Anybody tried cutting down a roll of media?

[MIMO]

Thought I'd throw this out there. Anyone ever tried cutting an entire roll of stock down to a particular width. For instance, those of us with our crazy 60" wide HP latex machines often find ourselves stuck between a 54 and a 63 inch roll. Yes, we can get some material in 60" or some suppliers will slit for you, but as a DIY guy, I thought I'd see. My fine blade on my 12" sliding mitre saw is eyeing a roll of vinyl right now

 

[Sign-Man Signs]

Do the same all the time but use a 120t blade. Tape the end where you are going to cut to keep the frayed end clean.

 

[d fleming]

Switch your blade out with a deli slicer blade.

 

[signmeup]

Band saw. Watch it doesn't roll on you when you start cutting.

 

[gnemmas]

And make sure cut the end that is away from the printhead housing.

 

[oldgoatroper]

Thought I'd throw this out there. Anyone ever tried cutting an entire roll of stock down to a particular width. For instance, those of us with our crazy 60" wide HP latex machines often find ourselves stuck between a 54 and a 63 inch roll. Yes, we can get some material in 60" or some suppliers will slit for you, but as a DIY guy, I thought I'd see. My fine blade on my 12" sliding mitre saw is eyeing a roll of vinyl right now

Yup. Done that. Just used the regular carbide-tip blade for aluminum extrusions. 40-tooth, maybe? can't remember...

Just went slowly. Works OK.

 

[thomas barth]

Bologna Slicer

Switch your blade out with a deli slicer blade.

I'm curious if a meat slicing blade would fit into any of our shop saws. Has anyone done it?

 

[MIMO]

Wow, okay I thought I was totally out there. Very good idea about doing the end opposite the print head, it was indeed the machine I was most concerned about. And thanks for the other tips. I'll report back once I've tried it this weekend. Let's see what others have to say.

 

[Steve C.]

It has been a pet peeve since I got my 48 inch printer that no one makes
a 48 in roll of media. At least not the brands I prefer to use. I have to buy a
54 inch roll and cut it. Saws leave jagged and fuzzy edges. I put a strip of tape
around where I want to cut, put the roll on the printer. I have someone
spin the roll, I cut it with a mate knife. Takes about 5 minutes.

 

[phototec]

Use a very fine tooth blade like for plywood, put the blade on BACKWARDS, so the teeth are not as aggressive, put tape around the roll, and saw away, very slowly.


The post about cutting the end opposite the print head is a great suggestion, also.

 

[James Burke]

Use a very fine tooth blade like for plywood, put the blade on BACKWARDS, so the teeth are not as aggressive, put tape around the roll, and saw away, very slowly.


The post about cutting the end opposite the print head is a great suggestion, also.

Yep...the saw blade must be backwards.

JB

 

[Mosh]

Back in "the day" I came across some 30" app tape, 20 rolls for "free" I cut it down on my miter saw with a 150 tooth blade. Granted not running that though a printer, but....

 

[MIMO]

Forgot to post an update on this. Got perfect cuts on rolls of 15oz and 13 oz scrim following the suggestions given. In sum:
-wanted to see if I could cleanly cut down a roll of media to a given size (ie: a 60" roll for the HP L25500)
-used a 12" ridgid compound mitre saw with a clean, new 96 tooth carbide blade (which FYI also works perfectly for 6mm acrylic)
-used a couple of wraps of 3" masking tape where I was going to make the cut to keep the edges clean
-got perfect results with the 13oz jetflex, zero fraying of the scrim fibres, got a miniscule amount of fraying of the scrim fibres on the 15oz bannux
-my cut edge was as clean or cleaner than the factory edge.
-conclusion: I'll do it when I want to make use of the full 60" width but can't buy my preferred stock

 

[Conor Knoxx]

In case you didn't know...
All Graphic Supplies (In Toronto as well I believe..) will slit rolls for you - no extra charge. I've even ordered cut rolls as late as 3pm and they've shipped the same day.

I also have a 48 inch printer, so just about every roll of media I order needs to be slit.