As it turns out this is exactly the opposite of true: all systems (that can save as pdf) can do it --text in PDF is engravable with no extra steps.
I suppose if I had to find an advantage here, it would be that you wouldn’t have to re-upload your pdf each time.
As for the disadvantages:
- cost of premium
- inconsistent alignment tools in UI, and even what they do have may not work depending on your design
- Glowforge auto grouping prevents true granular editing of almost every design
- limited typeface selection
- limited web resources for troubleshooting
In all, a proper editor wins in all areas except possibly uploading.
There are ways to do this very efficiently in an external editor. It’s not difficult. Take inkscape for example:
First, setup a template:
Use your text tool to type something. Get it sized and aligned and whatnot, and leave it as a text object. Now save your doc as a template. (More info)
Close the template you just saved (you want it to stay the way it is) and start fresh.
Open a new document of that template type (File->new from template or control-alt-n). You now have a base design ready to edit your text.
Edit the text to say whatever you want it to say. Update a name, change a greeting, etc. Now convert to a path. Since we’re talking about efficiency here, (mostly) ditch that mouse and use the keystrokes:
- Select your text. (click it with a mouse if it’s not already highlighted)
- convert to path [control-shift-c]
- ungroup [control-shift-g]
- union [control-shift-+]
Done*. Literally two seconds with practice.
Save your new doc ready to engrave. GFUI editor is an inferior toy in almost all ways.
*Well maybe done. Changing the text will usually change its size and so you may need to re-align things. Good thing we’re in a proper editor that can do alignment! Learn to use your control key (to constrain movement along an axis), guides, and snapping modes to make alignment more accurate, faster, and easier.