Ran out of foil in a big print job

[daenterpri]

I just ran out of my first color foil in the middle of a 3 color foil job. Is there a way that I can go ahead and reset it and add my 2nd and 3rd colors without losing what I've done?

Otherwise I'll waste several yards of vinyl... my bad.

 

[daenterpri]

I'm printing hundreds of individual stickers, not just one big sign.

 

[Fred Weiss]

You need to complete the pass in full and then follow it with the other passes in full. So you would need to substitute any other color to do so. You can then cut the entire job salvaging what is correct. Whether it's worth it or not depends on how much you will salvage versus how much you will waste anyway.

Back in the late 1990's I developed and prototyped a measuring device to determine exactly how much foil remains in a cartridge to avoid exactly what you're experiencing. At the time no one I talked to thought this was any problem that needed solving so it never went beyond building the prototype. I use mine pretty much every time I print.

 

[daenterpri]

Perfect, thanks Fred! It will definitely be worth it

 

[signage]

Fred would it hurt to just rewind the foil that ran out and re-insert it?

 

[Fred Weiss]

Fred would it hurt to just rewind the foil that ran out and re-insert it?

Probably would work, but also possible the foil carrier would tear. Were it me, I would just pick a color that I didn't use much and that I had plenty of.

 

[daenterpri]

I ended up throwing white in to finish since I hardly ever use white. On that 17 foot run, it only had 2 inches left

 

[Fred Weiss]

I ended up throwing white in to finish since I hardly ever use white. On that 17 foot run, it only had 2 inches left

Well worth it then.

 

[J Hill Designs]

wow 17 foot run of contour cut decals? you must have your registration down pat!

 

[rushworks graphics]

wow 17 foot run of contour cut decals? you must have your registration down pat!

i'd never chance doing 17' on our setup! i'd do no more than 4'-5' at a time.

 

[daenterpri]

wow 17 foot run of contour cut decals? you must have your registration down pat!

I do big runs like that quite often and don't seem to have much of an issue. When dealing with colors butting up to each other I've had issues, but it doesn't seem to matter how big the run is.

 

[mopar691]

Its a gerber running punched 15" material. They track Perfect. Never a Issue at any length.

 

[stoliker]

I would be interested in Fred's prototype. I always forget to right down the footage and never know what I have left!

 

[Browner]

On longer runs, I always start the vinyl at the "home" position. That way, if something like this happens (although with all my foils having GerberGauge, it rarely does) I just hit reset.

I count how many repeats have been done, adjust the number in GSPPlot, rewind the vinyl to the beginning, and "start" over with the remaining foils. You can skip the first color (or second, or whichever one you've goofed up) by going to the select colors menu in GSPPlot (Shift+F3), and select/deselect which colors you want to print!