Dirt Fisherman

Hello fellow sign people. I'm new here. Before I signed up, I just started having this INFURIATING problem of random lines ruining my vinyl. Yes. I had read every post I could find on the subject, which lead me to here. I'll preface by saying, this just started happening a few days ago. After reviewing the material I found here, I took it upon myself to mechanically ground the machine's chasis, as well as douse it with Static Guard. I also checked the machine's settings, ensuring it was set to HGPL (absolute), as it always has been. I even took the damn thing apart & cleaned it up. I am using a Graphtec FC210060a, which I bought brand new in 1995. Up until this started happening, this machine NEVER gave me an ounce of trouble. I realize that it's dinosaur-old, but it's always been used lightly, well-maintained, and never been set in a condition detrimental to electronics. For it's age, it's in excellent condition. I've only run SignLab on it. I've always run it from a cpu that is never connected to the internet. So, it's always been "stand-alone". My problem is identical to another member here, "icepic13", who posted a video on August 29, 2017. The lines don't usually show up in the same spot. Sometimes, the display will read: "ERROR 1 Instruction not recognized", after it's finished. I have already re-installed the driver & rebooted, but to no avail. I'm running this through an LPT port, which I've also replaced the data cable. I was considering switching to a Serial cable, but I don't know if that would make any difference, nor do I have a USB Tripp-Lite. I am at my wits end. I refuse to give up on my cutter (We go WAY back.). Can anyone shed some light on this?

Good bye.

While I sincerely appreciate your response, I don't think you understood either. Have I broken another forum rule? A member's post, no matter what forum they're in, will take as long as it takes. I'm not responsible for anyone's short attention span. There's an elephant in this room. So far, everyone pretended not to see it. That's why I don't belong here. It's ok though. I get it now. I apologize for wasting your time. I know you value it.

Hello Dak. Hope your day has gone well. This will probably be my last post here. Seriously... I really don't want to find myself opposing anyone here anymore. I think that walking away would be a smart move. I'm new here, and I've already rubbed some folks the wrong way. I have no desire to make that list any longer. This thread has turned into a dumpster fire. While I would really like to move on and talk shop, I'm still pretty disappointed. (Cue the "You again?" eye-roll in 3... 2... 1...) Without sounding like a jerk, I would like to ask... What does anything in your post have to do with the issue that's unfortunately been brought to your attention? " if every post is a book pretty soon those that read everything just skip over those.", "a lot can be said in few words.", "bickering was going on in this thread than actual progress toward a solution", "just a lot of chatter", we get virtually no around here, everyone is a volunteer, a locked thread is usually used to stop some bickering, a ban keeps people from being a part of the community... But not a single thing mentioned to rectify why this thread even started. Nothing but deflection, no acknowledgement that a member (other than myself) may have interacted poorly, back-handed comments, guilt trips, and "Geez... you think you got it bad?". I write books. I need to condense. I cause others not to read. I bicker. I chatter. I impede progression. I could get threads locked. I might just get banned. Wow! All that, in just a few short days! Other than being told to not count on the members for help, because no one here gets paid & we're desperate for help, and you wanna side-step research... I will say again... What does that have to do with my grievance? My entire point has been ignored. The person, who's help I had the problem with, is now represented by a moderator. Whoever is gonna tell me, "If you don't like it here... LEAVE!",... you are absolutely right. I understand what's going on. I don't belong here. I do sincerely apologize for any hurt feelings I may have caused. This is your world. I respect that, and will leave in peace. Best of luck to ALL of you. Take care. /endthread

