Print & Cut

[Fred Weiss]

Hmmmm? I'll bet that the color-trapping problem grows slightly with each successive color/foil. Yes?

Actually, no. The error in color to color registration is directly related to the amount of foil that remains unused in the cartridge which affects the x-axis position of each color. In a print using three spot colors with the first and third color being new, unused foils and the second being half used, a shift of position of up to .020" on the second color can be anticipated with a near perfect return to the original color on the third color.

Also, friction feed comes in lots of flavors. Some supremely accurate; much more so than tractor-fed. Others, terribly inaccurate.

Factors affecting friction tracking accuracy are:

Design, first and foremost. The relationship between the drive drum (grit spindle), the media and the pinch roller is massively critical, especially but not limited to the grit pattern. Roller tension, too, is a big deal.

Next, the supremely matched outside circumference of the drive drum at the points of pinch roller contact. They must match, exactly. An oxidation-resistant coating, also a must. Oxidation alters the circumference.

Lastly, the smooth delivery of material. Any stress, to one side or the other, steers the web.

Get it all right, and nothing touches it for accuracy. Tractor feed's advantage is also its inherent flaw: to have the tollerances that fricion is capable of, the release of the vinyl from the pins would be too tight. Its other flaw is the vinyl manufacture. The cutter is only as good as the puncher that put the holes in the vinyl. No manufacturer gets it exactly right 100% of the time. (understatement)

Back at ya ... :^)

I cannot disagree that your comments are valid to a point. I would still assert that my original point of allowing in the graphic design for print to cut registration errors by use of edge bleeds or unprinted contours, as well as reducing the size of production runs of repeated items will save a lot of lost production or inferior output.

 

[paul luszcz]

With all due respect to both of you, having been an owner/user of an Edge/HS15 printer cutter and a Roland inkjet printer cutter, the similarities end there.

Putting a .04 bleed on the Edge solves almost all print/cut alignment issues, just as adding chokes and spreads fills in any spot color gaps, much as a screen printer would do.

Watching a Roland miss the first print by .001 and the tenth by an inch and a half clearly requires a different solution. When the technician adjusts the wires and cleans the encoder strip, the Roland tracks accurately for about a week.

It then goes so horribly awry that we just gave up. We know ours is an unusually bad example; some rave about the Roland print cut ability. But we find it useless.

The Edge is like the Energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going.

 

[Dennis @ Sign FX]

With all due respect to both of you, having been an owner/user of an Edge/HS15 printer cutter and a Roland inkjet printer cutter, the similarities end there.

Putting a .04 bleed on the Edge solves almost all print/cut alignment issues, just as adding chokes and spreads fills in any spot color gaps, much as a screen printer would do.

Watching a Roland miss the first print by .001 and the tenth by an inch and a half clearly requires a different solution. When the technician adjusts the wires and cleans the encoder strip, the Roland tracks accurately for about a week.

It then goes so horribly awry that we just gave up. We know ours is an unusually bad example; some rave about the Roland print cut ability. But we find it useless.

The Edge is like the Energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going.

I also found that slowing the cut to 10 mm makes the world of difference. At higher speeds you can watch the vinyl start to skew as it tracks.

 

[LittleSnakey]

2 Things we do are:
1.) make sure all the pinch rollers are installed if you are laminating. If you use just 2, I have found it to be less accurate.

2.) I also add a 1/16" outline of the same color then make my contour cut -1/32"

We use a VP540 with a 60deg blade and have never done an environmental adjustment and have done alot of small decals.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

yeah,

Arrange the graphics to accomidate (leave blank row) a 3rd wheel. Then print and cut no more than 5 or 6 feet at a time. Liquid laminating after print/cut seems to still be weadable for me. If you add the additional wheels without adjusting the graphic, you'll have rollers marking the graphic and sometimes pulling up cut vinyl.

 

[Malkin]

It's not very hard. I'm going from memory so some of the terms may be different...

When setting up your print job make sure the "Media Size" is set on "Custom Sheet". Next change the sheet size so you can fit "X" amount of "decals" on a sheet.

For example if I'm printing 5" x 1" labels and want the printer to print 5 rows then I would set my sheet size to 53" x 5".

Next set your quantity, for this example I'll print 1000. Because my sheet size is 53" x 5" I'll only be able to print 50 labels per sheet. VersaWorks will automatically create new sheets so in the preview you will see 20 sheets with 50 labels per sheet.

Now you can set the printer to Print > Dry > Contour Cut > Cut Sheet.

To do this go the the Printer Controls and set your dry time and click the "Cut Sheet" check box <- This option may be under Cut Setup

The printer will then print 5 rows, pause to dry, contour cut, cut off the sheet and repeat.

Thank you very much for this tip.

I was able to use it today for a day of almost unattended printing/cutting/cut sheet, next!

Will come in quite handy in the future too.