2POINT Registration Marks

[jasonx]

Hey Guys,

Spending my weekend trying to learn all the functions of my plotters better.

The manual outlines that under ARMs you can have 2POINT registration marks.

How do I add them software wise? I tried using the plugin for illustrator and manually unlocking the layer and removing the other two marks but that doesn't work.

Has anyone ever tried this?

 

[System27]

I may be wrong, but I think when they refer to 2 point registration is you still print all 4 marks it is just that the plotter will only read 2 of them when set to (2 point reg). It might be a little faster by using two marks since you save a little time by not reading all the marks,,, but I would ASSUME that accuracy could suffer a bit ??

I use all 4 but I am never in that big of a hurry when contour cutting anyway

 

[jasonx]

Hey System, I'm refering to the 2POINT registration marks on page 5-7 of this PDF.

http://www.graphtecamerica.com/users_manuals/CutPlot_UM/FC8000-UsersManual.pdf

 

[System27]

Hey System, I'm refering to the 2POINT registration marks on page 5-7 of this PDF.

http://www.graphtecamerica.com/users_manuals/CutPlot_UM/FC8000-UsersManual.pdf

Yes sir, that is exactly what I am talking about as well. The pictures are a bit misleading as they only show 2 marks when talking about 2 point registration however all four marks are there it just reads those 2 shown. For instance on 2 point registration I print all four marks however if i select 2 point on my graphtec it will only go and look for the two on the right hand side. If 3 point registration is selected it will look for those 2 plus one corner on the left.

You gain a bit more accuracy when using more points much like a GPS unit is more accurate when tracking a greater number satellites.

If your doing a short distances and your vinyl is loaded fairly straight you may never notice much difference. However over large cut or if your vinyl is kinda loaded crooked you may find that the 3 or 4 point helps compensate for the vinyl skew.

Clear as Mud now right

 

[jasonx]

I must be getting totally confused. I tried setting scan mode to ARMS and selecting 2POINT registration but my cutter still looks for all four registration marks. That's why I thought I was doing something wrong.

The manual also outlines where you can have your cutting data. Basically if I put my cutting data in between the registration marks the blue areas in the manual cutting master will not let me cut the graphic.

That's why I thought there was another way to add 2POINT registration marks.

Have you tried using 2POINT registration as a test to see if it works?

 

[System27]

I will later today just to make sure. i am at home right now but will double check and post back soon.

 

[bob]

I must be getting totally confused. I tried setting scan mode to ARMS and selecting 2POINT registration but my cutter still looks for all four registration marks. That's why I thought I was doing something wrong...

Where are you making these settings, on the plotter or in the software, and to what is the plotter's Command Priority set?

If you're making the settings on the plotter and the plotter's Command priority isn't set to 'Manual' then the software is overriding the settings. If you're making the settings in the software and the plotter's Command Priority is set to 'Manual' then the plotter is ignoring you.

 

[jasonx]

Where are you making these settings, on the plotter or in the software, and to what is the plotter's Command Priority set?

If you're making the settings on the plotter and the plotter's Command priority isn't set to 'Manual' then the software is overriding the settings. If you're making the settings in the software and the plotter's Command Priority is set to 'Manual' then the plotter is ignoring you.

He y Bob,

I am making the changes on the plotter itself. I have gone through the whole user manual and can only see priorities for the conditions and not command.

What is the command priority you are talking about?

 

[bob]

He y Bob,

I am making the changes on the plotter itself. I have gone through the whole user manual and can only see priorities for the conditions and not command.

What is the command priority you are talking about?

On the Graphtec it is 'Condition Priority', sorry for the confusion. It's value is set in the Background Settings.

Regardless of what it's called what it does is tell the plotter to either ignore various parameter settings from the software [Manual] or pay attention to the software and allow it to override the plotter settings [Program].

In your case, since you're setting the parameters on the plotter, you want the Condition Priority to be set to manual so the software will not override your settings.

 

[jasonx]

Hey Guys,

I set the condition priority to manaul. I set the number of registration points to 2. I set the scan mode to arms.

Still no joy it looks for all four marks.

I really think it has to do with how the registration mark layer is named.

It seems like its including data for the cutter to use, example:

SA regmark type2 auto 33 56.69 1.42 56.69 1417.32

 

[gr8horizon]

some added insight

For those interested, Cutting Master 2 does not allow you to set the Registration Mark Mode (i.e. 2,3,4-points), and just defaults to 4 points when you select 'Use Registration Marks' in the software. That's even if you manually set the cutter to 2-points via the front panel. It's an unfortunate software limitation. Kind of like not being able to specify the offset in CM2 (although I'm not sure who gets priority on that)

And FYI, the layer name (at least in Corel X3):

"SA regmark type1 auto 31 28.35 0.85 14.17 1417.69"

is composed of:

"SA regmark type1 auto" [mark type code] [margin] [thickness] [length] [50 cm]

The last number is the number of "units" equivalent to 50 cm. So above, my registration length (14.17) represents 5 mm long registration marks.