you that Adobe is going to come for your perpetual licenses as soon as they can. Some OS update [perhaps that they lobby for] will obsolete your version and they will snap you up.
EDIT: @cynd11 knows what I’m saying. “But I know if I ever upgrade to a newer version of OSX I will probably have to start subscribing to CC.” Adobe is coming for us! RUN!
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Hang on…how? I don’t have that option? Is that the single app? It’s not giving me a single app option now. Maybe I need to double check again. Still, that’s $$251.88/year when I know i"m going to need it for years to come. I’d rather pay $400 now and not pay again. I only use it for glowforge designs.
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