dcbevins

Members
  • Content Count

    589
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    17

Everything posted by dcbevins

  1. dcbevins

    Printable vinyl

    I have never heard of standard ink, inkjet htv. All the printable vinyl I am aware of uses solvent or eco-solvent ink. Those machines run 9k-200k. There are transfers for standard desktop inkjets. but are not vinyl. They are not great I find. Mileage varies. The cheapest entry into full color that still looks good is what Dakotagrafx said, sublimation. It just works on polyester. I would just get a dedicated sublimation printer if I did this, and not try to run sub inks through my daily printer. Maybe look into ordering plastisol transfers for the shirts such as https://www.fmexpressions.com/landing/full-color-program/ among many.
  2. dcbevins

    Wet application with 1310G transfer rite?

    You see some guys that have mad knife skills. That can take a knife in hand, swish it faster than the eye can follow and make a perfect cut. They do amazing things with window tint. I am not one of those guys. I mention it because laying down vinyl dry with out bubbles is a like mad skill. I still get bubbles sometimes, but not nearly as many as when I first started. I've seen others that are near flawless. It is hard to define as one thing. You just become aware of when a bubble is going to hit. Some of it is your squeegee technique. Many of those bubbles in your picture I suspect will air out and flatten given a day or two. If you have a huge bubble, poke it with a needle and press it down to get the air out. But yes, wet install can reduce bubbles, or allow you to chase them out with a squeegee easier. But I hate wet installs. You will get better with each one you do.
  3. dcbevins

    Why would the vinyl peel off the shirt

    One idea, some shirts have a stain resistant formula incorporated into the fabric. This makes it hard for anything to stick to it, stains or htv. But before that, if you have some mystery vinyl you need to identify it. God forbid it is sign vinyl. But I think that would melt and leave a huge mess. What is the fabric made of? Is it a blend? Does it have high spandex or modal? Those blends might be more likely to have a stain resistant treatment. If it is a sensitive material, MAYBE reducing the heat some, increasing the dweel time and using a cover sheet would help.
  4. Weld, Merge, Union are terms you might encounter for the same thing. Inkscape is a fine vector program for using with cutters. It lacks cmyk and spot color support, so doesn't do the commercial rounds as much.
  5. dcbevins

    Time to think about upgrades

    Plastisol transfers can go much faster for large orders like https://www.fmexpressions.com. But ten shirts might not be large enough of an ordeer to go there.
  6. dcbevins

    need help on tranverse wave graphic please

    I did this in CorelDraw, but in Inkscape it would be about the same. Just made a 8' line. Added nodes to it. Made the line segments curves. Drew a 8' wide 5" tall rectangle to snap to. On the first line selected alternating nodes and dragged them up to the rectangle to be 5" tall. Used this as a guide: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6npbt6qduxxfhaw/twave.svg?dl=0 The file has my line, the rectangle and a couple versions with a stroke and the stroke converted to path. Some of it is hard to see in a browser as its 8'x8'. I am not sure if this method would work in SCAL, but if it has basic lines and nodes it should. Will your cutter track eight feet?
  7. dcbevins

    Rhinestone stick glock

    I am assuming you mean Sticky Flock. https://www.uscutter.com/Sticky-Flock-Rhinestone-Stencil There is a thread here mostly about the SC. The biggest problem I have isn't in the cutting, (I have a TC series,) it's in getting the hole size right for your rhinestones.
  8. dcbevins

    Need some help

    Dimensions of the sign? All I did was paste your words into Google Translate and copy paste back into Draw. Export as eps and pdf. I don't see why this wouldn't work in CS4 or probably directly in SignBlazer. https://www.dropbox.com/s/rsh90edwojngmt3/translation.eps?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/og9lv8f2dycot6q/translation.pdf?dl=0 The pdf's canvas size is just the Arabic, but there is English outside the canvas. I have no idea how capitalization works in Arabic. I have no clue what fonts are appropriate. It was just the default font.
  9. Hey Lonnie. I'm the guy that directed you here from reddit. Looks like your getting no feedback. Maybe the LP3 is too new. Thought I would say something and act as a thread bump.
  10. dcbevins

