Gerber GSX Plotter Teething Problems.

[mxkid1979]

Hi all...

I have recently taken delivery of a new Gerber GSX Plus Plotter to (hopefully) help advance my MX graphics business! I was told that the GSX Plus is as simple as 'plug in & play!' However I am finding that this is not the case!

When I send a job to the plotter via Gerber Omega vers 2.6 thru GSPplot. I am seeing that the knife starts a million miles away from where the print starts (somewhere around 2 inches!) I have looked in the layout box - and I am confused as to what I am looking at.

Should there be a set of almost generic settings that will help the plotter hit the mark I need? Am I setting the print wrong when sending the job to the FX? I know that it is an operator error and not a machine malfunction - but it really is getting me down.

I know that I have to apply bleeds to my prints to ensure no white space when cutting - but do I have to apply a cut line when designing in AI (CS2) of a colour that I will not print when sending through to the FX?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.....


mxkid1979

 

[Fred Weiss]

The start end points you see in GSP Plot have nothing to do with where you position the start point of the plotter to cut out a print. That is dependent on the target or targets you print before you ever get to the plotter.

From your description it sounds like you are attempting to print a job from Illustrator ... presumably on a non Gerber device and then get it to cut the job on your new Gerber plotter from the GSP Plot software. I may be reading it wrong.

The appropriate procedure is to is to print from GSP Plot choosing the appropriate target when you do. GSP Plot will produce targets in the form of squares at each corner which are intended for use with plotters that have optical positioning ... which the GSX Plus Plotter does not have. The appropriate target for GSX Plus Plotter is the single square with the crosshairs in it. Once printed, you then line up the target using the "bombsight" that comes with the plotter in place of the knife tool.

It also sounds like you do not understand the way Omega software handles cut designations for cutting. Omega has three possibilities for any vector in a job. It can be set to cut, print or print-and-cut. You can tell at a glance what the setting is by turning off the preview. If cut only the vector is black. Print only, the vector is red. Print-and-cut will be green.

 

[mxkid1979]

Fred..

Many thanks for your reply.

I am printing on a Gerber EDGE FX using OMEGA v2.6. I have since found out what I was not doing correctly. That was I wasn't putting the TARGETS in the correct position for where I was needing them! (When in GSPplot)

I have since got my problem rectified.

Thanks so much for reading into this - You guys always help me out when I am at my wits end!

Thanks all....

Gareth
mxkid1979:U Rock: