Still have original edge printer

[dakotasignwerks]

okay- after looking through everything i was givin with this machine, i dont think i have everything i need to get started. here are things i think i may need:

feed reel/ vinyl holder
various cords- easily acquired though
A CLUE!!!!

yes i admit to not having a clue on this unit. does somebody have a picture of their setup showing all the hardware stuff needed? or a list of what should be there? or an honest assessment if i should sell it or what. seems to be in operating condition. powers up and all but no clue after that. embarassing i know!

 

[Marlene]

the old Edge ran with a parallel port connection. not sure if the old machines will work with a USB cable. where did you buy this? ask them if they have the missing parts.

 

[GARY CULY]

WELP..you are a good way from manufacturing.not knowing how much you know about an edge[or signmaking in general]..so im not trying to disrespect.
you need a program to design your signs in.[you need to get some manuals now]edge is compatible to GERBER OMEGA program[older graphics advantage will work also] now within the program [the good one that has all in it] there will be a output program to shoot the files to the machine all in one program ...now if you design in say illustrator youll need a program [someone will chime in here on which one] to shoot the files to the edge....you will need to learn the steps to do this first .even just to type in a single word,set the prefferences ,and have it print is a while away yet..you will need a cutter , to cutout any decals .there is many gerber cutters that will work ,older ones are a bit slow but they are tanks and will do a great job if in good condition ..
you will need "foils" ,the cartridges with the colors on them that print on the vynle..each cart is one color ..or you can use CMYK just 4 and do it that way.. lot of variables .lot of learning still ahead ..so gather up a program and cords first to make it function[dont know if it will print yet?] ..oh get a cutter also...
there are many,many old edgeheads on here that went though that before the big printers ,so help is really just a question away here.set-up is probly the most aggrivating deal so hang tough man.

 

[gabagoo]

Hey Pat would it not be easier to have your cutter on the opposite side of the printer so that on long continuos runs you can start cutting while printing?

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

You have to use Gerber software to run the Edge. You CAN NOT cut or print to an Edge from Illustrator or any other program. Omega is best but old Graphix Advantage software will run it. However, you can't buy GA new anymore and Gerber doesn't offer any tech support on it if you find a version from someone else.

You will need a Gerber plotter to contour cut prints.

Did the person who sold it to you not tell you any of that? Or offer to sell the software and/or plotter with it? I'd be interested in knowing how much you paid for it without software.

Good luck!

 

[paul luszcz]

You can't run a continous roll of vinyl through both machines, not only is the feed rate different, but don't forget, the plotter pushes and pulls goes left, goes right, it would never work when attached to fixed system like the Edge. Never mind when the Edge rewinds to change colors.

But if it came out the left side of the Edge you could cut it and start it on the plotter, or just move the whole roll over to the plotter in one movement. You're going in a circle, taking it out of the left side of the Edge and walking it over to the right side of the plotter.

 

[Cadmn]

thought if plotter faster than print then it wouldn't work anyway,plotter pulling on printer never mind Paul beat me to it

 

[gabagoo]

Lol funny you should mention that....I was wondering that the other day!
My dad's always had it set up this way.

I thought of trying it but if you compare the Edge's printing speed with the HS15+ cutting speed...it doesn't make much sense.

I guess it would speed up the workflow a bit... but I'm usually running the Edge, Plotter and our Roland at the same time so I can't keep up with the graphics that are cutting ayway.

It would look pretty cool to have the vinyl feeding out of the edge into the plotter tho!

On long runs I usually slice it up every so often and plot it.

Mine is set up that way and yes I do cut and print at the same time. You just have to know when. For instance on large runs where you break it down into multiple send files after the second print has gone past the 3 or 4 foot mark the first batch can start being cut. I do it all the time and it does speed up production.

 

[Fred Weiss]

You can't run a continous roll of vinyl through both machines, not only is the feed rate different, but don't forget, the plotter pushes and pulls goes left, goes right, it would never work when attached to fixed system like the Edge. Never mind when the Edge rewinds to change colors.

But if it came out the left side of the Edge you could cut it and start it on the plotter, or just move the whole roll over to the plotter in one movement. You're going in a circle, taking it out of the left side of the Edge and walking it over to the right side of the plotter.

We do it all the time on long runs of labels and small decals. We break the print run down to lengths from 4' to 6' and just allow a buffer length to build up between the Edge and the plotter of one or two print runs. It helps the workflow immensely and quite often we will have some of a long run ready for delivery before we're even done printing.

When we first started running an Edge we would print everything and then rewind it all back onto the roll and transfer the roll to the plotter. It didn't take long to figure out that we could be printing on one machine and cutting on another at the same time. But rather than cutting off periodically, often the inline approach is used and is very efficient by comparison.

