Newbie - Need help w/blade angles, offsets, software, and contour cutting

[Rufus Xs 0]

Hi, I'm new to the whole vinyl cutting process.  I just purchased a 24"-25" LaserPoint (I think that it's just an enhanced version of the PCUT, but I'm not sure).  My only experience with vinyl signage is that I had a friend who used to own a sign shop so I know how the overall process works, how to lay the vinyl, using transfer tape, weeding, etc.  But I've never designed patterns or sent them to the cutter.

I'm getting my cutter tomorrow so I just did a search on this site for the following questions but couldn't find detailed answers to the following:

1) I know that my cutter comes with 45 degree blades by default.  I plan to only cut premium vinyl for things like 6-8" tall numbers, some smaller letters, etc. (for use on race motorcycles).  Under what circumstances would I want to use the different angle blades?  Or will the 45 degree blades be fine for my purposes?  What do the different blades do differently?  I understand that the shaper angles, such as the 60 degree blades, are for cutting thicker material, such as sandblasting mask, but why wouldn't I just want to use that all the time?  Does it cut too wide of a line, or what?

2) What is "blade offset" and when/why would I need to use it?

3) When my friend's shop closed he gave me his license of FlexiSign 7.6 v2 and the USB key that goes with it.  Is that software my best bet, or should I use the software that comes with my LaserPoint (I think it's called "SignBlazer"), or should I buy another program such as SignGo?  I have the FlexiSign Pro and I know that it's a top package, but I don't want to use it if it's going to be too difficult to use and learn and I won't be using all of the features anyway.

4) My friend's sign shop used to have something called the "Edge" which basically printed graphics on vinyl.  I saw that Avery makes sheets of adhesive backed vinyl that can be fed in to a regular inkjet printer.  I understand contour cutting to be when you import an image that you've printed on something, for example the Edge, in to an application and then you take that piece of vinyl and place it in to the plotter to have the outline of it traced and cut.  That's the purpose of the laser in my new LaserPoint plotter, as I understand it.  Is my understanding of "contour cutting" correct, and if so, has anyone tried it with the Avery 8.5x11" vinyl sheets and how does that work?  Or am I better off just getting those kinds of custom stickers made at my local sign shop.

I know that these are long questions, but since I'm a newbie I'd appreciate any and all help.

Thanks in advance!!!

[Daniel T 0]

Rufus Xs,

regarding cutting blade angle: the 60* blade is used for cutting the thicker materials but also good to use on the regular 2mil material when cutting fine lines and intricate designs. for these purposes you might also consider cutting at a slower speed.

if you have a fully functional Flexi software package my thoughts are learn it and use it. your only cost  is the learning curve.

i would avoid desk jet stickers. desk jet inks are prone to fading when exposed to prolonged uv maaking them unusable for exterior applications.  the inks are not water resistant and will not stand up to moisture of any kind.

and that concludes this 2cent moment.  daniel t

[Rufus Xs 0]

Thank you Daniel T.  A couple of follow-up questions, based on your answers:

1) What is the smallest size lettering that can effectively be cut?  I tried some very small (<1/4") letters, but the blade pulled up pieces here and there.  I tried slowing down the cutting speed on the cutter (by going in to the menu and changing speed down to 10) but that didn't seem to make much difference in how fast it cut, nor did it help cut those small letters.

2) What's the best way to line up the vinyl in the feed rollers?  I can never seem to get it lined up perfectly straight - for longer cuts, it seems to never track straight, but rather to "creep" to one side or another.  I tried lining it up all the way to one side, but then the carriage hits the little red safety switch on the side.  Any suggestions on how to line it up straight?

Thanks.

[haumana 1,220]

Thank you Daniel T.  A couple of follow-up questions, based on your answers:

1) What is the smallest size lettering that can effectively be cut? 

2) What's the best way to line up the vinyl in the feed rollers?

Thanks.

