Hen

First Shirt Order and Not sure where to start

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Help would be much appreciated!  I bought the 34" MH 871Vinyl Cutter a few months ago and I have had more stress out of it then success.  My decals either don't cut, cut to deep, won't stick to the transfer tape and a lot of times won't release from the tape to be applied.  I have tried several different vinyls,  transfer tape and new blades and something always goes wrong and I end up wasting a lot of vinyl and time trying to fix something that I am not even sure if if will release from the tape once I get it on there.

 So I get an order for one t-shirt and of course I don't have what I need to make it.  But my big worry is buying unnecessary things or the right things. Supplies are to expensive to just waste and not to work at all.  If someone could just guide me in the right direction then maybe I can make this fun again and not such a stressful thing that I couldn't wait to start and now am on the brink of quitting.  

Thanks

 

 

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let start with the basics - how did you set your blade depth that can affect weeding and how cuts are completed?   what do your test cuts look like from the cutter itself?  what software are you using to cut and design with?   There always is a learning curve with any new piece of equipment and with vinyl cutting you have the added learning of how vector graphics work and cut which is very different from how raster images work that people are used to seeing.

in addition to the above questions - what vinyl are you using, what app tape, what type of heat press will you be using for your shirts?

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I have used the 45 and 65 blade set up to half a credit card depth.   The test cuts look fine and I am using Vinylmaster LTR V4.0.

I have tried-  Greenstar, Oracal 651, Griff Decorative Film prime series Metallic ( the metallic tears and is worse than the oracle vinyl- expensive and was a waste. I'm stuck with 10yards and would love to be able to use this. I have a welding shop and the metal vinyls are very popular if I could figure it out...lol)

TransferRite  Ultra 592U paper application tape, high tack

TransferRite Ultra Clear 1310 Tape with printed grid, medium tack

TransferRite Ultra Clear without grid, medium tack

TransferRite Ultra 582U paper tape, medium tack

Oracal Transfer Tape

And for the one shirt, I will probably just use my iron until I can get the machine part dialed in right and I have not even tried any of the vinyl for the shirts yet.

 

 

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33 minutes ago, Hen said:

I have used the 45 and 65 blade set up to half a credit card depth.   The test cuts look fine and I am using Vinylmaster LTR V4.0

 

 

NOOOOOOO! Never EVER have that much blade sticking out. If you can easily see the blade you have too much. Look for Mz Skeeter's instructions on these forums on how to set the blade depth, been posted hundreds of times.

The majority of your problems sounds like your cutting into the backing paper which will be solved by setting the blade depth correctly.

If you're just doing a shirt for yourself or a friend you can "get by" with an iron. But if you're going to be selling shirts you need a proper press.

Also keep in mind the MH is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. It is what I have, and it can be made to work quite well but you do have to do quite a bit of tweaking and learning to get it to perform well.

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key to longevity of HTV with a heat press vinyl is accurate temp, time and pressure - these are impossible to get altogether with an iron - like darcshadow said

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On a good note HTV actually cuts with a little more forgiveness as far as pressure and weeding. Get a heat press before you try and sell someone a shirt or you will just ruin your reputation. 

Blade depth should only be able to cut through the vinyl and not all the way through the paper. Set it by hand with the holder taken out of the machine. Use a scrap of regular sign vinyl and with some pressure drag it across the scrap and then check to see that it cut through the vinyl and a little bit (like a heavy scratch) into the carrier sheet. If you are cutting clear through then reduce the blade exposed. If it doesn't cut through increase the blade exposed. That half C Card nonsense causes more grief than meth. 

Once your blade is set it will likely be fine for almost everything. Calendared vinyl is usually 3mil and cast is usually 2mil. HTV is in that range for most. There are a few HTV options that are thicker and would require some adjustment but in general you shouldn't have to mess with it once set

THEN start dialing in your pressure so that it will cut through the vinyl and scratch the carrier but not be able to feel the impression on the back of the paper carrier. When viewed at eye level during a cut you should just barely be able to see a tiny bit of light between the blade holder and the surface of the vinyl. If you are seeing a gap of any size then you didn't set your blade depth correctly and need to adjust it. Too much sticking out causes all sorts of little issues. You may have to adjust your pressure depending on various vinyl types.

Once set most of your HTV (I use Siser Easyweed and Easyweed Stretch) will cut at the exact same settings as regular sign vinyl with most cutters. 

Don't try and be a speed demon either as it is just asking for trouble. I recommend cutting at about 1/4 to 1/3 of your cutters top speed. If you have a range of 50 to 800 mm/sec then cut at around 200 to start with. 

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Thanks everyone for your help.  I think I finally have my blade set.  My vinyl is weeding good and leaving just a little of the design on the paper. 

I have been experimenting with my transfer paper now and I am not having any trouble with the transferRite  Ultra 592U Paper tape heavy tack or the transferRite Ultra Clear 1310 medium tack tape.  My problem is still with the Oracal Transfer Tape.  The vinyl will not release and stick to it.  So I took the Oracal off and replaced it with the transferRite Ultra Clear 1310 and it released with no problem.  