    Need some help

    Mr. Peanut. I don't have CS4. I can access CS6 and Illustrator CC 2018. I have CorelDraw X6 through 2018. Inkscape too for inclusion. I don't know how well Illustrators saving in an older version works. I would be inclined to do it in Draw and send eps files. But as you have not gotten any hits on this thread yet I decided to chime in. If you want to send me a list I can try getting some eps files for you that will hopefully work in CS4. They may work directly in SB. I rarely do any kind of translations. So your call seemed a way to practice and for a civilian to aid a small amount.
  11. dcbevins

    Help cutting a image file

    That file might be png, but I bet there is a vector version somewhere. If not, I bet there is a native file version like a photoshop file. That would be better to have as it would still preserve fonts and might have real shapes. Even better if it is an AI file. Ask them for the source file.
  12. The warm HTV does make a difference.
  13. Get some help. There has to be somebody. Kids are great. Pay them with a thsirt. If they are your own kids, just bully them or puppy dog eye them or whatever you can get away with. What MZ Skeeter said about auto weed lines is great if your software does it. If not you can add some lines in the design manually. For HTV, it weeds faster warm. Press your heat press with nothing it it for a few seconds. Lay the HTV on it for a few seconds before weeding, (obviously don't press the unweeded HTV.)
  14. dcbevins

    Zoom and Snapping

    Ok I've been trying to supplement my Illustrator skills, (usually it is Draw and Inkscape.) One thing I am not sure if it is me or my system but zooming and snapping seem crazy in Illustrator. Does anyone else find it irksome? Inkscape has better snapping that I can tell than all of them. Illustrator just seems slippery. Draw needs more snapping options, but zooms pretty well and the dynamic alignment guides are better than Illustrator, and don't exist in Inkscape.
  15. dcbevins

    Wheel Mouse Zoom

    This is about Illustrator. But I put it here as it's more of a CorelDraw thing. Draw defaults to a one handed mouse wheel zoom. I have done this for years. I set Inkscape to this behavior as well. Illustrator can mouse wheel zoom, but you have to hold down alt. This is such a tedious thing to adapt to mentally. It is one of the prime reasons I don't fiddle in Illustrator. On another post a guy said you could now set Illustrator to do this. So I gave it a try. Nope, still can't. Some what undaunted, I began exploring. I found a autohotkey script that makes Illustrator do the one handed mouse wheel zoom. I thought I would post here as I imagine it is a thorn for many Draw users that use Illustrator time to time. The mouse wheel zoom, for those that don't know is like a zoom pan scroll all in one as you can zoom out at one point, (where the cursor is pointing,) and back in at another point, up, down, left or right. Plus you can hold your coffee with the other hand. #IfWinActive ahk_class illustrator { $wheeldown::!wheeldown $wheelup::!wheelup return }
  16. dcbevins

    Layering designs.

    You have to read the fine print for the type of HTV your using. Glitter doesn't layer so well, but might sit atop other types. Also, as both the HTV and the fabric can expand and contract, don't make designs that need precise alignment. Leave some wiggle room.
  17. Ok guys, lets call this a hypothetical. Say I wish to compete with a high school's adopted mascot/logo. I don't want to use the graphic they have. I want to introduce a brand new one. Lets further say I want it, down the road, to become the official one. If not becoming the official one, then a beloved alternative. Does a brand new graphic, not at all like the first, likely violate some state stature? I have looked, but it about as clear as mud about the school name and name of the mascot. Say they are the Franklin Birds. I have searched the tradedmark database for the state and find no Franklin Birds. Can I couple my brand new mascot/graphic/logo with the school name and not violate copyright or trademark. Seems there should be some wiggle room someplace to allow competition. Note that I am not so much trying to be clandestine with them, as just to make a few say shirts or promotional items to create a buzz that would make them receptive. I don't want to agitate them, but would like them to see some samples on the students without breaking any laws, before I approach. Otherwise I will just go to the front door and try. I feel though if I had a legal way to make some items and gain some campus support first, it could go a long way. Even if all I do is put the mascot/logo with no wording on some items, that might be enough for a start is my thought.
  18. dcbevins

    Canon PRO-4000 banner material??

