Graphtec FC8000 purchase? perf cut

[Jim Doggett]

Easiest fix for the Graphtec not reading reflective, or getting wonky is to put a piece of matte scotch tape over the printed reg mark. Works every time.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

For longer runs I always use the segmented type 2 reg marks on cutting master for the graphtec. This gives you some extra reg marks and helps with the length of the run.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Easiest fix for the Graphtec not reading reflective, or getting wonky is to put a piece of matte scotch tape over the printed reg mark. Works every time.

I do this and it doesn't always work. I have to use a transfer tape and then draw in the reg marks. Lighting definetly makes a big difference though.

 

[LittleSnakey]

Jim
we had a tech come out and replace the sensor, even he could not get the machine to find the crop marks. Yes we put the print in straight you can watch that using the white lines on the cutter as the vinyl move back and forth. Yes we tried all the graphtec bandaids, scotch tape, sanding the crop marks, turning off the lights, re-drawing the marks with a ball point pen nothing worked consistently. Sometimes it would find the marks though, and that is what was so fusterating about it.

So maybe we just got a bad one but I can tell you this is a real side by side comparison, Believe me we didn't want to have to go buy another cutter after we just bought a brand new one.

TSG, Good luck with your purchase!

Graphtec's ARMS should and does function similarly. Ironically, only the newer Summa OPOS X uses the white-light sensors that Graphtec used from the beginning. The earlier red light sensors Summa used were fine with their thermal transfer printers (no lamination) but for inkjet they were problematic since they didn't read well through lamination.

And it's pretty simple deal really: If the sensor is calibrated and the sensitivity is properly adjusted, bingo, they work beautifully. The only other potential problems are media loaded poorly (skewed too much) and on some longer jobs, calibrating the X-axis tracking when dealing with thicker media combinations that cause tracking to be longer ... in the same way the outside lane on a running track is longer.

So frankly, I'm surprised you had a problem that was not easily sleuthed -- and fixed. If the basics do not solve it quickly, it's usually a bad sensor, which happens on rare occasion, with every cutter. That's all I can think might have been an issue.

But great news that your working and happy with your Summa.

Best Regards,

Jim / SignWarehouse

 

[Letterbox Mike]

We had a similar experience as LittleSnakey in the past. Went through two FC5100s and an FC8000 and had a nightmare of a time getting it to read registration marks. Technicians were not able to fix it either. The only times we were really successful was when we turned the lights in the room out and put a cardboard "hood" over it. We eventually got sick of that and sent them back and got a Summa S160. 5 years later it's never, ever ever missed a mark and it's still going strong.

Since you're looking at plotters do yourself a favor and check Summa out, it can't hurt anything.

 

[Jim Doggett]

Jim
we had a tech come out and replace the sensor, even he could not get the machine to find the crop marks. Yes we put the print in straight you can watch that using the white lines on the cutter as the vinyl move back and forth. Yes we tried all the graphtec bandaids, scotch tape, sanding the crop marks, turning off the lights, re-drawing the marks with a ball point pen nothing worked consistently. Sometimes it would find the marks though, and that is what was so fusterating about it.

So maybe we just got a bad one but I can tell you this is a real side by side comparison, Believe me we didn't want to have to go buy another cutter after we just bought a brand new one.

TSG, Good luck with your purchase!

Hmmmm. Something is amiss. Obviously they do work, or Graphtec would be the target of a class action.

So it has a flaw somewhere, perhaps on the mainboard. But whoever sold you the Graphtec should have swapped it out for a working one. Maybe they still can. How long ago did you purchase it?

BTW, the Summa is great machine too. And the trademark naming (Summa, S Class, D160) and logos and nomenclature (Summa, S Class, D160 and Domed Summa Oval) were of my conceiving and design. So I know them well. :^)

Best Regards,

Jim / SignWarehouse

 

[TresL]

Same issues here as LittleSnakey, Graphtec would call back 3-4 days later after leaving several messages.

Their supports is the worst I have ever dealt with. PERIOD!


Graphtec sold, Summa in it's place!
I while never have another piece of Graphtec product!!!!

Wait till they have you do a factory reset and the lang. turns back to default Japanese.
Then try to get it back to English. That was A LOT of fun!

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Same issues here as LittleSnakey, Graphtec would call back 3-4 days later after leaving several messages.

Their supports is the worst I have ever dealt with. PERIOD!


Graphtec sold, Summa in it's place!
I while never have another piece of Graphtec product!!!!

Wait till they have you do a factory reset and the lang. turns back to default Japanese.
Then try to get it back to English. That was A LOT of fun!

Yeah, we had rough service from Graphtec as well, which was another factor for us ditching them. Went to Summa and I can honestly say they have among the best, if not the single best customer service you will find anywhere. Not that we've needed it since their machines pretty much do what they're supposed to, but the few times we've had to contact them they really went out of their way to take care of us.

 

[tsgstl]

Since you're looking at plotters do yourself a favor and check Summa out, it can't hurt anything.

Summa obviously felt the same way haha didn't need to "check them out" they contacted me.

