Estimating yardage - what is left on the roll

[Aunt LuLu]

Hi folks, I am lucky this time.....I was printing and did not realize that the end of the roll was near. The very end of the roll is/was stuck to the cardboard tube and stopped the forward motion of the media through the printer. This is not the first time and probably not the last time, this has happened.

Is there a way to estimate the amount left on the roll "before" it prints?

Laura - aka - Aunt LuLu

 

[BigNate]

I have owned Epsons, HPs and Canons for wide format - every machine had a feature to manage the length on the roll.. usually you tell it the length of the new roll and it keeps track. If you need to change media some printers print a barcode on the roll so it knows how much is left when it reloads the same roll... the HP we have does not, but it tells you how much is left when you unload. When programming jobs, I keep a notepad open and just subtract off the lengths of the images I send from the remaining length on the roll. (if you wait for all printing to stop, the displayed remaining length is a good figure, but while it is running, you need to be aware that the displayed length is the what should be currently on the roll, not taking into account any of the queued jobs.)

What printer are you using?

 

[Jason Thomas]

Not sure how accurate this method is but you could give it a try.

Roll Length Calculator from Beacon Graphic Systems

SparCal Graphic Digital Imaging Media Films for Vinyl Cutters/Printers - Beacon Graphic Systems

www.beacongraphics.com

 

[MikePro]

weight:

weigh an empty core, weigh a yard of vinyl

now weigh your roll and subtract the core and divide by yard weight.

you have X.yards remaining.

 

[ikarasu]

Vinyl Roll Length Calculator, Roll Length Calculator, Firesprint

If you only have a partial roll to measure, use a caliper and this calculator from Firesprint to calculatate your vinyl roll length.

www.firesprint.com

Use firesprints and a caliper. It's fairly accurate to within a few ft

 

[Adam Vreeke]

I use Sign Crafts

https://www.signcraft.com/vinyl-length-estimator/

 

[Aunt LuLu]

Thank you everyone who typed in. I will try the suggestions. Laura

 

[White Haus]

The calculators seem like a good idea for laminate etc but getting the printers to count down from a full roll is the easiest/simplest method.

We'll just write remaining length on the corner before pulling the media off the printers.

Only issue there is that I usually round down and eventually you get to a point where the roll "should" be done and you've got a couple of yards left. Better that way than being short though.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Here are a couple of links to help with this

Vinyl Roll Length Calculator, Roll Length Calculator, Firesprint

If you only have a partial roll to measure, use a caliper and this calculator from Firesprint to calculatate your vinyl roll length.

www.firesprint.com