Cutting stickers with the least number of cut lines

[mikeinpdx]

I'm using Versaworks and have a Roland GX-500 cutter.

I'm printing and cutting out sheets of 1"x1" stickers. It seems like a huge waste of time to have the cutter cut out 100 squares if all it really needs to do is cut 10 vertical lines and 10 horizontal lines.

Is there a good way to set this up in Illustrator or Versaworks?

 

[spmracing]

What I've done before is set up 20 rectangles and contour cuts where you want the cuts... but this also is time consuming...

 

[GAC05]

I'm not sure what the best way would be but it shouldn't be too hard to set up Illustrator.
Open up the 1'x1' decal - select the contour cut path (the 1x1" square) & drop it on a separate layer.
Select the decal(with the contour path) and dupe it 10 across (use alt-drag for the first copy and then Ctr-d for the rest) using the smart guides to snap them into the correct spacing.
Grab the 10 and do the same thing 10 down.
Should end up with 100 copies in 10x10 matrix.
Use the line tool on a third layer to to draw the cut lines - snapping and duplicating the same as the decal.
Delete the layer with the 100 contour paths and you will be left with 2 layers containing the cut lines and decals.
I don't know how you tell VersaWorks what lines to treat as contour cuts but someone here should know.


wayne k
guam usa

 

[chopper]

why?

 

[royster13]

I use Great Cut so this may not apply.......But Great Cut can be set to cut in the same order as the lines are created in Illustrator.....

So I can create lines from top to bottom and then duplicate them and rotate 90 degrees.....When I cut, it will do top to bottom 1st and then left to right....

And you can also go in and manually pick the cut order if the lines somehow are not in order you want to cut....

 

[mikeinpdx]

It's an example

Just out curiosity...how slow is that plotter that you can't afford the time it takes to cut 100 decals?

Suppose it's 1,000 decals instead, if that helps. I'm just asking about a more efficient way to do it.

 

[J Hill Designs]

Suppose it's 1,000 decals instead, if that helps. I'm just asking about a more efficient way to do it.

draw lines instead of full boxes

 

[mikeinpdx]

Thanks -- I'll ask the graphics guy to test this out. Doesn't sound too difficult but of course I'm not the person doing it!

I'm not sure what the best way would be but it shouldn't be too hard to set up Illustrator.
Open up the 1'x1' decal - select the contour cut path (the 1x1" square) & drop it on a separate layer.
Select the decal(with the contour path) and dupe it 10 across (use alt-drag for the first copy and then Ctr-d for the rest) using the smart guides to snap them into the correct spacing.
Grab the 10 and do the same thing 10 down.
Should end up with 100 copies in 10x10 matrix.
Use the line tool on a third layer to to draw the cut lines - snapping and duplicating the same as the decal.
Delete the layer with the 100 contour paths and you will be left with 2 layers containing the cut lines and decals.
I don't know how you tell VersaWorks what lines to treat as contour cuts but someone here should know.


wayne k
guam usa

 

[Mosh]

+++just draw lines, BTW how will you cut them apart after the plotter is done?
there will be no space between the DECALS.

 

[Gino]

We just did 1,800 1" circles and it took about three hours to print and cut. We get this order about every 6 weeks or so.

We did 45 up and two over to keep registration. So, every 90 pieces we set it to start over. We kept a small space so they could be lifted out without any problems.

As Mosh mentioned, these will be a nightmare to get out without messing others up for the customer. Sometimes our need to be thrifty or streamlined can get in our way of making a proper product.

 

[mikeinpdx]

Customer wants stickers on 10x10 sheets

The customer wants stickers on 10x10 sheets, so they're ok just peeling off one or two as needed, starting at the top of the sheet. I agree, if they had to dig around to get the one they needed, it would be a real pain, but this didn't seem like it would be too painful.

I get the "just draw lines" comment, but the issue is I get 1x1 artwork, so, not being an Illustrator guy, I wasn't sure if there was a fast way to setup a grid of images and place the cut lines correctly in that grid.

In general, it's exactly the sort of job I don't like to do, so I'm looking for a way to make it less irritating and time consuming.

+++just draw lines, BTW how will you cut them apart after the plotter is done?
there will be no space between the DECALS.

 

[J Hill Designs]

draw one line, step and repeat (or whatever the illustrator function is called for precision repeats)

 

[Solventinkjet]

Draw a line vertically, copy it 9 times, set 2 of the lines outside the rest and at 10"s apart, select all and use illustrator's distribute horizontally tool, copy the result and rotate 90 degrees and presto 10x10 grid.

 

[Chriswagner92]

When we do a bunch of stickers we either A; butt-cut them by hand, not too time consuming and it gives me a break, or you could set one up in VW, and just copy it X amount of times and set it to print and cut, then you just have to weed and your good.