Need Help Vp540 missing Long Clear Plexi cover in front - does this affect dry times?

[mcbirdman]

Hi All,

Have the roland vp540 up and running. It is missing the safety cover in front but I wonder if it actually helps with the drying or not. It seems like it would. I thought I read somewhere that many people don't have it installed anymore??? Read so much helpful info this forum I thought I would ask.

Details: .............................................................................................................................
Gathering parts to make a new clear cover but I admint the main reason is I am hoping that it will help dry smaller sized decals that seem to be peeling up. I am sure it helps, but unsure how appreciably improved.

I am in Michigan so it is colder in and out and I was thinking the cover might help keep in the heat from the dryer and reduce the problem enough so MAYBE if I put a print delay on it from versaworks maybe it would get rid of the problem?

I am so happy it is printing, and I just adjusted the cutter blade and used the 1/2 credit card thickness starting point so the knife isn't grabbing it. I put in a new 45degree knife with .025 offset.

I am just wondering if it is realistic to print a few small stickers, leave it in the machine a little while and wait or if I will just have to just start using those alignment marks, using more vinyl. I have not done a print, remove and reinstall/cut only yet, I was unsure how accurate or realistic that is considering the smaller prints I am making with. It does cut quite intricately but it grabs the vinyl.

Thank you !

 

[hand851]

No it does not affect the dryer. If drying is an issue increase dry temperature.

 

[woolly]

if you are cutting through a printed part of the sticker then it will probably lift and peel back.
perhaps a picture or more info please

 

[mcbirdman]

Thanks guys. Thanks for response. Sorry for the delay, but I didn't want to express appreciation.

I did some work regarding setting cutting blade pressure after replacing blade. The few times it cut it had seemed to work. I made the mistake of trying to cut some cricuit glitter type vinyl and I think the tip got broke. Also I think , as per instructions that the blade extended too far out of the carrier as per setup instructions. This is the first time I dealt with the cutting blade setup/system.

My attention is now turning towards lamination......

BTW,, So from everything I read - if I plan to do decals on cars or partial wraps I need to get a cold laminator? I have seen a lot of talk about spray on vinyl coatings to help with UV exposure. I guess I am feeling that if I need to let people know that 4 years on a vehicle if you are going to remove it....Can it be used to make sure the decal will last the 4 years without the fading? I am thinking about getting a GBC laminator, see them sometimes for fairly cheap and wonder if it is worth the investment.....or to just buy a china cold roller for the 8-1000.00. I just wonder if people are moving away from laminate for cheaper stuff or possibly newer techniques....

 

[player]

Get a laminator. Watch out for used. The rollers need to be perfect.

 

[mcbirdman]

Ok thanks, I will keep eye open. Can't afford/justify a real exensive one right now but found one that is known to work 54' up to 4 foot in before it starts putting a wrinkle.

I went and got it. 150.00 and motorized. Good enough for now and GBS? Artic Titan. Can at least do smaller stuff the right way and learn. Seems like a good stepping stone for small and medium jobs. I am going to try to see if I can improve the performance but at least it will get me up and running in this regard with low risk.

But I see what you mean, many of these are thousands of dollars and it is kinda scary to invest in someithing like that and have a complete dud.

Thanks Player,,,

 

[Axs]

I can't remember if your machine supports it, but many Roland printers (newer ones at least) have a dry time feature that will let the vinyl sit on the platen before it will go back to cut. It has to be enabled on the printer itself, I do believe it is an option in Versaworks as well but if you don't have it enabled on the printer it won't work.

Alternatively, Versaworks has a "return to origin" option. Send your print job, return to origin, let the job sit for as long as you want, then re-run the job as cut only. I can't vouch for how well this works but in theory it makes sense to me

I believe the plastic cover is mainly to prevent dust from getting in the machine. Lots of people take it off without any issues.

 

[Joe House]

The VP was actually produced for a while without the front cover. I thought it was great. Unfortunately, some people couldn't keep their fingers out of the print zone while the printer was working, so Roland had to put it back on. It really won't help with drying though. Air circulation as much as heat helps dry the ink. If it's curling too much, you probably are putting down too much ink, have cheap vinyl or a combination of the two. Make sure that your environment and vinyl is within spec (warm enough) and use dry time in the Menu>Heater Menu.

 

[mcbirdman]

Thanks guys. Thanks for response. Sorry for the delay, but I didn't want to express appreciation.

Revisiting this thread. Thanks for not "hanging me up" I meant didn't want to forget to expresss.....lol....

Thanks Joe, I didn't see any obvious hardware or holes left behind. I had thought that maybe if the cover was on, with the heating element would heat the enclosed area a little better while the fan which pushes air into the right end of the machine would maybe flow into the the front of the machine and would also allow the airflow to keep it all moving.....

AXS you are right about that. I see there is an option in the setup to force a pause before cutting. I am still trying to figure how much I want to setup with VersaWorks and how much on machine although I think I can use VW to pause the machine too. The pause helps and it also greatly helps to have learned about installing a fresh blade and having it extend out of the cap too much as well as playing with pressure. Now that I calibrated it a bit, I see the accuracy but more importantantly that it doesn't pull the media up into the cutter. MUCH BETTER ! thanks.

I Didn't want to forget to express my Thanks ! lol