 

[dakotasignwerks]

okay-

i have omega and ga on the computer supplied with the unit. has dongle on rear as well. also i believe the parrallel cable as well. looks like just dont have feed/ roll holder. hmmmm............maybe i can buy a clue somewhere.................

 

[signage]

You may find someone with the roll holders on here or 4edgetalk or even try ebay! If you would want to make sure it all works first you should be able to run the vinyl through if you pulled enough off the roll and let it feed back and forth!

 

[Browner]

You can run test prints without having the machine hooked up to a computer.

Just load up a foil, some vinyl, and press the "hidden" button on the control panel.

It's not much, but you'll at least be able to see if there are any blown pixels in the head.



PS - We run stuff through the edge AND plotter at the same time quite frequently.

 

[gabagoo]

that button is hidden so well I have no idea where it is. where is this button you speak of

 

[dakotasignwerks]

it seems to print very nicely. (bad english) now to figure out how to operate everything on it. not sure what the programs are all about. composer is difficult at best to figure out. maybe some hints somewhere. edgetalk hasnt resonded back to me in 3 months for access to their site so i cant find anyhting there. will search web more. thanks for the help so far and if any links to helpfull info are out there, please let me know.

thanks

 

[Fred Weiss]

You're not in for an easy time of it if you find Composer hard to figure out. But here's your starting point:

A vector can have three possible settings;

1. Cut only
2. Print only
3. Print and Cut

Fills can either be spot colors or CMYK process colors. If spot colors, where colors touch other colors, an overlap with an overprint setting needs to be created. No color management or dealing with profiles is needed with spot colors. If CMYK color, there is rarely a problem with colors touching colors and no overlapping is required, however you will need to become familiar with halftone settings, LPI settings, color workspace settings, profile settings, etc. Always print darker on lighter.

If you have Gerber books, read them. If not, buy them or use the help files. When you can't figure out a detail, ask here.

I would rate the learning curve for running an Edge as medium to difficult. There are a lot of factors you must become familiar with and they all interact with each other creating 1,000's of possible ways to go right or wrong.

 

[J Hill Designs]

If the set came with the omega book, jump in and try stuff out...Years ago we got an edge, and I had to trial/error learn it -- not too hard, just start by doing personal decal projects etc.

+1 to medium-difficult curve...

good luck

 

[GARY CULY]

ok its saturday ,,how you comming along there buddy?

 

[dakotasignwerks]

ok its saturday ,,how you comming along there buddy?

saturdays golf game was good!!!

saturdays playtime on Gerber not as productive. trying to take files i currently have (corel draw files) and convert them to something this machine will accept. problem is no books with machine or software. still looking around for some.

i am trying to whoop this bad boy, so i will hang tough...then throw in the towel.....nah

 

[Marlene]

you have Omega. write something in composer, right click on it, fill it with a color. go to output all it it should take you to the plot page. click on the icon that looks like the edge with colored stuuf coming out of it, and the program does the rest. you don't really need any books as there's a help on both the composer page and the plot page

 

[omgsideburns]

I'm not a big composer fan. I design in other programs and just export to it. Use composer to set colors and cut lines and then let her go.

On long runs I'll load into the plotter once the last color starts. We built these tables, theres a catch basket on the floor past the plotter.. I like the edge. They just work.

 

[dakotasignwerks]

Omega does not appear to be operational on this new computer (came with Gerber) no disc for it either. i have only the GSP Advantage that works

 

[Marlene]

Omega does not appear to be operational on this new computer (came with Gerber) no disc for it either. i have only the GSP Advantage that works

did you buy the computer with the software loaded but no CD? if it is a registered copy, seems like you could get it running since you do have the dongle for it. I haven't run the old software for ages but it pretty much, you should be able to run it by checking the help when you are stuck.

 

[dakotasignwerks]

did you buy the computer with the software loaded but no CD? if it is a registered copy, seems like you could get it running since you do have the dongle for it. I haven't run the old software for ages but it pretty much, you should be able to run it by checking the help when you are stuck.

it was with the computer/ gerber/ scanner/ everything else. older computer and no cd's. the dongle is a graphix advantage dongle. will this allow me to reproduce anything other than text and basic shapes? can the graphic advantage be used for "picture" type printing?

 

[Fred Weiss]

Yes you can use Graphix Advantage but it is old and out of date. You can open or import the common image types like TIF or JPG. Importing vectors out of CorelDRAW will require you to export as Illustrator EPS Version 3 and then use the GA File Converter utility to convert them to PLT files for Composer.

Upgrading to Omega 3 is pricey but would save you a ton of time and increase your capabilities quite a bit.