whats with grouped objects not being sent to the rip?

[gabagoo]

I have been burned by this program before with this issue and I really dont understand why it happens.

here's the story.

I have some time sensitive rush graphics for a prototype race car that is leaving for Florida Friday night. I get the files Wed and this one particular colour I have to reproduce can only be printed at 1440 x 720 and it is very heavy with ink so I get it printed and let it sit until today and I laminate it and wait until 6 pm to cut it up.
Everything has gone perfectly for this section of graphics and I put the graphics in the Summa and it finds all the registration marks and then proceeds to cut the graphics.

I come back into the room when it is finished and wonder how it cut them so fast and then I look closely and it cut just one item on the graphic and left the rest uncut.
Adrenaline is pumping through my body as I think to myself.... No efin way am I cutting this by hand and I jump back into Flexi and pray I saved the file the way I set it up to cut. If I didn't I am screwed and I have another 72" piece to cut as well.

OK I am relatively safe as the file opens and I see the graphic is exactly the way it printed and I didn't move anything before saving it. I use the view tool and I turn everything off except the contour cut. I see everything is there with cut marks. Hmmmmm WTF. OK not the end of the world....yet. I decide to send the file out for print again (only I wont print and just use the plotter to cut. I have done this many times and it works so long as the graphics have not been moved from their original position.
I send it and I dont put the printer into remote and then go into the cut area, but the file is not coming through.... I now start to remember that this has happened before to me. I go back into the program and I find that these 4 objects that need cutting are GROUPED within thereselves with the contour cut. I have no idea why when you send them out this way the contour info does not go out with it. I ungrouped and resent and PRESTO, I get away with it, and Flexi loses it's bid to ruin my day.

i just want to know what possible function this serves to not allow the contour cut to be processed with the print if the object is grouped?

anyone know the answer to this?

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Sounds like a bug.

 

[gabagoo]

Yea, it's a bug that can really ruin a day!!!
Thankfully I didnt have to start from square one although I burnt a few brain cells in the process...lol

 

[ova]

Sounds like if you have any number of objects grouped, it makes them one enity. When you put the contour cut on this portion of your image, it sees it as such and only puts the cut path around the group, not each object.

This is how I see it, but could be wrong.

Dave

 

[gabagoo]

Sounds like if you have any number of objects grouped, it makes them one enity. When you put the contour cut on this portion of your image, it sees it as such and only puts the cut path around the group, not each object.

This is how I see it, but could be wrong.

Dave

no.... let me describe the file. It is one 65"x 1" stripe to be print & cut and below it I ran 3 26" wide x 25" high large decals which needed to be cut. I dont remember grouping them because anything I bring into flexi from signlab grouped or not grouped, comes in grouped, so I had to have ungrouped them all to be able to give each piece it's colours and cut info. Now maybe where the problem arises is that on the 3 decals I actually would only have one and cut and paste 2 more after I had given it the contour cut info..
The part that burns me is that the 1" stripe went out with the cut info but the 3 logos did not because they were grouped and I have no idea how they were. So when the printer started it naturally put down registration marks for the stripe but had no contour info for the decals and that really bothers me as I had no way to see an issue.
If the stripe had not been in the rip then the printer would not have printed any registration marks and I would have hit the brakes.

I guess it is a heads up to me that on important rush jobs to make certain that the way you send out the job is the way it is saved. I don't always do that in all circumstances. this time I was lucky.

 

[thewood]

Sorry to hear about that glitch. What version of Flexi are you running?

So when the printer started it naturally put down registration marks for the stripe but had no contour info for the decals and that really bothers me as I had no way to see an issue.

I don't have an answer as to why that is happening. But, in order to check for that issue prior to printing you can do this: When sending the file to RIP and Print select the Hold in List option. Then you can go to Production Manager, Select the Plotter setup and look at the cut file. This should reveal any glitches with the contour cuts prior to printing.

That is definitely not a fix, but it should at least give you a way to check the file.