Print/Lam/Cut "eye" question

[Colin]

On my SP540i, when I do a print/lam/cut job (54" media) when I set the media back in the machine for the cut operation, (and have it aligned perfectly), when the cutting head comes out to read the registration marks, after reading the first one, on its way up to find the second one, sometimes the machine inches the media ahead numerous times on its journey up to read the second reg mark. It will nudge the media forward about 1/16" - 1/8" about every foot along its travel, and this nudging of the media results in the eye not finding the 2nd reg mark as it would have if it didn't nudge the media! So it goes back & forth doing the same thing (painfully slowly) until it finds it. (I've also had it not find it and eventually it gives up).

Sometimes it doesn't do this and simply travels up without nudging the media.

Why does it sometimes do this?

 

[P Wagner]

On my SP540i, when I do a print/lam/cut job (54" media) when I set the media back in the machine for the cut operation, (and have it aligned perfectly), when the cutting head comes out to read the registration marks, after reading the first one, on its way up to find the second one, sometimes the machine inches the media ahead numerous times on its journey up to read the second reg mark. It will nudge the media forward about 1/16" - 1/8" about every foot along its travel, and this nudging of the media results in the eye not finding the 2nd reg mark as it would have if it didn't nudge the media! So it goes back & forth doing the same thing (painfully slowly) until it finds it. (I've also had it not find it and eventually it gives up).

Sometimes it doesn't do this and simply travels up without nudging the media.

Why does it sometimes do this?

In the 1st origin corner (the circle mark with the rectangle next to it), the machine scans for the circle and then the rectangle. If it sees an X-axis offset in that small amount of area, it extrapolates this across the entire width of the media, in the form of the small movements that you described above. If there is no X-axis adjustment needed between the origin circle and the rectangle, you won't see this.

 

[Colin]

In the 1st origin corner (the circle mark with the rectangle next to it), the machine scans for the circle and then the rectangle. If it sees an X-axis offset in that small amount of area, it extrapolates this across the entire width of the media, in the form of the small movements that you described above. If there is no X-axis adjustment needed between the origin circle and the rectangle, you won't see this.

Thanks. How & why would it sense an offset if I've got it perfectly aligned?

 

[Mike F]

Do you have "Center on Media" checked when you print? Not sure if it would cause this specific problem but I've been told never to do that if I'm doing a print/lam/cut with registration marks because it can screw things up.

 

[Tony McD]

This happens on my sp300 as well.
Like Castek said, I think the vinyl was loaded slightly different during the print stage.
It knows as soon as it scans the dot and rectangle, and compensates for the variation by nudging the vinyl so it sees the next dot.

I just have the 30" model so this is easy to do for me.
Lay a yard stick across the dots, and make a pencil tic mark at the edge of the material.
Load it up, and line these tic marks with the cut groove in the machine.

 

[Colin]

Do you have "Center on Media" checked when you print? Not sure if it would cause this specific problem but I've been told never to do that if I'm doing a print/lam/cut with registration marks because it can screw things up.

Nope, it was not checked.

 

[Colin]

Like Castek said, I think the vinyl was loaded slightly different during the print stage.
It knows as soon as it scans the dot and rectangle, and compensates for the variation by nudging the vinyl so it sees the next dot.

In my case, if it's off from the original (print) run, it's off literally by a hair.

Lay a yard stick across the dots, and make a pencil tic mark at the edge of the material.
Load it up, and line these tic marks with the cut groove in the machine.

Yes, I do that all the time with my Stabilo pencil. It's only necessary on the far (left) end; the end near the cutter/print head has the reg dot so close it can be accurately aligned to the cutting strip.

 

[Sign Works]

This sounds identical to Pat's thread "File From Hell" which I've been following out of curiousity to see if the culprit is ever determined. Someone in that thread mentioned not upgrading firmware after upgrading Versaworks could cause strange problems, to me that sounded like a definite possibility. After that a Roland rep suggested calling into Roland tech support to get assistance in troubleshooting the problem, I think that is what I would do if I was to encounter such difficulties. I have been doing print/lam/cut jobs on my Versacamm SP-300V for over five years without ever encountering any crop mark detection troubles. I have used the "Center on Media" without any ill effects. When I first got the machine I ran several tests to answer questions I came up with that were simply not in the manual such as, cutting the media down after lamination and moving the pinch rollers from there original position from the print and the results were that the machine has never failed to detect the crop marks. I've printed on silver metallic, gold metallic, gun metal metallic and even charcoal metallic and never had an issue with crop mark detection. I am a little old school in that I practice "If it ain't broken then don't fix it" another words I'm still running the original version of Versaworks that was installed by the tech on day one, no upgrades = no problems. Just out of curiousity are you guys aligning the blade holder just to the right of the first crop mark and then setting the base point? Good luck and let us know what the culprit turns out to be.

 

[Sign Works]

In my case, if it's off from the original (print) run, it's off literally by a hair.



Yes, I do that all the time with my Stabilo pencil. It's only necessary on the far (left) end; the end near the cutter/print head has the reg dot so close it can be accurately aligned to the cutting strip.

To assure proper alignment reinserting media after lamination I simply do a sheet cut before the print, this way you can just align the leading edge of the media to the groove/edge of the heater.

 

[CentralSigns]

To assure proper alignment reinserting media after lamination I simply do a sheet cut before the print, this way you can just align the leading edge of the media to the groove/edge of the heater.

That's what I do also and no problemo ever. I always centre on media as well, so don't see how that's an issue. It isn't for me anyways.

Colin do you start the machine in the cut cycle by placing the senser on the cut mark. I usually put the blade holder on the circle an set the base point.

 

[Colin]

Just out of curiousity are you guys aligning the blade holder just to the right of the first crop mark and then setting the base point?

Colin, do you start the machine in the cut cycle by placing the senser on the cut mark. I usually put the blade holder on the circle and set the base point.

I once put it on the circle and that was a disaster as it cut the contours WAY off.

I just leave the head parked where it lives (to the far right), and this works. I just move the fore & aft to where I want it, and then set that as the new Basepoint.

Again, this occurance of the machine inching the media forward slightly only happens occasionally. Other times it runs out straight and finds mark #2 (then 3 then 4).