OWJones 1,981 Posted May 2, 2014 So, what's your biggest bone-headed mistake? Tonight I setup and cut three separate large decals and noticed how nicely I got everything to fit on each roll of vinyl - almost no waste on either side - like I was a professional or something! It wasn't until after I'd weeded and taped the 2nd decal and took a break to install one while #3 was cutting that I noticed that my 18" wide design had somehow mysteriously grown to 23+ inches in size and would no longer fit where it was supposed to... Apparently I had accidentally ticked the "Fit to media" check box and my cutting software obligingly enlarged everything to fit the width of the roll... So much for being "professional"! I lost <$15 worth of vinyl and tape, but the wasted time really irks me more than anything... Earlier this week, I was cutting a design for a 6' banner and when the cutter stopped I didn't even look at the display or the vinyl, just whipped out my cut off knife and slid it across the front edge of the cutter and when I went to flip up the tension roller I saw "Load Media" in the display and realized that the vinyl had jumped up just enough behind the cutter to expose the media sensor causing it to stop cutting about 5' of the way through... At least I caught that one before I started weeding and taping... Now I need to order another 24" wide roll of black to re-stock what I wasted this week... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcextreme 475 Posted May 2, 2014 haha nice one BannerJohn... So far my biggest mistakes have been forgetting to mirror image files for 2 shirts. doing a white shirt and black htv, when it should have been a black shirt with white htv. doing a large 4'x24" decal and having it cut off the top and end, wasting all that vinyl. cutting 5 decals at once with the cutter settings still set to HTV settings, yeah didnt weed worth a dam! was able to use 2 of the 5 decals. somehow my vinyl got misaligned on the roller and bunched up all to the right, ruining about 3 feet of vinyl.. yeah pretty dam wasteful lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted May 2, 2014 Arrows on two-sided sign. Neglected to reverse one. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted May 2, 2014 Wife #1 After that, printing 5 -8 ft items and not sending first one for review when I wasn't sure it was right . . . . Yup printed them again and lost money . . . It's how we learn. The more it hurts the more you remember Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Go-C Graphics 856 Posted May 2, 2014 Used HTV on 13 out of 15 shirts and then realized I cut suger instead of sugar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SeeJaysPlace 476 Posted May 2, 2014 Used HTV on 13 out of 15 shirts and then realized I cut suger instead of sugar. Ouch! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcextreme 475 Posted May 2, 2014 I did a hoodie with my logo and said "Vinyl Graphics, Signs and Banners, Shits and Hats" 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted May 2, 2014 I did a hoodie with my logo and said "Vinyl Graphics, Signs and Banners, Shits and Hats"now that's a conversation starter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coaster36 327 Posted May 2, 2014 I did a hoodie with my logo and said "Vinyl Graphics, Signs and Banners, Shits and Hats" I would have just added the r with the ^ and went with it. Thats funny. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrznFire07 217 Posted May 2, 2014 Spelled "Eighth" wrong on 144 shirts. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moody Blue 505 Posted May 2, 2014 Was working on a banner last week for a friend that he had sent the artwork for. I opened the file and made sure all the pieces were cut ready and once outlines were created and parts welded together I went straight to cutting. After the material finished I weeded it out and laid across the banner to realize the file had been created for an 8' banner...not a 6'. Went back to the email and bam there it was a the very end...Original artwork created for 8' banner, please scale as necessary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moody Blue 505 Posted May 2, 2014 Spelled "Eighth" wrong on 144 shirts. Ouch that hurts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrznFire07 217 Posted May 2, 2014 Ouch that hurts yea, that was the day we figured out HTV will in fact stick on top of ink 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SeeJaysPlace 476 Posted May 2, 2014 i had a rush order 15 shirts they called on a Friday 6pm and wanted them by 10am sat Morning 15 screen printed shrits So they sent me the file.. I made the screen, I started printing the shirts after about the 8th one i sent them a photo of my progress and it was going to be done Friday night and they sent me a msg back WRONG FONT and then them 8 shirts became test print shirts and wash wrags! Glad it was only that many.. and then they never answerd there phone when i tryed calling them.. it was for a tattoo convention the next day .. Lesson learned Proof everything before cutting or printing it's as easy as taking a picture on your cell phone and texting it to them! .. saves $$$ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Go-C Graphics 856 Posted May 3, 2014 Ouch! Yea!!!!! But I managed to save the day. I remembered reading that Goo Gone will get it off. I sprayed the back of the letter and was able to peel it off. I cut the "a" and pressed it on. I did a hoodie with my logo and said "Vinyl Graphics, Signs and Banners, Shits and Hats" That made me laugh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaybyrd 3,770 Posted May 5, 2014 Last week I got slammed in a major way and in the chaos I had to print (22) 11x17 JPSS transfers and I got the first 1 lined up perfect on a 6x shirt and pressed it. As soon as I opened the press I saw everything backwards. 22 large transfers and a 6x shirt in the trash can. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
