Discuss the various aspects of heat pressed vinyl transfers. Popular and new types of vinyl media, suppliers, vinyl cutters /plotters, press times, quality, how to instructions and more can be found in this heat press sub forum.
Today, I had the opportunity to get a demo of a Graphtech FM7000 30" cutter and it was quite interesting. I did not get to see vinyl cutting with this model which I would have preferred, but saw heat transfer paper run through it for cutting.
What I learned more than anything was that the preparation time with creating the image correctly in the chosen application, sending it correctly to the cutter, putting the inkjet transfer paper on the carrier paper (?), aligning the cutter with the registration marks and a lot of printer feeding problems with a particular inkjet transfer paper took an hour plus of time to get through. I felt sorry for the demonstrator after awhile because so much was not working right. There were some mistakes made with pressing too as I felt this person was just under pressure and because of it, making small mistakes here and there.
We finally got 1 cut over a 2 hour period after all problems were ironed out, though it was so fast that I almost missed it!
Having experienced this, I have questions relating to cutting vinyl instead of cutting inkjet/laser heat transfer paper:
1. Is there a large learning curve on how to properly create an image to be cut directly to vinyl?
2. Is it necessary to align the blade with the registration marks when cutting images with vinyl and using the same roll? (I assume alignment is always needed when changing to a different roll of vinyl?)
3. For those of you who print straight from computer to vinyl, do you find that it takes you longer than what you deem normal to get the output you want because of alignment/feeding issues with the cutter?
4. For those using a vinyl cutter for any application/business, do you suggest new cutter users take a course or get trained in using such a machine?
Thanks...
AB
Last edited by AdriaticBlue; January 21st, 2008 at 05:54 PM.
you need to jump in and just do it there is nothing like hands on trial and error and then before you know it you will be a pro, and of course if you get stuck the fine folks here will help you out.
Wow. Sounds like that "teacher" needed an assistant!
I had never even seen a plotter run before we got ours. Thankfully my Fiance had run plotters for years so he could help me over some of my initial apprehensions, but it turned out to be easy for me. It should be fairly straightforward to anyone once you know your plotter and have the concepts down.
Actually, I learned how to use the registration mark sensor myself. Mark had never done that before. After a couple of miscuts because I loaded my paper in the wrong direction, I was on my way. Piece of cake now.
When you're cutting vinyl, you don't use registration marks, so it's just a matter of loading your vinyl in your machine straight enough that the rollers will stay on your vinyl for the length of your cut. Just get your vinyl loaded as straight as possible and this won't usually be an issue.
For transfers, it becomes easy. Just line your blade up to the first reg mark, and hit cut. Your plotter will read the reg marks and then cut your contour.
Your first point is actually the most important. Preparing your graphic for cutting. That's a skill that should be easy for anyone to understand, but it's actually pretty difficult for some people to grasp. You basically just need to know that everywhere you have a vector shape in your graphic there will be a cut on your vinyl. Most plotters software drivers will allow you to seperate your cuts between colors in your graphic or layers in your graphics program, so you don't need to worry about multiple colors all being cut on each and every color of vinyl.
We have a Graphtec CE5000-60, tho we (I) considered getting the FC7000-75. We've never had a feeding issue other than user error (an odd-shaped scrap of vinyl not loaded so that the rollers stay on it its entire length).
For people that are absolutely brand-new to vinyl cutters, having someone run through the process with you is invaluable, but not absolutely necessary. If you have a local rep for the plotter you buy I would say that having a demo by someone who KNOWS your exact machine would be a good thing, but again, not absolutely necessary. Just a bonus if you can.
Just read read read about the machine you plan to buy or have bought. Read its instructions. Read vinyl cutting forums. And feel free to ask if you do have any questions that don't seem to be answered.
What plotter are you considering purchasing? (I HIGHLY suggest a Graphtec...AMAZING machines, and EXCELLENT value. )
I'm definitely an advocate of being hands-on. But... When using equipment and material that someone is unfamiliar with, I think some level of training/education is beneficial. No one likes wasting product, whether ink, paper or vinyl that they could be making money with.
I think what I saw today was good and help me to know what not to do. However, there is no way that I remembered all of the cutter settings used to cut out that transfer!
It does take a little time, but once you figure it out the first couple of times it's easy to remember afterward.
Plus, with a Graphtec, as I'm sure it is with other plotters, you can set presets so all you need to do is change your preset for different media, and you're taken care of.
Wow. Sounds like that "teacher" needed an assistant!
I had never even seen a plotter run before we got ours. Thankfully my Fiance had run plotters for years so he could help me over some of my initial apprehensions, but it turned out to be easy for me. It should be fairly straightforward to anyone once you know your plotter and have the concepts down.
Actually, I learned how to use the registration mark sensor myself. Mark had never done that before. After a couple of miscuts because I loaded my paper in the wrong direction, I was on my way. Piece of cake now.
When you're cutting vinyl, you don't use registration marks, so it's just a matter of loading your vinyl in your machine straight enough that the rollers will stay on your vinyl for the length of your cut. Just get your vinyl loaded as straight as possible and this won't usually be an issue.