I really want every poster to know that they're not dealing with a short-fused snowflake. I am no troll, trouble-maker, nor smartass. By the same token, I could only hope that other posters treat me with the same common courtesy that they would want themselves. I demand nothing. I expect nothing. When I'm wrong, I say it. Apologizing is not beneath me. I am truly a fair person, without an attitude. And I do realize that customer service is usually a thankless job. I'm sorry if my need to make sense causes undo eye-rolls & yawns, but there's certainly no crime in it. I haven't called anyone condescending. I referred to the remarks as such, and to only 1 person, not everyone. AGAIN... To ME, her remarks SOUNDED condescending. Please, ask yourself... is it possible that she may not have handled her response very well? Is it remotely possible? May I ask why I'm being told to condense? Everyone has the choice of whether they want to read a post, or ignore. I haven't gotten personal with anyone. I have asked legitimate questions, without attacks, vulgar language, name-calling. I've done none of that. Ultimately, I've really done nothing wrong, other than defend myself. No need to threaten. I'm sure that if I had actually broken the rules, you would have already locked this thread. When I discovered this forum, I thought I was gonna fit right in. I may have been mistaken. I broke the holy grail of unspoken forum rules: Never assume that any one member could possibly be wrong about anything, especially if they're liked. That's where I lose the popularity contest. As much as I would like to do everyone a huge favor, and walk away... I like it here. However, I will seek life elsewhere if I've become a problem. So... here's to hoping I've been understood. Have a good night.

Why? Where's the nonsensical part? Am I not permitted any rebuttal? No one is forcing anyone to read. I haven't used any vulgar language. I am not a trouble maker. My opinions are just as valid as any other's. I asked a simple question. I was not expecting a condescending answer.

And you spent more time being snotty than answering a simple question. What difference does it make how long it takes a poster to type out a response? Well? How I choose to spend my time is MY business. I said, you wrote the word "help" in CAPS, so as to get my attention. NOT because it appears on the program. Speaking of HELP, your screen grabs are no different than your initial response, as they have NOTHING to do with the question I asked. I ran into a bug in the program, and asked for some thoughts. I already knew how the process worked. Did you bother to comprehend anything I said? You answered NONE of my questions, in typical telemarketer fashion, as you obviously were NOT interested. I don't recall having seen any screen grabs in the last reply. Ya know... I still can't figure out why you even bothered. "Your question was answered, right where I advised you to go" -- Show me the part where it deals with the program stalling in the middle of the routine. Go ahead. Show me. "I had already searched it before I wrote." -- Where did you search, "Program freezes during routine"? Where? Show me, please. Oh! The search produced the screen grabs you posted? Wow. I got the same result, too. But that's NOT what I was searching for. I didn't come here looking to monopolize you time. I wasn't even looking for YOU. But you sure let me know that I'm taking up space in your sand box. Thousands of posts, and a superior demeanor. Where do you manage to find the time for nearly 15,000 posts? I'm too busy with responsibility for that kind of endeavor. I don't know how you are with other posters, but from that last exchange, I still can't figure out why you even bothered.

Really, I try my best to not overthink things, or take anything out of context. But... I'm sorry. Was I bothering you? Yes... you caught me attempting to avoid more hours of research by coming here & asking directly. Contrary to what anyone might think... I do know what & where HELP is (who woulda thunk?). I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to reply, but I certainly could have done without the remarks, that I took as though I was keeping you from something important with my nonsense. You felt the need to capitalize the word HELP. Good call. Not sure I would have seen that, or got the hint. Since one of the only two things I can do here is read, I can only take what anyone types at face value. I may very well be wrong, but it APPEARS to me that your reply was a bit condescending. That's how it LOOKS. I don't come here to engage in pissing contests, nor do I wish to argue. I come here to hopefully find answers, OR maybe I can help someone out if I can. If answers can't be found here, then I'm all for being steered in the right direction. I just don't need to be spoken to, as if it's assumed that I must be just another impatient dolt, looking for a handout. My question was quite specific. I had already searched the knowledge base, and there was nothing to be found. Honestly, I'm not even sure why you bothered to reply, as you opted to give a standard, non-informed, telemarketer response, sounding just like someone who couldn't wait to get out of their cubicle. If you didn't have an answer I was looking for... I would have gladly accepted that, and moved along. No harm done. You could have ignored me completely, and... no harm done. You have 14.6k posts on this site. Are you any more than a member here? Just trying to understand why you replied like that?