There are a few discussions about text size. It seams that not too many forum participants like cutting text smaller than 1/4". I suspect that they get the same results as you, with the blade weeding while cutting, or that it's a total pain to weed, or a combination of both.

As far as lining up the vinyl, for me, I bought the LaserPoint with the stand (I was smart enough to pose that question to this forum prior to my purchase), I just let the vinyl straight from the roll with no slack for the initial alignment. It hasn't deviated off course yet. If it's a loose piece, but is long enough, a trick I used to do when I was doing large format plotting of AutoCAD drawings, I would simply feed enough paper until it could meet back up with the unfed portion and line up the sides, lock down the rollers, then reverse feed the paper. I know that it seems to be somewhat excessive, but for the amount of drawings I would punch out, that was by far the most accurate way for me to keep the paper on track.

If the loose piece isn't big enough for that ... then I do my best to line it up with the black, yellow & white sticker that's on the front of the paper feed. I roll it back and forth, and will do minor adjustments leaving one roller down and gently nudging the other side.

Good luck.

[Daniel T 0]

haumana  makes good points about weeding small letters.  the smaller the letter, becomes more cost ineffective. i will not cut anything smaller than 1/4in. i also like his idea to align the vinyl. in the past i have been very methodical about lining things up using the ruler guides while looking down over the top of the machine. trial and error and repetition have at last produced consistant results for me.  daniel T

[Rufus Xs 0]

Thanks all.  I don't really have room for the stand and won't be using this unit enough to justify getting one and making the room somewhere - I'm basically just using it as a desktop plotter.  I called USCUTTER before I purchased and verified that I could purchase the stand separately later on.  I'll try those tricks to line it up.  For some reason it seems to sometimes not feed on the left side (as you're looking at it), but I think the problem was that I didn't have enough extra material fed through the front.

On a separate note, I have the LaserPoint unit.  The little dot from the laser does not seem to line up with the blade.  When I try to use that to line up anything, the cutting starts elsewhere.  Is the laser supposed to somehow interface with the software so that (when contour cutting becomes available in SignBlazer) it knows where to start cutting?  Thanks.

[kenimes 42]

Thanks all.  I don't really have room for the stand and won't be using this unit enough to justify getting one and making the room somewhere - I'm basically just using it as a desktop plotter.  I called USCUTTER before I purchased and verified that I could purchase the stand separately later on.  I'll try those tricks to line it up.  For some reason it seems to sometimes not feed on the left side (as you're looking at it), but I think the problem was that I didn't have enough extra material fed through the front.

On a separate note, I have the LaserPoint unit.  The little dot from the laser does not seem to line up with the blade.  When I try to use that to line up anything, the cutting starts elsewhere.  Is the laser supposed to somehow interface with the software so that (when contour cutting becomes available in SignBlazer) it knows where to start cutting?  Thanks.

laser is used for aligning with registration marks on pre-printed material.....ignore it for regular vinyl cutting.

[haumana 1,220]

When I try to use that to line up anything, the cutting starts elsewhere.  Is the laser supposed to somehow interface with the software so that (when contour cutting becomes available in SignBlazer) it knows where to start cutting?  Thanks.

As Ken said, until the contour software is ready or are doing some multiple layers thing -  the laser doesn't have any value at the moment.

As far as the cutter starting the cut someplace else, just make sure that after aligning the vinyl to your liking, that you move the blade to where you would like it to start, then press the 'bullseye and cross hairs'. That will zero both the x-axis and y-axis and the cutter will treat that as the new point of origin.

Hopefully that will help you a bit. Took me a while to remember resetting the two axis, especially when I was using the 'test' button.

Good luck. Happy cutting!

[Jerry Bonham 1]

I could not resist putting in my ten cents worth.

Here are few extra points.

Cutting small letters.

The smallest letters i have seen cut correctly with a vinyl cutter including the dots on lower case i's is 3mm.

This i think in US measurements is one eighth of an inch. 