For transfers, it becomes easy. Just line your blade up to the first reg mark, and hit cut. Your plotter will read the reg marks and then cut your contour.
Your first point is actually the most important. Preparing your graphic for cutting. That's a skill that should be easy for anyone to understand, but it's actually pretty difficult for some people to grasp. You basically just need to know that everywhere you have a vector shape in your graphic there will be a cut on your vinyl. Most plotters software drivers will allow you to seperate your cuts between colors in your graphic or layers in your graphics program, so you don't need to worry about multiple colors all being cut on each and every color of vinyl.
We have a Graphtec CE5000-60, tho we (I) considered getting the FC7000-75. We've never had a feeding issue other than user error (an odd-shaped scrap of vinyl not loaded so that the rollers stay on it its entire length).
For people that are absolutely brand-new to vinyl cutters, having someone run through the process with you is invaluable, but not absolutely necessary. If you have a local rep for the plotter you buy I would say that having a demo by someone who KNOWS your exact machine would be a good thing, but again, not absolutely necessary. Just a bonus if you can.
Just read read read about the machine you plan to buy or have bought. Read its instructions. Read vinyl cutting forums. And feel free to ask if you do have any questions that don't seem to be answered.
What plotter are you considering purchasing? (I HIGHLY suggest a Graphtec...AMAZING machines, and EXCELLENT value. )
Chani, you are such a wealth of info and I truly appreciate it! I didn't want to say it, but yes, the trainer needed assistance though he said this is what he does. *sigh*
You provided some great tips and answers in regards to printing straight to vinyl and that option not requiring the use of registration marks. Good! Lining up vinyl straight for print, now yes, that sounds easy enough.
To answer your question, I'm actually interested in one of the Graphtec CE5000 models. The Graphtec was also recommended by a local dealer as that's all they use for cutters only (they use Mutoh for printers/cutters in one).
I'm definitely an advocate of being hands-on. But... When using equipment and material that someone is unfamiliar with, I think some level of training/education is beneficial. No one likes wasting product, whether ink, paper or vinyl that they could be making money with.
I had never used a plotter before I took the plunge and bought my Pcut from USCutter. Now, I realize it's nowhere near as advanced as the one you're referencing here, I found it really wasn't that difficult to figure out.
What I did was to buy a roll of decal vinyl for about $15, figuring I could hack up the entire roll while learning, and I'm out $15 for my efforts. I think I wasted maybe 1 yard total before I got the hang of it.
That kind of money is nothing compared to the experience I gained by just jumping in and giving it a shot.
I had never used a plotter before I took the plunge and bought my Pcut from USCutter. Now, I realize it's nowhere near as advanced as the one you're referencing here, I found it really wasn't that difficult to figure out.
What I did was to buy a roll of decal vinyl for about $15, figuring I could hack up the entire roll while learning, and I'm out $15 for my efforts. I think I wasted maybe 1 yard total before I got the hang of it.
That kind of money is nothing compared to the experience I gained by just jumping in and giving it a shot.
I appreciate that Bill, good advice to practice on cheaper grade vinyl to learn.
Not difficult at all. I read some info here on the forum...watched a video or two and decided to buy ours from Imprintables Warehouse (site sponsor) which has great support just in case we got into trouble.
We were cutting vinyl pretty much from the time we setup the machine. We have a Roland GX24.
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I'm definitely an advocate of being hands-on. But... When using equipment and material that someone is unfamiliar with, I think some level of training/education is beneficial. No one likes wasting product, whether ink, paper or vinyl that they could be making money with.
I think what I saw today was good and help me to know what not to do. However, there is no way that I remembered all of the cutter settings used to cut out that transfer!
Adriatic,
Chani's got the right idea. Whether you get a Roland, Graphtec, US Cutter, etc... make sure you get it from a good dealer that knows the product. Every member has their favorite on this forum, but if they don't know their own product, you'll be just as stuck as you were after the demo you told us about. Training classes and videos are a big help, but you want a dealer that'll take your calls too.
Mark had plenty of experience with plotters, so we weren't as worried about support from our supplier, so we went with the one that had the best price at the time but also the worst reputation for support. We thought we were safe.
Well, it turned out that there WAS an issue that we couldn't immediately work out, and when we called our supplier, we found out why they had the worst reputation.
Thankfully we were able to search the internet and find our answer, and we were also able to call Graphtec's support directly, but from now on we will only buy from a reputable supplier for our equipment.
That was my intended goal yesterday, to determine if the local dealer I visited for the demo would be able to not only sell me a cutter but assist with setup and answer basic questions. I'm a bit concerned about the person who assisted me yesterday, but my feelings may change perhaps if I find they have another individual more skilled with what I thought would be a simple demo on a cutter.
That depends on what you're actually doing. If it's contour cutting with inkjet transfers, then no, you need to load your transfers in individually and line the blade up to the first reg mark.
If you're talking about loading a roll of vinyl in and cutting multiple copies of your design, then yes, you can press cut and walk away. In this case make sure you have enough material left on your roll, tho.
This is a discussion about Vinyl Cutter Usage Question - Learning Curve? that was posted in the Vinyl Cutters (Plotters) and Transfers section of the forums.
Vinyl Cutter Usage Question - Learning Curve? 
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