 

[ProWraps]

all of your problems with the reg marks are becuase they send out the machines with a arms intensity setting of 70 & 90. STUPID on their part.

turn them both to 70 and it will read fine.

the 90 setting is so intense its scattering the laser and making the machine think its reading something that its not.

how do i know this?

the $5000 carcass of a fc 8000-130 that i put through the wall is sitting on my floor as a constant reminder.

sadly their tech support has no idea about this issue nor how to fix it.

even though I SPENT WEEKS going over it with them and denco.

denco would show up and cut unlaminated media on it and say "oh its fine, see!!!!'

yeah. i DONT CUT UNLAMINATED MEDIA.

so when the lam went on, it messed up the laser. they too had no clue. they wanted me to switch my workflow blaming it on GRAPHTECS cutting program. sheesh. WRONG.

so yeah in the end, i had to figure it out on my own.

give it a try. it works. and it works perfect.

as to the perf cut option.

ive used it. it seemed to be a self destruct mode for the plotter. i would NEVER use that feature again. especially on a daily basis.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Same issues here as LittleSnakey, Graphtec would call

Wait till they have you do a factory reset and the lang. turns back to default Japanese.
Then try to get it back to English. That was A LOT of fun!

haha had this happen luckily we at the time had a japanese speaking employee so it wasn't that hard to fix. However when I first looked at it I almost crapped myself trying to think of how I would translate it all.

 

[TresL]

No such luck here.
We had to fumble through the manual/flow chart and just kinda guess what the screen said.

haha had this happen luckily we at the time had a japanese speaking employee so it wasn't that hard to fix. However when I first looked at it I almost crapped myself trying to think of how I would translate it all.

 

[ColoPrinthead]

I have the same issue as LittleSnakey and it is very frustrating when the graphtec is the bottle neck of my workflow. Sometimes it reads great all day and sometimes it's a punk. I guess I'm going to have to build a shading hood around it. I really just hope I can talk my company into buying me an Zund or Summa ICut within the year.

I've never had problems with a Graphtec before but I've also only used them for cut vinyl and not for cutting prints with the Onyx Cut Server (thats another annoyance I need to change).

 

[Letterbox Mike]

I've never had problems with a Graphtec before but I've also only used them for cut vinyl and not for cutting prints with the Onyx Cut Server (thats another annoyance I need to change).

Out of curiosity what do you dislike about Cut Server? I've heard other people complain about it here and there and I've never understood why, we print/cut all day every day non stop through Cut Server and have never had a single problem and in fact usually it's one of the smoothest components of our workflow. Maybe we just got lucky, I always wonder about other people's experiences.

 

[ColoPrinthead]

Out of curiosity what do you dislike about Cut Server? I've heard other people complain about it here and there and I've never understood why, we print/cut all day every day non stop through Cut Server and have never had a single problem and in fact usually it's one of the smoothest components of our workflow. Maybe we just got lucky, I always wonder about other people's experiences.

I'm having issues with the cut server adding cutlines that are not in the file, making non cutlines cutlines, and double cutting. I was talking with an admin from the Onyx talk forum and had him look over my files. I was given a generic response that didn't solve the issue and never heard back after sending them another file. The double cuts bother me the most because it makes it take longer to cut my prints. When I have time I'm going to try out cut master with my personal laptop since I don't have AI on my PC/RIP station.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

I'm having issues with the cut server adding cutlines that are not in the file, making non cutlines cutlines, and double cutting. I was talking with an admin from the Onyx talk forum and had him look over my files. I was given a generic response that didn't solve the issue and never heard back after sending them another file. The double cuts bother me the most because it makes it take longer to cut my prints. When I have time I'm going to try out cut master with my personal laptop since I don't have AI on my PC/RIP station.

FYI I'm PMing you so I'm not pirating this thread anymore...

 

[Happyprinter]

We also have the FC8000 graphtec. And I have to agree with most everything stated so far. Most of all our extreme disappointment with Graphtecs tech support. Every time we call it takes 2-4 days to get a return call and then they do not have a clue how to fix anything. We to have had nothing but problems cutting laminated material. Sounds like it is pretty well universal with this unit. We are going to try what Prowrap suggested and see if this will correct the problem. This is a great forum. Appreciate all the suggestions.

 

[tsgstl]

I have been researching the Summa cutters and I am not sure which serries would best suit my needs? There is a drastic price jump in the 3 different lines.

I am thinking the S-120 and I have found very drastic pricing online
I do not have (that I know of) a summa distributor in the St. Louis area.

This price seems to good to be true?
http://adictsign.com/products.php?product=Summa-S120

edit: I see they are from indonesia, this worries me

 

[LittleSnakey]

We ended up with the D-series S-140.
Yes it did cost about $1000 more than the graphtec.

Pros for the graphtec:
1. The graphtec did do a great job on regular cut vinyl.
2. The graphtec has the optional network card feature that allows you to assign an ip address to it and access it through the network.
3. The cost was cheaper.

Cons for the graphtec:
1. Has trouble with gloss laminated prints finding the crop marks.
2. The user interface for speed and force are somewhat cumbersome and have no real value its just numbers.

Pros for the Summa:
1. Finds the print cut alignment marks.
2. On runs longer than a couple feet the summa feeds out the material before cutting that section so its not pulling directly off the roll.
3. The touch screen user interface is very easy to use and has speed and force measured in units such as grams and cm/sec.
4. Great Phone support

Cons for the Summa:
1. No network connection means that you need a computer connected to it via usb.
2. No local dealer/repair...That was the scariest part of the purchase but everything worked out fine for us so far.

Hope this helps

 

[shado]

S Class Wireless

Since 2009, Summa has been offering a wireless factory upgrade option on all new S Class plotters. S Class Wireless features a built-in Wi-Fi network connection which can be easily integrated into a company’s LAN (local area network) or WLAN (wireless local area network) network using Access Point (wireless router). S Class Wireless offers increased flexibility and workflow productivity by allowing users to output to multiple S Class cutters from a single computer or output from several computers to one S Class machine.
http://www.summausa.com/products/wireless/