dbtoutfit

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Everything posted by dbtoutfit

  1. I really needed to be able to make some very nice digital printed vinyl decals but I didn't need them so bad I was willing to spend 10g's on Wide format printer. So here's the results. The printable vinyl sheets where cut down to size for my printer, then the graphics where printed, then contour cut. After that I made another offset around the graphic for the clear vinyl contour cut. Then I weeded the printed graphics, laid clear over the whole printed graphic sheet and stuck it back in the machine to contour cut the clear vinyl as well. This way the front is protected and the edges are protected on the graphic. Eric
  2. What I am trying to say is, many people on this site interested in my OP are people trying to get into printing decals from the ground up. Say what you want but what you are talking about simply doesn't happen with Brands I have used. Hexis and LexJet being two of the many. I simply could not accept this in my business, customers would not allow it. SImple. I don't want the little guy to get discouraged and believe they have to spend a fortune to do decals or to get into the business and when someone is sending out little messages of discouragement based off uncommon occurrences I can't set idle. They all have advantages and disadvantageous. I wouldn't use a Plane to fly 10 miles no more than I would use a VW to travel 400 thousand miles. I forgot #3) The ones that feel the need to justify their $10k-30k investment. How many sticker decals you got to sell to reach 100% ROI on that kind of money? I'm not going to run the mimaki to make 90% of my sticker decals. It's overkill. Got better paying jobs per Square inch to use it on like any other serious shop. I have a full understanding of whats achievable and whats out of reach. What makes money and what looks like it makes money. I'd rather be fast than look fast. Just like your self I didn't start doing this yesterday either. Thank you for sharing your experience it is one I have never encountered or heard before. I would be highly interested in the product/s that have had this issue you dealt with first hand so I can avoid them at all costs.
  3. If you're saying that solvent adheres better to the vinyl than the absorption layer that is applied to the vinyl via manufacturing process for water based inks, I Disagree. At least from any reputable company i have EVER used. In all my years I have never seen one issue where the vinyl and absorption layer separation was an issue or have I ever considered this as a basis to make a decision on the best print approach for any job reqs. Solvent is over rated and Latex is underrated. Most the people I see talking UP Solvent Printers are one of the two people. 1) Salesman 2) People that don't own a Solvent Printer.
  4. If you're only getting 6 months from your prints. Solvent, Aquos, you name it and its UV laminated. You got other issues. Eric
  5. Anyone had this problem yet? I have spent all yesterday working on this issue. I have no idea why it is doing this. In each file, one graphic is 100% Raster with a inside bleed vector cut line. I had no issue with the VW Van (below), I was able to use my cut line, print and cut. Everything came out as expected. But everything else I have tried has imported in Grey Scale or Black and White. I prefer to have control over the cut line cause the VMC autotrace doesn't hold as tight of a tolerance in corners etc. Also messed with saving as SVG, EPS and PDF. They all have their set of issues. PDF has same issue as AI file. I played with every setting in AI for 9hrs now. I'm stumped, I give. Eric This one comes in perfect. This one Has everything blacked out? (Left image is 100% vector) Right one is mixed. The one I need.
  6. You would be correct, I got basically the same answer "it will be in the next update". So if this is assistance then I stand corrected. The support leaves much to be desired that's for sure...
  7. No suggestion? Not to be a jerk, But this isn't something I'm making to hand to my BFF. I have customers. I cant set idle until just when ever. What do I need to do from my end to resolve this issue? What Can I change in AI to get consistent results? Eric
  8. I can get some to work, however the issue lies somewhere with the color settings. I have another graphic, when i import it into VMC, its in grey scales and looks to be inverted. I was able on the one i am having problems with right now, to save as EPS. I saved in EPS and unchecked CMYK Post in RGB. It imported fine into VMC with the colors a little different shade. This leads me to think some of my graphics have a mix of CMYK and RGB and this is causing the issue. Can you confirm if this is an issue? Eric
  9. Here is what fixed the issue.... I messed with all these options but never this combination. Started adjusting the rasterize settings and found what the problem was... No matter what, Transparency can not be checked. Must be on "White" No Matter what. Anti-aliasing Must be set to Type Optimized (Hinted) Screen shot of the settings that provided the correct output. I make my cut lines but you could use the Create Clipping Mask and give it an offset to create your contour cut lines. its worthless to me cause it doesn't allow you to enter a negative value to set the Clipping mask inward.
  10. This project is on hold until we can get someone with a hotshot dongle. If you have a Hotshot USB dongle and would like to get a free version of Hotshot so you can install on any amount of machines without the need of a dongle please contact me. We do not need your dongle just some info from your dongle. I hope someone can step up soon, these dongles are becoming very rare and before to long the Hotshot version will be lost forever as the dongles stop working due to malfunction and or compatibility. Without the info we need from the dongle Hotshot will never have a fix/patch. It