Yes. Yes I did. I'm on #3. I'm a cheap date. Sorry about that, Dak.

And that's what I get for not scrolling down. Saw the top pick. Assumed there was nothing else. I am an a$$hole. My bad.

Not trying to be a smarty-pants, but... Actually, die-cutting is different. It's the grandfather of vinyl sticker cutting. In the good old days, screen-printed & single-color decals were made with a die. A die was a piece of wood, with a sharp, metal blade that was formed to the shape of the decal. This blade was embedded into the wood (to hold it all together, uniformly) & pressed against a piece of vinyl. With enough pressure, it cut the shape of the decal. Until the advent of the vinyl cutter, stickers were cut using metal dies that were fabricated based on the design. Sorry Dakota. That blurb was for everyone's growth.

You're damn right. While not everyone behaves like you just shot their dog... the sign people in my neighborhood literally loathe the competition. Here, sign people usually NEVER rub elbows. Everyone thinks they're better than everyone else. I've had to go to the competition, and order things that I'm not capable of doing. And the moment they realized who I actually was... they won't even answer my call. You were a corrections officer? That's heavy duty. Fortunately, I've never had to go to a prison. But from all the tv I've watched, that can't be a pleasant atmosphere. You retired? Or just chose to do something else?

Call Support? Now why would I want to do a thing like that? Nooooo! That's entirely too easy. I would much rather crack a beer, have a seat, and bother the REAL people! Just wanted to update anyone following. I managed to get this rig running, finally. And I gotta tell ya... It helps so much TO INSTALL THE CORRECT CUTTER! That entire time... I had SC2 selected, NOT the Titan 2. After making the correct choice, the bells & whistles came alive. It was a Hallmark moment. No kidding. If any of you could have seen my behavior, prior to choosing wisely, you'd have grabbed popcorn & a fountain drink. Yeah... it was sad. Anyway... After a few test cuts, I noticed that the offset was too low (rounded, incomplete cuts). Of course, I headed straight for the calibration thingy. That's where I'm stuck now. That's where you fine peoples come in. I got to the part where the design shows up on the sign blank. Pretty sure it's a grid, with #'s & letters. Well, I hit CUT IT NOW. It starts cutting... then stops... and just sits there. Your thoughts?

I'm back. Boy... I'll tell ya. I had a good look around, and I'm still pretty disappointed with the lack of a knowledge base. Anyhoo... I've got VM4 running on a non-internet machine. I went through the motions to have the program activated, but I can't get anything to load into the preview pane, other than the test stuff that's already there. Of course, I had to get the program to detect the machine, identify the USB port, etc. I typed out some text in the design area. And I notice that the cut (blade) icon is grayed out. I was able to save the test file. I even imported an Illustrator file (which imported perfectly). For some reason... no go. I'm obviously overlooking something. This thing has got me feeling like I've somehow offended it, and it refuses to cooperate until I apologize to it, and maybe hug it, take it out to dinner? Good Lord. For the love of God... would someone mind holding my hand? Pretty please?

Thank you so much for making the effort to help. Really appreciated. Yes. The times sure have changed. Only bad thing is... I didn't. How quickly I forget that books have virtually vanished. Never thought I'd see the day. I'm old.

Thanks for the kind words. Ya know... it really doesn't even matter if it can find the edges. I trained on a Graphtec FC2100-50, in 1994. So, I do whatever it takes to get it cut. And I'm sure this machine can get it done. But without any guidance, I'm afraid of causing damage to a brand new unit. When I opened the box, I thought maybe someone forgot to pack the stuff I was looking for. But it turned out that there was no stuff. Does anyone know of any literature about the control panel, other than the PDF's on the website?

