Oracal 751 too dainty?

[macgirl 0]

I'm new to vinyl cutting so maybe I'm missing something. I started out with two rolls of vinyl a Oracal 631 and a Oracal 751. I got the 631 to play around with and do things for inside the house. I got the 751 to do some signage on our office front. I love how the 631 cuts and weeds. The 751 however doesn't seem the same. I have cut the same image out of both vinyls and the 751 doesn't stand up. small items catch on the blade and peel up while it is being cut. Fonts don't look smooth. It's a pain to weed as everything wants to come up. Is it too thin? is there another Cast vinyl number that would stand up better? I don't even want to finish this project with this vinyl. Worst yet, it's a 50 yard roll.

[Jay2703 704]

751 is a cast vinyl where 631 is callendared vinyl. The 751 is probably thinner too.

[Guest fivestar]

You need to adjust your pressure and blade depth when using cast and calendared.  Once you get the correct combination the cast will cut and weed smoothly too.

[ms_sign 5]

If you are going to cut alot of different materials, you might want to consider buying more blade holders.

That way all you have to do is drop in your "cast" hoder and away you go.

$.02

Jon

[macgirl 0]

I did realize they were Cast and Calendared. I think I assumed that the cast would be a bit more heavy duty since it was made to be outdoors. I didn't realize that you needed to change blade depth and cutting pressure. Is that a setting in the software? I use the signcut software as I am on a Mac. Thanks for the responses, very quick!

[Guest fivestar]

Jon that's actually what I do is have a "cast holder" and a calendared holder". 

Macgirl, no it's not in the software, to change pressure it is on the cutter's keypad and to change blade depth you do that with the blade and holder.

[macgirl 0]

So do I need more pressure and depth for Cast vinyl?

Will be buying that second blade holder as well. Great advice.

[Jay2703 704]

I would start with just more pressure. If the cast is thinner you would not want to put the blade out further.

[macgirl 0]

Perfect, I will give that a try.

[darkdan 3]

I use less pressure for cast since it's thinner.  But not much.  On my refine cast is 70 grams and calendered is 80 grams.

Calendered will always weed better since it's "stiff", but cast is far from hard to weed.

[darkdan 3]

Practice.

When in doubt, weed smaller sections, pay attention, and hold stuff down with your knife while you weed.

[macgirl 0]

I can handle the weeding being a pain, I just need the fonts to look smooth. I guess with my gigantic roll I have plenty to practice on ;-)

[BannerJohn 1,324]

If the fonts are a bit 'jagged' try less blade sticking out.

[macgirl 0]

So I've had times where it cuts weeding lines where it looks like the knife is dragging too much and it almost creates a perf like line. That's not what is happening with the fonts. The curved letters seem like they have subtle angles in them. Is that what you meant by jagged?

[BannerJohn 1,324]

no,but that might be the font itself, or the vinyl a bit off track. Does this happen with all fonts or just one in particular? If so,which one?

[macgirl 0]

Hmmmm, I guess that's the only actual font I tried printing on the 751. I'll try a font that prints fine on the other vinyl and see if the jaggies go away. The 751 has caused me other issues so maybe I lumped it all together as one problem.

[macgirl 0]

Maybe I totally misunderstood the difference between cast and calendared. I was under the impression that cast was for outside applications and calendared wasn't. Am I totally off? 

[macgirl 0]

Update: Just did some playing around with the 751 and changing the cutting speed helped quite a bit. The letters overall look much smoother. Oddly enough it introduced an odd little "tag" at the bottom of all round letters. It's like the cutter is confused on where the lines should meet.

[macgirl 0]

That's great info. I went with the Cast as I am trying to use it for our office signage on the windows (mostly sheltered by an over hang). I also thought I could use it for my car windows. Sounds like I'm using the right stuff, just wish it was a bit sturdier.

[macgirl 0]

So if I wasn't opposed to changing my graphics more often on an outdoor application (what I have in mind is for my own use and not something I would sell to a customer) I could call it a day and use the calendared. I'm really not loving the cast  :-

[BannerJohn 1,324]

So if I wasn't opposed to changing my graphics more often on an outdoor application (what I have in mind is for my own use and not something I would sell to a customer) I could call it a day and use the calendared. I'm really not loving the cast  :-

It's totally up to you. I have several decals on the back and sides of my truck camper shell that look as good as the day they were installed 3 years ago...using FDC 5 year Cal.

[Benr98 40]

For what it's worth......I have never used cast vinyl.......but so far all is working out fine for decals, signs, banners, etc.......with no complaints or redo work for customers.

I think when the question was asked, she never thought to get THIS all going on.

Experience helps with answering questions..but WOW guys!!

[BannerJohn 1,324]

I think you are right. Therefore,I am going to lock this post,it has gotten out of hand and off on a tangent.

If anyone has any questions about the type of Oracal to use, they have a nice chart in pdf that tells you pretty much all you need to know:

http://www.oracal.com/