Decals on wide format and die-cutting them?

are you talking about perf cut? I don't think I understand the question.

 

We use a Fotoba DigiTrim 64 to cut decals down into user manageable sheets of around 12"x18". Smallest width it will cut is 8" though.
You can also get a 20" version which cuts all the way down to 2" wide.

 

Perf cut so you don't have to use that ruler and knife? That's why the cutter has it.

 

It's called "Flex Cut" on Summa - google how to flex cut with a summa and you'll find many guides on how to do it

 

As others have said “flex cut” or “perf cut” is one way you can separate individual labels or decals if you only have a roll cutter.

Another way, and arguably better way, would be to use a flatbed cutter which is what we do now. Our Summa F-1612 cuts through the vinyl as well as the backer regardless of shape and we’ve run thousands of decals like that.

 

Yes, it seems with short run decal production, this is how it's done. (Long run labels are run on a entirely different setup)

1.) Kiss cut on plotter, then cut down sheets/individual decals using a fotoba, guillotine cutter, ruler/knife option
2.) Thru (Die) cut them on a flatbed cutter like an F-1612, Colex, Multicam, Zund, Esko, Etc.

There are "Sticker Factories" out there than have a room full of flatbed cutters and operators to run them.

FireSprint is a wholesale sign & decal printer to the trade. Join us today!

 

Well, I don't see the problem !! This is the way I do it too !! Of course, I don't have very big orders for decals !!

 

I print them with a contour cut and a perf cut, but I leave about 1/4" between the perf cuts in each direction. I also do a rectangle contour cut around the entire field of stickers. I do my contour cuts first (including the big rectangle around all the stickers), then the cut pauses and I peel off the matrix (the unused material between the stickers). This does two things -- first it allows me to use much less pressure for my perf cuts (since the blade only has to cut the backer, and not the vinyl also), and it also gives me a sticker with a border of just backer, which makes peeling the sticker from the backer easier. I do my perf cuts with about 1 to 1-1/2" of cut, and about 0.10 to 0.15 of lift between the perf cuts. This keeps the stickers attached to the media until the perf cut is finished, and then it's a simple matter to break them away while the media is still loaded on the cutter.

 

I do thousands of perf cut stickers on My graphtec a month. Most of the time right to then cut - if you have a sharp blade it comes out nice.

Sticker mule has 5-10 graphtecs per warehouse I believe... Pretty sure it was them I saw a video of.


Flatbed cutters are quicker, but for the price and room they take up... It's not an option for most.


How do you guys find kiss cutting on flatbeds? I always felt like pressure needs to be perfect, and I don't see how it can be in a elastic belt.. But I could be wrong

 

It's fine and you can also fine tune it with the depth of the knife.

 

I do about 20k 2" x 2" decals for a clothing company per month. after printing cut into about 30" sheets, the cut into strips with a ruler that has a sliding knife. Then scissors. Doesn't really take that long. A batch of 5k might 3-4 hours to cut. At 20 cents a sticker I can't complain, plus I'm not the one cutting . I do perf cutting sometimes if they want a circle etc but I almost prefer the hand cutting as less can go wrong

 

We use our colex table for cutting loads of stickers if we have the time. Kiss cut then... If they need to be singles...only way to go. Otherwise we will cut on the graphtec and ship rolls if the client is ok with that.

 

Yeah your problem may be that you’re cutting them into singles. Do they NEED to be singles?

We used to just cut them into manageable (roughly 12” by 16” sheets) but nowadays as long as it’s square and it’s under 140mm we just throw it in the XY cutter.

Takes about 15-20 mins to cut an entire roll of 12x16 sheets. Anything over 10 copies now gets thrown in there. No manual labour for meeee.

 

Other alternative would be to XY cut into sheets then guillotine a few slices and presto... singles!