    Aqueous ink has very poor uv resistance and poor water resistance. You won't get long lasting. With no treatment, it might last a few months, probably weeks. It might dissolve on the first rain. You could treat it with frog juice or something similar and maybe get a couple years out of it. Wind resistance is from the banner material itself, according to its strength. Cutting some wind slats helps in high winds.
  19. dcbevins

    trouble with imported vectors

    3d software uses types of splines not found in 2d software. What happens on export to a 2d format is often you get open paths and not closed paths. You can get curved shapes, circles and ellipses turned to polygons. This often means tedious reworking in a 2d vector program to join the nodes, (not combine.) What darcshadow said about trying other formats might help. It might not. Maybe vcurve has some polygon or precision settings for 2d export.
  20. dcbevins

    Corel Help Needed - Frozen Program

    What version of Corel and what version of Windows? Is this a fresh install or an old install that was working?
  21. dcbevins

    Help with breaking up a logo

    Just for the future, in case you run into it, break apart only does something when there are subpaths. If the art had ever been welded, or unioned or what ever VinylMaster calls it, there would be no subpaths. You would have to use some boolean operation like intersect or difference, and possible another shape, to slice up the art.
  22. dcbevins

    Signblazer. Crashing

    To drive the cutter, not much. Inkscape has an Extension called plot that works with some cutters, but its not guaranteed and rather bare bones. At least you can test it freely. To do vector design, well Inkscape is practically it. Gravit and Vector.io are around, libre draw is around, but Inkscape dwarfs them in my mind.
  23. Sticking to cut vinyl, maybe hats, towels (for house use or sports,) various bags, (tote, duffel, gift, ect.,) umbrellas, can coolers, magnets, (if you can cut the dang things or hand cut them,) dry erase boards, (calendars on dry erase are nice, but kind of big), shoes (flip flops might be cheap), decals with their company info and local emergency numbers (magnet maybe,) pencil cases, table covers, coasters, backs of rulers, Frisbees, calculators, tape measures, (might be hard on the tiny ones,) band aid dispenser, (maybe too small,) flashlights, power banks, aprons, stadium seat cushions, folding chairs, sweat bands, wallets, bluetooth speakers, phone cases. If you spent a little and bought a custom ink stamp, you could stamp all sorts of stuff, maybe even a pen or pencil. If you have a heat press, and got a sublimation printer, then full color phone cases, calenders on aluminum, mugs, and plates.
  24. dcbevins

    Signblazer. Crashing

    Copied image from forum, pasted into Inkscape, trace bitmap, 10 seconds.
  25. The thing that comes to mind is to laminate or not to laminate. There are those that would swear to always laminate. Lamination does add durability especially for outdoor graphics. But most eco-solvent and latex inks have a good deal of built in uv resistance and outdoor durability. It might be say five years verses eight. Personally for stickers, I think lamination is over kill. But if you did laminate, then it might, (and I say might,) be an easier workflow to have separate print cut machines. With lamination and a print cut machine it means printing without cutting, unloading, laminating, reloading and cutting. With separate machines it means print from one machine, laminate, cut on another. This separate process lends itself to more flexibility in scheduling. Either way if your doing lamination, what ever is the cutting machine better have great registration for contour cutting. If you really don't have high volume, then all such printers are BAD to clog if not used frequently. Here having one printer and one cutter might be a great thing if the printer is a latex printer. These clog less when they sit idle for days on end. I don't think you can do transfers with Latex, unless it's changed recently. So eco-solvent would give you the option of transfer for garments, (also printed HTV,) were as Latex would not. The BN20 is going to be slower. But I don't think that is a great consideration as you can run the thing almost continually if needed, (helps reduce clogs running it continually.) If all your doing is stickers without lamination then it might be a fine choice. But a larger machine opens you up to expanded options like banners, posters, vehicle graphics and or wraps. A larger machine can take a wider variety of media. There really is a great deal of interesting media you can run through the larger machines. If you really are swamped, a bigger machine can spit out more per run than a smaller one. Another thing I am not sure about is if you need perf cutting. Without it you will be hand trimming the stickers down to size. I think most of the Roland machines, including the BN20, can perf cut. But don't hold me too it. It probably wears out blades more quickly.