pete8314

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  1. pete8314

    Cutting 3M 2080 vs. 1080

    Hi All We're starting to get 2080 from our supplier since the 1080 vinyl is being discontinued. I'm experimenting with the best way to cut it (Graphtec FC8600/60), but I've yet to find the magic settings to make the weeding relatively easy. For the 1080 I was at a Speed of 30, and Force of 23, but for the 2080, this makes some of the corners reluctant to release. Wondering if anyone else has had a chance to play with it yet?
  2. pete8314

    How to cut the backing paper on Vinyl

    That's certainly possible, but I have 50 examples like that are they're all identical, so would require an awful lot of precision using a paper cutter?
  3. pete8314

    How to cut the backing paper on Vinyl

    Edges of the backing paper, so it would have been cut at the same time.
  4. pete8314

    How to cut the backing paper on Vinyl

    No, at least, I very much doubt it. There's a lot of shapes, so that would mean a lot of dies, and the cost would be disproportionate.
  5. pete8314

    How to cut the backing paper on Vinyl

    This might be a silly question, or I'm not sure of the right search terms. I'm using a Graphtec FC8600 for cutting 3M 1080 vinyl, typically a lot of fairly small shapes. Then I go to my cutting table, weed, pull a layer of TransferRite over everything, then cut out (freehand) what's left into individual pieces using a Martelli rotary cutter. The process works fine, but the cutting is tedious and time-consuming, and since i do it all freehand, the straight cuts are not perfectly straight. Today I received a sample from another company, and their cuts are clearly done by machine, I've attached an example. It's a vinyl decal with the TransferRite over it, but as you can see, the cut around the piece is perfect. How are they doing this?
  6. Thanks. It's a new CE6000 (60+), but a US model :-/
  7. This is likely a daft question as I can't find any reference to this feature. Each job I'm cutting is on 12" wide rolls of 3M 1080, each is about 26" long, and I'm cutting a lot of the same job. My current process is to set an auto-advance after the job (50mm, in this case), slice the vinyl with a knife, then move the vinyl back, set the origin, and do the next cut. The entire process requires me to be stood there most the time, which isn't very efficient. Ideally I'd like each job to complete, then get automatically cut off, and then the next job starts. I see there's Catch Baskets, and assumed that's exactly what they're for, but I don't see any setting to cut entirely through the vinyl at the end of each cut. Advice welcome!
  8. Thanks. But, if the emblem is attached to a car, then that's a bit tricky :-) In that case, the process is trace -> scan -> tidy & vectorize -> cut? Is there a preferred scanner that people use, or will any recent scanner be good enough?
  9. I suspect this is a really simple question, but I've watched hours of USCutter videos, and tried searching, but I must not be using the correct terms, as nothing is coming up. So lets say I want to make a skin for an iPhone X. I trace the edges of the phone screen on transfer paper, but how to I magically convert that trace into a vector, without losing the scale? Do I literally scan it in, tidy it up in Illustrator, and just trial and error until it's perfect? The actual application is for car emblems/badges, so some of the designs are relatively intricate. In the past I've traced them out using a pencil & transfer paper, then sent them to a vinyl cutting company to turn into a vinyl decal, but that's the part of the process I want to take over.
  10. Thanks! I might have over-stated my Illustrator skills, if I'm forced to use the Adobe suite, Photoshop is my strength (relative term, I've learnt skills very specific to what I need, i.e. making images pretty for the web), Illustrator is a fairly distant second, but if there's a need, I can probably pick it up. The FC-8600 is probably overkill for my needs, but the CE6000 or SummaCut are probably closer to the right ballpark. I know I need to do more research too, but your suggestions are very helpful.
  11. Hi all Sorry for yet another 'recommendations' post, but from reading others, I definitely need your advice, as I'm totally new to this. Quick background: I have an eCommerce business making and selling accessories for Tesla vehicles. It's going ok, and one of my ranges are Carbon Fiber (3M 1080 film) decals, like these. Until now, I've traced the outline of whatever's needed, sent it off to another company (that specializes in cellphone skins), and after a few proofs we eventually land on a good design. It's a slow process though, and limits my ability to scale and move quickly. As you can see, the designs aren't particularly intricate, but there's plenty of curves that need to be smooth. Most designs are small, although a couple that I have in mind will be up to 66" long (just a few inches wide). So with all of this said, I think I'm ready to set up my own vinyl workshop, and I'm looking for recommendations for the best cutter. Quality, speed, reliability and ease of use are more important that price. As I mentioned, my typical process will be to trace the design, so I'm clueless when it comes to the best way to feed that in, to get a cut vinyl shape coming out. I'm competent, but not great, with Photoshop, Illustrator etc. I'd rather not spend weeks learning new software, so I'm hoping there's something relatively easy to pick up. This won't be very high-volume, but when I push the 'go' button, I'd like it to be something I don''t have to keep an eye on once it gets going. Assuming I'm not being naive, I'd love to hear your recommendations, or any other questions you might have. Thanks! Pete