Thank you for your reply. Yeah... I already saw that. Minimal means nothing, with the right information. There's more info about the blade, and how to install it! It's great that, if you press a certain button, it does a certain thing. But it doesn't help if you don't know why it performs that function. Despite not being one, I was hoping for a copy of the "Idiots Guide to Using the Titan 2". While I'm still confident that this machine will perform well... I'm really dumbfounded that more-elaborate documentation isn't available for this technical wonder. When I bought my Graphtec, in 1995, it came with MANUALS. Those manuals left no stone unturned, as well as being well-illustrated. I got the User's manual, Out-of-box Setup, & Cutting Operation manual. Now, I realize that things have changed, and I haven't bought another Graphtec. But... gee whizz! I'm probably right, when I say that this control panel controls all kinds of operations. Well, other than being told to press a button to do a certain thing, why not give the user the entire rundown of operations, how & when to use them, & explain why it does what it does? My apologies. I don't mean to bark at ya like that. I'm frustrated, spoiled from past experience, and still in the dark. Thanks again for taking the time to help me out.

Hello again... Well... after taking my Graphtec apart, I came to the conclusion that there was no way this was getting fixed. I'm convinced that it's a board issue. Since I don't have a clue as to which board went bad (there's 3 of them), and since I an NOT an electronics tech... and no parts or support available: I sprang for the Titan 2. (Yeah. The servo sold me.) I have it set up, and VinylMaster is ready to go. I just got done putting this thing on casters. Believe it or not, I found "ready to install" casters at Harbor Freight. What are the chances that a $3.50 caster from HF would fit PERFECTLY into the base? Still SMH. Anyway... I'm finding it hard to believe that I can't find a single instructional guide to the control panel, as to how it actually functions. I have some text set up in VM, but I don't know how the film & design should be oriented to the cutter. I have no idea how to initialize this thing (after turning it on, and loading the film, then what?). How does the machine know where to start? How does it detect the front edge of the vinyl? How do you set the machine to read in inches? Where's the starting point? See... that's what happens when you've been attached at the hip to something for 26 years... Man. This is weird. I've actually had this new unit over a week, and haven't cut a single thing on it. Would anyone mind bringing me up to speed?

Thanks for chiming in, Dude. Like yourself, and any other person who's had the experience of owning a Graphtec... I know what the brand brings to the table. Now, I have my eye on a new Titan 2. However, a used CE/FC is not out of the question. But... where the hell do I find them? If I found what I was looking for, wouldn't I be taking a chance on the same thing happening? Or, am I overthinking this?

I was looking at the Titan (not the 2). It's the price that I'm leaning on. Appears to be a good machine. Not nearly as loud as I thought it would be. But really... I'm not cutting for NASA. So as long as it's accurate... I'm a happy guy. And yeah... the first thing I thought about was doing my SignLab thing, then exporting. I'm using version 7. Old, but not that old. Lots of formats to choose from. I gotta tell ya... this is all too weird. Honestly, I feel like a fish out of water. I need a hug.

Thanks MZ. Is this compatible with other sign-cutting software? Hate to think my SignLab is dead, too.

sc2? Forgive me, but it's been 25 years since I've shopped. Noise, I can live with. Less than quality, not so much.

I really appreciate the responses... more than you could know. I've been married to this machine since 1995. And, as you can imagine, I am devastated. However, I realize that getting 25+ years out of a cutter was a gift that kept on giving. I'm still hanging on too tight. But I know that nothing lasts forever (damn it). Now that I'm in the market for another 24" machine (& spoiled rotten from the Graphtech), I am working with a small budget. My question is... are these machines I'm seeing advertised for less than $400 a scam of some sort? It looks too good to be true. What do you sign people think? I'll buy something used, but if it's new...

Memory, gone bad. Great. I need this, like another hole in my head. Well... just for shits & giggles, this is what I've been putting up with: Cutter Error 1.wmv