Roland Crop Marks giving shifted cuts

[JesusM48172]

I'm trying to start incorporate laminate into my decals. Until now I've just been printing then cutting. With the laminating I have to use the crop marks but they aren't cutting properly. They are off by a noticeable amount.

I did some testing and so far I came up with some points.
1: The laminate does not cause the cut to be off. I tried only laminating the decals and only laminating the crop marks. Both time I got the same cut alignment off.
2: It doesn't seem to be user error in putting in the media. I had it explained to me by a tech and I even did the print then cut with crop marks without removing the media from the printer.

So to me it seems like the error is in the printer reading the crop marks and shifting it to one side by a little. All the cuts are off by the exact same in every test. I recently had it looked over and was told calibration was fixed. I'm still having the same issue. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Jason Thomas]

What RIP are you using? Are you centering or getting media width AFTER the print and BEFORE the cutting? In Versaworks, I'm pretty sure that if you click "Get Media Width" after you load the laminated print back in, it will mess with your print/cut alignment. You have to just load in the material, move your rollers out to the sides, move your knife above the mark and then send the file to cut... no messing with width or centering in the RIP.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Print cut alignments can be off depending on the material thickness and other factors. Take a look at the user manual and there is a section on how to do the user alignment. Also, if it's an older model, try running the ENV MATACH function in the menu. It is an automatic function that recalibrates the linear and disc encoders. Sometimes they can get out of sync.

 

[JesusM48172]

What RIP are you using? Are you centering or getting media width AFTER the print and BEFORE the cutting? In Versaworks, I'm pretty sure that if you click "Get Media Width" after you load the laminated print back in, it will mess with your print/cut alignment. You have to just load in the material, move your rollers out to the sides, move your knife above the mark and then send the file to cut... no messing with width or centering in the RIP.

What do you mean by RIP? I'm not changing any settings after the initial print. It's the exact same file and settings except flipping from Print Only to Cut Only.

 

[JesusM48172]

Print cut alignments can be off depending on the material thickness and other factors. Take a look at the user manual and there is a section on how to do the user alignment. Also, if it's an older model, try running the ENV MATACH function in the menu. It is an automatic function that recalibrates the linear and disc encoders. Sometimes they can get out of sync.

I've used different media and had the same issue. I've also tried different cut settings with no luck. I just checked the sheet the tech worker used as well as looked at the manual and it seems they did the right alignment test that the manual says I should try when there's a cutting crop mark error.

 

[Solventinkjet]

I've used different media and had the same issue. I've also tried different cut settings with no luck. I just checked the sheet the tech worker used as well as looked at the manual and it seems they did the right alignment test that the manual says I should try when there's a cutting crop mark error.

I'd try the ENV MATCH then. I've seen it happen on older models a bunch of times where the print/cut alignment is off and won't get any better no matter what you do until that function is carried out. Other than that, maybe Joe House has some insight.

 

[rjssigns]

I've used different media and had the same issue. I've also tried different cut settings with no luck. I just checked the sheet the tech worker used as well as looked at the manual and it seems they did the right alignment test that the manual says I should try when there's a cutting crop mark error.

Don't discount any advice and go after the low hanging fruit as they say. Sometimes it's the subtle things that get overlooked, but have a huge impact on the job.

Here are some lessons I learned while running a Roland:

Are you loading the media straight on initial set up? I always grab the lead edge, pull some tension then "find the center" before dropping the pinch wheels.

Are you reloading the laminated media dead straight according to the crop marks? If not start there.
My guess is you're probably trusting the sheet cut function to produce a cut perfectly perpendicular to either side of the media.

It won't, and when I had my Roland it could be off by as much as 9/16" after successive prints.

Lay a straightedge across the two leading rectangular marks then look at the leading edge.
My bet is it's crooked.

If not that then clean your encoder strip and try again.
If that doesn't work then it may be the encode board. When the encoder board acts up the print head gets lost and doesn't drop ink exactly where it should. The print could look fantastic and still be in the wrong place.

 

[JesusM48172]

Don't discount any advice and go after the low hanging fruit as they say. Sometimes it's the subtle things that get overlooked, but have a huge impact on the job.

Here are some lessons I learned while running a Roland:

Are you loading the media straight on initial set up? I always grab the lead edge, pull some tension then "find the center" before dropping the pinch wheels.

Are you reloading the laminated media dead straight according to the crop marks? If not start there.
My guess is you're probably trusting the sheet cut function to produce a cut perfectly perpendicular to either side of the media.

It won't, and when I had my Roland it could be off by as much as 9/16" after successive prints.

Lay a straightedge across the two leading rectangular marks then look at the leading edge.
My bet is it's crooked.

If not that then clean your encoder strip and try again.
If that doesn't work then it may be the encode board. When the encoder board acts up the print head gets lost and doesn't drop ink exactly where it should. The print could look fantastic and still be in the wrong place.

I think I may have figured out the problem. I thought the initial test the tech performed was for general printing and cutting. That seems to be different and the manual shows a test for calibrating crop marks. Currently fixing it and will need to print out a test to see if it is fixed.

 

[garyroy]

In VersaWorks, when you go into "Layout", make sure under "Position" the "Center on Media" is NOT!! checked.
That will give you way better cutting registration. The print should print to the side a bit, not centered.

Along with the other suggestions as well, you should get better results.

 

[David.Overprint]

What model of Roland?
menu-cutting menu- crop cut adjustment
It'll print a crop mark, detect it and cut it out.