  11. Here is a template that will give you every thousand of an inch of work room. Template is saved as Illustrator CS3 format. This template is precise. Works for Simple and Advanced Contour Cut in SC. I also Included a graphic I have had many request for as a bonus and a way to make it easy to see how to swap your graphic for the included one. The boarder has extremely fine lines. In the right lighting you can see the corner of the guides in the center of the laser eye. (Very helpful) These thin lines should help you get an even more accurate cut from top to bottom of the decals/sticker. (Use 3 point Reg) Disclaimer Because of the high tolerances and it being made specifically for a LP24 I can not promise any other machine will not have issues with this template and it may need to be shortened. Some printers or print settings may not allow for the width of the guide lines. (This template was designed with typical print settings to help it be universal, No Boarder less print settings was added) This goes for some cutters as well. Some cutters will not allow the head to go past the rollers left to right. If your machine is like this you'll need to modify the width of the guide lines inward. Other cutters have different design features such as shorter or longer rollers to and from the cutting head. Some machines also may have a lip further away from feed roller this could result in a bunching of the media. The template will allow the paper to come to the very last lip on the backside and front, any further and it would risk bunching up and jamming the vinyl cutter. If the paper does some how jam turn the power off that second. Though unlikely to harm your cutter I take no responsibility if something major goes wrong! If you are running a into this issue using an LP24 then something is wrong, laser eye offset, cutter calibration or poor alignment of reg marks in setup. If you are just starting to use SC for contour cutting use PACO template. Once you have determined your getting satisfactory results then you can use this one from then on. PACO template is safer for first time contour cut setups. I personally have tested this template and my results were extremely accurate. Again I take no responsibility if anything goes wrong! Good Luck and enjoy! Eric SC AI CS3 Contour Cut Templates.zip
  12. Its been a while (since I got the machine when the LP first came out) that I've done contour cutting. Well now I have a Large format printer, So this weekend I have been back to hacking at this crap again. Just when I though Signblazer CC was a PITA. (But it works) When using Simple Contour you can click "Simple Contour" 1st and THEN load the paper manually in the machine. Then run your reg alignment and cut. Only issue you run into here is IF your work area is too long for the media and the roller wheels have nothing left to carry its left hanging out of the front of your machine. With advance it doesn't move the substrate at all until after you do the reg alignment and THEN hit the cut button.... and there goes your media right out the back. Whats the fix? Keep your bounding box small (not much larger than Paco) But this sucks and limits the size of your decals/sticker etc. So I spoke directly with SC they finally understood what I was explaining. Their suggestion... use a carrier, Pi$$ on a carrier just more crap to deal with. I told them the movements (IMO) are unnecessary and are useless to the end user and certainly if its used to calculate the code behind the scene that it could certainly be done with out any output movements to the cutter. I also added if it was a necessity then why did SignBlazer not need these movements for CC's?? Maybe I'm the one missing something? I explained this issue is all over the net and suggested someone get with applications and R&D this issue or at the least revisit it. I was told they are going to send the issue up stream for review... So if your new to this problem here's the answer. Minimize your work area. (least for now) (use PACO template and don't enlarge/stretch it by too much) or don't use advance CC stick with Simple if you can get away with it. OR use a carrier. : ( For the rest of us we'll see if the changes come about... Eric P.S. Paco most/all your links no longer work in your posts, prob due to the new theme etc....
  13. I wanted a desktop engraver but I sure didnt want to spend 3-14 grand on one that will only let me engrave. I know I dont have to spend that kind of money to get a better machine to allow me to do much more. So anyways heres my machine I designed, should have it completed and running in a couple weeks. Eric
  14. K Guys, I honestly don't know if this has been discussed on the forum but I figured I'd add the info anyways... As I have stated before I really wanted to print direct to vinyl like White or Clear Oracal 651. Well... Drum roll..... I have done it on the cheap and cheap. I had a drop of 651 in my hand and my brothers laser printer caught my eye as I walked by.... I jumped on Adobe Ill grabbed a decal and thru the 651 in the manual feed slot and said $#$# it you only live once and hit print. To my amazement it printed directly to the 651 and looked great! So then I thru in some clear 651 and bam! again looked great! Then I said ok now time for the real deal. I printed a full sheet in houndstooth pattern (if you cut houndstooth you know how hard to get or much $ it is)and it looked great! Some important details... 1) Not all laser printers will work, some heat the drum too hot and will ruin said drum, and melt crap all in your machine. 2) Depending on how your laser printer feeds paper will depend on if this will work in your machine. 3) You still need to use a over laminate but toner isn't subject to UV as inks are but its can scratch off, however if for an example you go into photoshop and make a blank 8.5 x 11 document, then stick your printed vinyl back in (after it cools off) and print the blank image, (do this about 3 times) it does fuse the toner petty well to the vinyl. (not really needed so long as you use the over lay. 4) Make sure you have your printer set to the highest and best res and/or quality. 5) Be sure as soon as the vinyl comes out of your printer you lay it flat RIGHT THEN! Its soft and when it cools its going to be a pain in the arse to work with in your vinyl cutter if it curls not to mention applying the laminate. Here's a few pics of what I have done so far using the Laser printing process.
  15. dbtoutfit

