newbie with some general vinyl questions

[robodude 0]

I have had my new sc series 25" for a couple of weeks and am starting to get the hang of it. I do have a few questions here I was hoping somebody could tackle.

I bought the Greenstar 12 color vinyl starter pack and the high tack tape. The siser heat transfer vinyl starter pack.

The very first thing I cut was on heat transfer vinyl. I forgot to remove some small cursive lettering on the bottom of the design but was blown away when it cam out flawless. The next day I cut some stickers but did not have the same experience for stuff three times the size. Many of the letters were just the slightest bit not cut fully so if you were not careful they just came up when weeding. I cut a piece of heat transfer vinyl again and it wasn't as bad as the sticker material but still wasn't like the flawless first cut. After reading these forums the only thing I found was to convert to curves and weld your design, which maybe I did somehow the first time but not after. This has significantly reduced the amount of slightly uncut letters that stick when weeding but did not remove the issue entirely. It also seems to not be an issue with the heat transfer vinyl but still with the sticker vinyl.

My first general question is how easy should weeding be? Should I be able get a corner started, close my eyes and pull the weed with out ruining my design? That's not happening for me. I am at least having to hold down several pieces with my knife to prevent them from being pulled up. IS THIS NORMAL? Secondly, I am having the same issue with the high tack transfer tape. If I am not careful and just tear the thing the whole sticker comes off. I have tried waiting, cleaning more, going slower, but I am still weeding again basically because I have to get each piece stuck with my knife as I am peeling. No videos I have watched do people have this issue to this extent. Should I have not got the high tack tape? Is that the issue? Is it the greenstar vinyl not sticking well? I have stuck some nice stickers now, but it was a royal pain in the butt. Definitely not feeling I can sell vinyl stickers at this point given my own rate of success/satisfaction.

Any advice you have on cleaner cuts, sticker application, cutting vinyl vs. heat transfer vinyl would be greatly appreciated.

[AbsoluteAirbrush 33]

Lack of clean cuts could be improper blad depth, the less expensive vinyl you're using ( I use oracal products ), and/or you're connection you have on your cutter, whehter usb or serial, with serial being the best method. You may need to try a lower tack transfer tape to prevent that problem, and make sure you have any bubbles out from between the tape/vinyl before attempting to apply it.

It also could be the cleanliness of the vector that you're cutting can cause problems too.

As far as weeding goes, make sure when you're weeding that you're pulling the vinyl almost back against itself and it's important to keep the same pressure,angle, and speed while doing this the best that you can.

If you can post pics of the problems, maybe we can help more if this information doesn't.

Good Luck! Alan

Heat press vinyl is easier to weed because of the back is sticky instead of the vinyl.

[OWJones 1,981]

There are variations in thickness and density of various types of cuttable materials. You will need to experiment with blade depth and cutting pressure to find the settings that work best for each material and change the settings on your cutter (or in the software) each time you change materials. That includes switching from one brand of viny to another.

When cutting, the blade should just leave the faintest impression on the liner, if you're not seeing that faint line then you're not cutting deep enough or with enough force - if the impression is clearly visible then you're cutting too deep or with too much pressure.

I have not cut any heat press vinyl, but from what I've read about it, you can grab a corner and yank and you're done. I have only been able to do that with adhesive vinyl with very large, smooth letters - and then only certain letters. Any time you're dealing with smaller, more intricate shapes or letters, you have to go slower and there will probably be some lifting. As you get more experience you'll learn which angles to pull from that will minimize lifting and make things go smoother.

You might also consider upgrading to a Clean Cut Blade - I use their 60° blade for all of my cutting as it does a great job with small, intricate designs and makes the weeding easier. They are very sharp and are supposed to last longer than normal blades (Mine isn't old enough yet that I can verify the longer life, but I can verify the better quality of the cuts). Call them up and tell them you're a member of the forum and you'll get a discount on the price.