How to print double sided banners on Roland XF-640 with Versaworks correctly?

[dbeere]

How do I print double sided banners on Roland XF-640 with Versaworks correctly? Suggestions would be helpful, thanks!

 

[Vohaul]

I've just printed 2 head to head... then filed it in half and stitched it uo


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rjssigns]

This is how we do them on our SP540V
Make sure lead edge of banner is perfectly square to the edges before you do anything. This is your alignment reference.
Load material square in printer
Print first side
Take a pin and poke hole in left corner on lead edge of print
Flip print over, square up lead edge with platen and use the pinhole to set base point
Click print

 

[ams]

Make sure your pinch rollers are equal distance. Take a piece of masking tape and tape it to your printer on the left and right of your material flush against it. Then put a piece of tape under it flush against it.
Now you know where the banner needs to be on your second side. Base point it.

When you go into versaworks, set the print to be "centered" so it's dead center on the material, print it.

Once you reload upside down, make sure you put the front of the banner at the starting point (same side it started printing from). Line it up with the tape and lock it down.

Before you print, ensure that you flip the image on the X Axis. So a reverse, that way it will be facing the correct way.

Again center it on the media, base point and print. It should print perfectly.

(NOTE: That whole taking a pin through the material is very hard in my opinion, you have no way of knowing if you are perfectly aligned. My prints are always within a 1/16" so just a hair line of trim, which is near perfect.)

 

[rjssigns]

Make sure your pinch rollers are equal distance. Take a piece of masking tape and tape it to your printer on the left and right of your material flush against it. Then put a piece of tape under it flush against it.
Now you know where the banner needs to be on your second side. Base point it.

When you go into versaworks, set the print to be "centered" so it's dead center on the material, print it.

Once you reload upside down, make sure you put the front of the banner at the starting point (same side it started printing from). Line it up with the tape and lock it down.

Before you print, ensure that you flip the image on the X Axis. So a reverse, that way it will be facing the correct way.

Again center it on the media, base point and print. It should print perfectly.

(NOTE: That whole taking a pin through the material is very hard in my opinion, you have no way of knowing if you are perfectly aligned. My prints are always within a 1/16" so just a hair line of trim, which is near perfect.)

As stated in my how to I use a perfectly square lead edge for reference. Pin hole is just for base point reference. Our methods differ, but the outcome is the same.

 

[GAC05]

I concur with the guys above. I do it about the same here on a Mutoh but don't worry about the lead edge, I put a small cut on each side of the material in the groove used to do cross cuts. When it is flipped the cuts lined up with the groove keep it straight and at the correct start point.
Depending on what you are printing and how you are going to finish the banners it can also be useful to add some bleed to the print on the backside to cover small alignment issues.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[ams]

As stated in my how to I use a perfectly square lead edge for reference. Pin hole is just for base point reference. Our methods differ, but the outcome is the same.

Yeah everyone has their own ways of doing it. When I first learned how to do it, I tried it your way and wasn't successful, so I found this way worked best for me.

 

[dbeere]

I concur with the guys above. I do it about the same here on a Mutoh but don't worry about the lead edge, I put a small cut on each side of the material in the groove used to do cross cuts. When it is flipped the cuts lined up with the groove keep it straight and at the correct start point.
Depending on what you are printing and how you are going to finish the banners it can also be useful to add some bleed to the print on the backside to cover small alignment issues.

wayne k
guam usa

Thanks this will help

 

[dbeere]

Thanks this will all help, i have been having a hard time getting the alignment perfectly straight without being skewed with marking it with masking tape, the slits in the sheet cut grove sounds like it may work better for me. I thought that maybe there was some sort of setting in versaworks or rip program that i was not aware of.

 

[IslandSignWorks]

We print double sided banners all the time, including the pole banners that cities and colleges like to use. Here are some tips. We use the Ultaflex Pole Banner material from Fellers.

- Plan your file so you don't have tight borders, registration or fussy edges.
- Plan on leaving a day in between sides for them to dry completely.
- When you load the roll into the printer, mark where the edge of the media lands on your printer with a piece of tape. Use this mark to line things up for the second side.
- Do a sheet cut before you print and note where the sheet cut line is on your printer's bed. You'll want to hit that spot again with the second side.
- Center the print on the media in Versaworks for both prints. If you're doing 2-up, set it up in the artwork file so you have 2 copies side by side. Trying to do multiple copies in the RIP as nested files or whatever never works.
- When you load the print back in the printer for the 2nd side, use the same leading edge as before but rotate the image 180 degrees in Versaworks.

I always have front/back registration within 1/16" or less when I do these things.

Good luck

 

[dlndesign]

I just made a quick video on what I do when I make my double sided banners.
You can check that out here.