Pre-cutting blanks

[Signs Express]

New flatbed being installed today...

Based on testing samples, we feel comfortable cutting down corrugated plastic, PVC, foam panels, etc. after printing.

Aluminum, dibond and such is a different story. I'm sure our Fletcher material cutter will scratch the edges of the prints if cut after, but our tech indicates we'll get much better vacuum pressure with full, uncut sheets.

What's your strategy for smaller metal panels like this? - especially when there are several to do...

 

[Signs Express]

Congrats on the purchase. What did you end up going with?

I went through this a few months ago and got some good feedback http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?119141-Flatbed-workflow

I've come to the conclusion since then that the best solution is going to be to get a flatbed cutter.

We're seriously considering getting one of these within the next year http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?120063-Summa-F-Series-Flatbed-cutter

Coroplast and all soft materials are easily cut afterwards on our Keencut (same idea as Fletcher I believe) but dibond poses a challenge. Cut before, and you've got blanks that aren't flat and are slightly warped. Vacuum table will still hold these down but this way isn't efficient when doing lots of smaller sizes. Cut after, and you risk scratching the ink with the cutting wheels. If the signs aren't full bleed then it's not a problem, but I still don't like the way these things cut dibond. It curls way too much when making long cuts.

I'm going to start getting a local cnc company to start cutting common sizes for us in the meantime, but the end game is to get a flatbed cutter with router module.

I really think for under $90k installed and trained it's a no brainer, plus now you can cut just about any flat or roll substrate.

Thank you for the info Pat! I will give those threads a thorough read. After a day of training I couldn't agree more. I hear the call of the flatbed already! One thing at a time... We settled on the Mimaki JFX200.