Back to my T-shirt.  This is just a shirt that I am making for a friend.  It already has a design and were just adding ------ ------- is my hero to the shirt as a joke. But I am charging for the material so I do need to get it right.  Once I get my machine dialed in right and cutting correctly then I do plan on buying a heat press but for now I am scared to put myself out there because I am not happy enough with my vinyl to sale it.  I think I am ready to order my vinyl for the shirt and see if I can get it to cut right.  Any suggestions of what I need to order to make this easier.  

I purchased this machine to cut my decals and to eventually do my own shirts for my Welding business.  Hoping to be able to save money but would really appreciate it more if I could make money with it also.  

 I appreciate all of your help and very grateful for this site.  

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You are not supposed to be trying to lift the vinyl from the backing paper. You are supposed to squeegee the top of the transfer tape real good, on the decal, lay the decal face down on the transfer tape and peel the backing away. It makes a huge difference.   If you keep trying to lift the decal off of the backing paper you will also lift the backing paper right up with the decal. then your decal will be ruint.   Always peel the backing away from the decal. 

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21 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

You are not supposed to be trying to lift the vinyl from the backing paper. You are supposed to squeegee the top of the transfer tape real good, lay the decal face down on the transfer tape and peel the backing away. It makes a huge difference. 

Thank you MZ. Skeeter.  That does make a big difference and is working great except with the oracle transfer tape. 

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Which Oracal transfer tape?  The only Oracal transfer tape that I know of is for Oracal 631 removable vinyl. It is Oracal HT55   Your welcome. 

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The item description says Orcal-Trans-06; Oracal Transfer Tape

9 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

Which Oracal transfer tape?  The only Oracal transfer tape that I know of is for Oracal 631 removable vinyl. It is Oracal HT55   Your welcome. 

 

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Never heard of it.  Can't even find it listed online.  I only use Main brand, medium tack paper transfer tape for any size of vinyl graphics.   It rolls up nice for shipping. 

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I ordered it from Swingdesign.  I will look up the Main Brand and try it.

Any suggestions for the best vinyl for a shirt and what all I need to order to make it a success.

I am for sure a newbie and could use any suggestions.

 

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I don't even see it listed at SwingDesign  only Oracal HT55   and MT80P   I don't do shirts.  But most would say Siser.   I only do vinyl graphics. Outdoor vinyl.

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I will probably stick with USCutter from now on.  So far everything that I have ordered has worked well.  I have had some problems with the Griff Decorative Film prime series Metallic but I started double cutting it and It's working now.  I own a welding and fabrication shop and the metal vinyls go over well with my logos and everyone loves it.  I just have to get good enough and confident enough to make them for my customers.  Do you use the same transfer tape for it as you do the Oracal 651?

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Hen -  Just remember with HTV you have to mirror the cut because you are actually cutting on the adhesive side of HTV. Most common mistake made I think. 

doh.gif

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Which one do you recommend, Siser or the HTV?  Is the vinyl all that I need to just make this one shirt?  

 

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23 minutes ago, Hen said:

Which one do you recommend, Siser or the HTV?  Is the vinyl all that I need to just make this one shirt?  

 

Siser IS HTV. (Heat Transfer Vinyl) We use HTV as a catchall for any type of heat transfer vinyl of which Siser is one brand and happens to be this guys fav. 

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Thanks for everyones help with getting my machine dialed in and cutting Good now.  My first and only shirt turned out great, even with the iron.  The Customer refused to pay what I asked for and paid me twice the amount.  The iron worked great but now it's time to purchase a new heat press and I'm not sure which one is a good starter press.  I'm going to use it to do my own shirts for our welding business and eventually be able to make them to sale.  Small scale starting out until I get mine perfected.  Any suggestions.

 

Thanks ahead for any help!

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The customer brought me the shirt and I typed up 5 words and applied it.   It was a joke for a friend of his.  I told him 15.00 and he insisted on me taking $40.00 so i came out really good on this shirt.  And got the practice.

 

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If you are just going to do occasional work and not get too serious USCutter has a swing press that does a good job. I used this press for several years until I got serious.

https://www.uscutter.com/15-x-15-Digital-Swing-arm-Heat-Press

Don't get the all-in-one presses and make sure you get at least a 15" press or you'll have a hard time. Clam shell presses can be cheaper but they are not as fun. There is a decent amount of time lining up multiple layers on the shirt AFTER you have done your 3-5 second preheat and it's tough to see with a clam and you will burn the back of your hand. If you decide to go with a clam be sure and get one that has a center point pivot that will allow the upper platen to adjust to different thicknesses of garments. The super cheap ones don't and they end up with uneven pressure as a result.  

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I checked that one out and they have one that bundles with 5 15" X 5 yds of the Easy Weed vinyl.  Is that a good vinyl?  Is it worth paying the extra $50.00.

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