    Contour Cutting Tutorial: SignCutProd Pro and the LP24

    I don't know what the heck I am doing wrong but after 6 hrs of hacking at this freaking thing its still spitting the paper out. It was a little tricky with SCx2 but this new one has got me scratching my head and saying WTH! [sigh]
  16. dbtoutfit

    Clear vinyl(overlay)

    The straight forward answer to yellowing or discoloring clear vinyl is... NO This is a fact with Oracal 651 and I have even used cheap clear vinyl in my early years for printed decals and the clear never changed a bit, never dulled, color changed etc, peeled off the same as it went on after 4 years prior. Eric
  17. Theoretically any laser printer, its going to be hit or miss. Eric
  18. Hate the thickness and other issues with Solvent based decals? Check out my Other Post on How to thermal print Direct to Oracal 651 or any other regular vinyl using your home based Laser Printer. How to thermal print on the cheap and cheap! Eric
  19. Hey NukleoN, The RX was chosen for the quality and had nothing to do with the bells and whistles. It just so happened for the quality, specs and price I found this to be the best of the choices. I wasn’t concerned about the stock inks as a CIS was always the plain and the head/s on the RX can handle the pico/Pap inks great. I also have the Work Force 1100 which still comes with a scanner. It does run Durabrite inks as stated but direct to normal vinyl print is not something I was successful at getting accomplished. Thermal printing is best for vinyl IMO. However I use white clay coated vinyl to do my prints to now. I think both printers are great but I wished I would have not used my best buy rewards points on the WF1100. For me it wasn’t anything I was blown out of the water about. There’s limitation that can’t be overcome with the WF100. Whereas the RX comes down to ink type which is to be replaced with a CIS. Btw Since my first post I just this year removed the decal from my car, the decal was printed with the RX and with the RX stock inks. Yellow lasted over 2 years in the Alabama summer sun then other colors faded there afterwards. The biggest let down for printing vinyl decals is I really need to print on clear vinyl %40 of the time and without a white fill color your SOL on that. For my product stickers and other needs clay coated vinyl works great! Thanks for the post NukleoN, Eric Yea I think the offset clear helps the decals life expectancy, a lot of cheap stickers get wet and peel, The adhesive stays the paper rips and the clear peels off from the top.
  20. dbtoutfit

    SIGNBLAZER HOTSHOT.... do you want it?

    Hi, Please read the OP/1st post. Eric
  21. dbtoutfit

    Affordable engraver that does more than just engrave.

    Hey Slick, Yea lots of low budget machines there. This isn't, this machine has about .0005 tol. No All Thread etc. Just about have all the ordered parts in will start machining the rest of the parts for this machine soon and hopefully within the next two weeks I'll have pics/video. When I have it finished I'll list the specs. Cheapo machines disapoint after the cool factor wears off. I know this, 9 years ago I built my first CNC machine. Was a cheap"er" machine with all thread and HDPE body ($800.00+s/h+rotozip) but tol were horriable. Engraving needs more tol than most hobby cnc parts. Logos and letters get real small in detail and it shows. Anyways thanks for looking, Eric
  22. dbtoutfit

    SIGNBLAZER HOTSHOT.... do you want it?

    No Prob, I was more over just covering grounds for other questions. There are a "few" ppl on the forum that are against me doing this type of thing. At this point this software is considered 100% abandon ware but some folks just don
  23. dbtoutfit

    SIGNBLAZER HOTSHOT.... do you want it?

    email me
  24. dbtoutfit

    SIGNBLAZER HOTSHOT.... do you want it?

    Yes Sir Eric