To do this you need a special blade and a suitable cutter.  The blade used has an offset value of 0.15mm.

However with Chinese cutters the best i have been able to achieve 10mm.  This is a bit larger than 3/8 of an inch.

Hint for Weeding Small letters.

DON'T.  Yes that is correct.  if you have small letters with dots and full stops this is the easiest way to apply the letters.

1. Cut to the smallest possible area of vinyl around the letters to be placed.

2. Put application paper over all of the vinyl.

3. Leave a 'hinge' of app paper of the long edge of the vinyl.

4. Place the vinyl into the position you want and run the squeegee over it firmly.

5. Flip up the vinyl on the 'hinge' and remove the backing paper.

6. Then using a squeegee carefully scrape the letters down to ensure they have all stuck firmly.

hint -- always work from the centre outwards. --

7. Carefully peel off the application paper.

8. NOW weed the vinyl while it is on the job.  Use tweezers if necessary.

You will find that your small letters are perfectly placed and those terrible full stops and dots on i's are correctly aligned.

Another tip is after you have weeded the vinyl in position place a small bit of backing paper shiny side down over the letters and then use your squeegee again to ensure all letters and dots are firmly adhered.

Note this method is only suitable for very small letters.

HINT for aligning VINYL in a Cutter.

Next was asked how to align vinyl in cutter.

Here is an easy method that works every time

This is so simple that you will wonder why you have worked it out yourself.

Just pull out the amount of vinyl needed through the cutter.

Yep, i do that you will say!!

However i bet you don't do this.

Hold it out HORIZENTIAL to the floor. 

Make sure it is square to the cutter.

Carefully lower it down to the floor or bench.

Now lower the pinch rollers.

This is how to cut three metres (10 feet) or more and have it track straight.

Oh, for long lengths use all three pinch rollers.

Any marks left will dissapear over time.

Using the Laser Point will be discussed at length shortly.  So i will leave comments on this till later.

Oh, FlexiSign you will find SignBlazer can be learned in a fraction of the time.

There many big sign shops i am familiar with who use both Flexi and SignBlazer.

Every single user has said to be that he uses SignBlazer in preference to Flexi.

Sell your copy and buy SignBlazer Pro from US Cutters.

Buy a Xmas present with the change.  You will be a couple of thousand richer.

Jerry from SignBlazer

[Rufus Xs 0]

Thank you so much for the detailed advice!  You're right - I can't believe that I didn't think of the technique to drop the vinyl roll to the floor!  It's one of those great ideas that's so obvious that most folks just don't see it!

Anyway, thanks again - all of this advice will be very helpful.

[Rufus Xs 0]

Thank you so much for the detailed advice!  You're right - I can't believe that I didn't think of the technique to drop the vinyl roll to the floor!  It's one of those great ideas that's so obvious that most folks just don't see it!

Anyway, thanks again - all of this advice will be very helpful.  Also, as to my other question about priting on vinyl in an inkjet and then contour cutting it, I found this person on eBay:

Mammy's Magnets and More

Who sells sheets of vinyl that, when printed on with an inkjet, are supposedly water-resistant.  I'm going to order a pack and try them out - I'll post back as to how well they do or don't work.

[HAMMERFALL 0]

some great info here, thanks all

[hockeygirl 30]

Great advice from everyone else. Just wanted to add a couple things to it. If you're going to be using the Flexi software, make sure you're using it on an XP computer. As far as I know, only version 8.5 and later are compatible with Vista and/or Windows 7. Flexi is a powerful software that will do everything you need and I don't think the learning curve is steep, it's the same as learning any other design/cutting software.

Also, as for desktop printing on vinyl, there are multiple threads on this forum that discuss it. Having a printer that uses pigment ink is crucial, since it's water resistant and much more UV resistant than dye ink is. The Epson Workforce 110, which is a wide format (13" wide) printer, seems to be a popular choice here. Also, lamination is recommended on any waterbased printing.