Possible issue with new backing material on Avery Translucent cut vinyl

[DesireeM]

Has anyone had the chance to use Avery's translucent cut vinyl since they changed the backing material?

It's now a thinner, clear material.

I'm asking because we've used it twice now on long backlit cuts (One 168" the other 112") and in both cases I did the usual alignment of the material to make sure it was feeding straight and not walking (usually I'll roll out 5-6ft just to be sure) and it was fine. Once I sent the actual cut file though the material started out fine then walked completely off of the end pinch-roller and ruined the whole thing (they both had solid backgrounds so there was no salvaging anything).

I've never had this issue before. I always make sure the material is not going to walk. I'm wondering if it's due to this new backing material. It's much thinner. The material is harder to handle because it's so flimsy now and it seems smoother....Perhaps my pinch rollers just can't grip it properly. I use an old Roland Camm-1 Pro cutter 48".
I was able to cut both jobs by eliminating the outer border of the cut. That way it didn't feed the full length of the sign border before cutting the stuff in the middle. That seemed to help. I'd like to try changing the feed speed as well but I can't really sacrifice that much material just to test it out.

Anyone had a similar experience?

 

[signcrafters london]

At what speed do you cut? I literally use the slowest speed possible on long runs of trans, especially if they have a border.

I cut a lot of things at a speed of 100. But on jobs like described above, I cut at 001.

 

[DesireeM]

The cutter is set at 10cm/second for most jobs. Gives me a better chance to pause if something goes wrong. Like I said though...I've never had this problem before and I cut a lot of jobs between 10-20ft long. Might need to change things up now though...

 

[John Butto]

step by step

At what speed do you cut? I literally use the slowest speed possible on long runs of trans, especially if they have a border.

I cut a lot of things at a speed of 100. But on jobs like described above, I cut at 001.

Slow speed as stated and I do not know what software you use for cutting, but there is a step by step on SignCut that just cuts a certain area before moving on so you do not lose what you have cut if the problem you have happens. You can set it to whatever length you want. There is also a test feed to see it the material runs through without coming off or if you have enough material to cut.

 

[DesireeM]

Slow speed as stated and I do not know what software you use for cutting, but there is a step by step on SignCut that just cuts a certain area before moving on so you do not lose what you have cut if the problem you have happens. You can set it to whatever length you want. There is also a test feed to see it the material runs through without coming off or if you have enough material to cut.

I use Flexi. I have it set to cut in order but like I said in my original post - if the background is a solid color you can't just cut in sections. At some point the cutter has to cut the outside edge. There is a test feed setting but I just do it manually as I stated before as well. I'll have to try slowing it down I guess. It's a risky/costly way to test a theory though.

 

[DesireeM]

I don't use Avery translucent (we usually use mactac/gerber) but one thing that comes to mind instead of cutting the whole border is to just cut corner marks then a little line here and there...and then trim by hand.

Just a workaround really but it should work.

That's kind of what I ended up doing. Just left cut line at the end but not the length. It's the only work-around I can see. Overall though I don't like the new backing material. It's harder to work with because it's so thin and flimsy now. Not terrible. Just a bit of a p.i.t.a. It's so slippery that once it starts unrolling while I'm cutting it'll just completely unravel off the roll. It's like there's less friction or stiffness. Never mind trying to roll it back up once it's been cut. It has no substance. Doesn't hold it's shape so it's annoying to get a roll started. It just buckles under its own weight.