I am sensing our shop will soon invest in a good plotter to cut stickers on, as we take on higher volume orders. For now we are rocking with the Roland VG-2 and VG-3 Printer/Cutters. After lots of hours of tests and trials, different blades and pressures, exploring and later abandoning "perf-cut paths," We've managed to produce clean die-cut stickers over and over, without trashing the blade or strip. The following is an exhaustive description of everything I can think of to achieve these results. Anyone having trouble producing die cut stickers on a VG-3, this is for you.
It can be a little tedious getting it dialed the first time, but it's worth it to be thorough. Do those extra two adjustments and test cuts, make it perfect, and then it will be set to cut as many stickers as you can print.
All of this also applies to the VG-2. The only difference I'm aware of is the cut strip on the VG-3 is a different material than the VG-2. The old one is solid black, and thinner. I was going through a lot of blades on that one. The new one is greenish clear and a bit thicker. It seems to be much more forgiving. If you're using a VG-2, I would recommend buying and installing a VG-3 cut strip.
Print files should have a regular, ContourCut cut path.
Use a 60 degree blade. Sharper than the default 45 degree blade. Insert 60 degree blade into blade holder, and twist blade holder counter-clockwise to retract the blade. You want the tip to be just barley poking out, almost not at all. Perform Crop-Cut Calibration tests, and make necessary adjustments. Then do pressure tests. I keep a scrap of laminated sticker media around for cut-pressure tests. Something the same thickness as the stickers you will be cutting, that you can keep close by and throw in the printer when getting a new blade dialed in.
Cut-Pressure Test
Import one sticker to versaworks as a test file and set it to cut-only.
Cut passes = 2
Pressure = 100
Cut the test sticker. If you've twisted the blade back in far enough, the 60 degree blade and 2 cut passes should kiss cut the vinyl but not the backing, like any other normal cut. You want to underdo it on the first one. Remove the blade holder and give it a little micro twist clockwise, bringing the blade out just a bit. Repeat the test cut with the same versaworks settings. Repeat this process until you get one where the sticker pops right out. Try dialing it back just a bit, and see if it still cuts through the backing. You're zeroing in on the money spot. See how far back you can twist the blade (counter-clockwise), and still get a clean cut. Once the blade is too far back in, the stickers will still be fully removeable, but will give a little resistance, a little tear. At that point, twist it clockwise again, one last time, and that should be the money spot.
Once it's dialed, and you have a bunch of stickers cutting at these settings, you can sit in front of the machine while it cuts row 2, and pop the stickers from row 1 out, like ripe berries. As a second option, when they cut just right, the stickers will stay attached to the sheet until you take it off the printer, and pull both ends taught, popping all the stickers out onto the table. No more weeding!
If the stickers are falling out into the machine while it's still cutting, the blade is out too far. If you're needing to tear them out, or put put any real effort into removing them, the blade is not out far enough.
After several thousand stickers, you can see a bit of wear on the strip, but we haven't had to replace it yet. I'd recommend keeping a few backup 60 degree blades on hand, but once it's dialed, you won't be going through them too fast.
Hopefully this is helpful, and I encourage anyone else on this journey to share questions, tips, or insights below.
It can be a little tedious getting it dialed the first time, but it's worth it to be thorough. Do those extra two adjustments and test cuts, make it perfect, and then it will be set to cut as many stickers as you can print.
All of this also applies to the VG-2. The only difference I'm aware of is the cut strip on the VG-3 is a different material than the VG-2. The old one is solid black, and thinner. I was going through a lot of blades on that one. The new one is greenish clear and a bit thicker. It seems to be much more forgiving. If you're using a VG-2, I would recommend buying and installing a VG-3 cut strip.
Print files should have a regular, ContourCut cut path.
Use a 60 degree blade. Sharper than the default 45 degree blade. Insert 60 degree blade into blade holder, and twist blade holder counter-clockwise to retract the blade. You want the tip to be just barley poking out, almost not at all. Perform Crop-Cut Calibration tests, and make necessary adjustments. Then do pressure tests. I keep a scrap of laminated sticker media around for cut-pressure tests. Something the same thickness as the stickers you will be cutting, that you can keep close by and throw in the printer when getting a new blade dialed in.
Cut-Pressure Test
Import one sticker to versaworks as a test file and set it to cut-only.
Cut passes = 2
Pressure = 100
Cut the test sticker. If you've twisted the blade back in far enough, the 60 degree blade and 2 cut passes should kiss cut the vinyl but not the backing, like any other normal cut. You want to underdo it on the first one. Remove the blade holder and give it a little micro twist clockwise, bringing the blade out just a bit. Repeat the test cut with the same versaworks settings. Repeat this process until you get one where the sticker pops right out. Try dialing it back just a bit, and see if it still cuts through the backing. You're zeroing in on the money spot. See how far back you can twist the blade (counter-clockwise), and still get a clean cut. Once the blade is too far back in, the stickers will still be fully removeable, but will give a little resistance, a little tear. At that point, twist it clockwise again, one last time, and that should be the money spot.
Once it's dialed, and you have a bunch of stickers cutting at these settings, you can sit in front of the machine while it cuts row 2, and pop the stickers from row 1 out, like ripe berries. As a second option, when they cut just right, the stickers will stay attached to the sheet until you take it off the printer, and pull both ends taught, popping all the stickers out onto the table. No more weeding!
If the stickers are falling out into the machine while it's still cutting, the blade is out too far. If you're needing to tear them out, or put put any real effort into removing them, the blade is not out far enough.
After several thousand stickers, you can see a bit of wear on the strip, but we haven't had to replace it yet. I'd recommend keeping a few backup 60 degree blades on hand, but once it's dialed, you won't be going through them too fast.
Hopefully this is helpful, and I encourage anyone else on this journey to share questions, tips, or insights below.