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Yes, the blade depth is the first thing you have to get correct, when you set up a vinyl cutter, it makes a huge difference when too much blade is exposed out of the holder. The combination is less blade , more force.  The rest of the settings come after that.  Then if you try a thicker or older vinyl, you step the force up a number or 2 not change the blade depth. Even when I go to Avery Chrome from Oracal 651. (it is a polyester vinyl.)   I only change the force up. .  You should not have to change your blade depth until the blade is totally dull. Just step up the force a little and get more use out of it. 

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glad you got it figured out with skeeters help - one note that scrapes like nails on a chalkboard - you are cutting or plotting - you are not printing.   skeeter has helped hundreds if not thousands of people with proper set up of their blade 
Haumana gve sold advice too - great team we have on the forum

 

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After more cuts last night and examining this morning. It really cleared up some interesting cuts I was not happy with. I was still having some issues with sticky letters not weeding as easy as I hope but I am thinking I am going to pump the speed down even a little more to see if that helps.

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Also you must remember not to cut more than you can weed at 1 time right away.   Vinyl will self heal it's self and be very hard to weed later. 

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Now I am lost. Slowed the cutter down. Blade has been set since the last recommendation and I have cut this twice in a row now. I can't believe how awful this cut is. The names turned out usable but the October font is god awful.

IMG_7674.JPG

IMG_7675.JPG

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 Do you have enough vinyl slack to do the entire order?  You should never be pulling from the roll while cutting.   Are you prefeeding your vinyl for the order?   Is there gouges/scratches in your cutting strip from having the blade too far exposed?  Take the blade out of the holder and look at it.   That 2nd C looks like tracking problem.   Is that a weed box, you cut around it with the cutter?   If so, it is not even the same width, left to right, top to bottom. Which is tracking. 

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Just to back up a little as you tried different things suggested prior to this,   

Still using Mac?

using which cutting software, have read scalp, cut master with some other software? Or maybe 5he mac version of graphtec (pro?) studio???

 

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Yes, pre-feeding. Always making sure there is slack. Carriage is tight. 

I reset the entire cutter and re-set it up and the problem on that same cut has disappeared now. I'm lost.

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4 minutes ago, ericmschwanke said:

Yes, pre-feeding. Always making sure there is slack. Carriage is tight. 

I reset the entire cutter and re-set it up and the problem on that same cut has disappeared now. I'm lost.

Still using the Mac?

What program to cut from . . 

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29 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said:

Still using the Mac?

What program to cut from . . 

Yes Mac and cut master 4. I see sign cut pro 2 has a monthly software subscription but I'm not familiar with that software.

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glad

1 hour ago, ericmschwanke said:

Yes Mac and cut master 4. I see sign cut pro 2 has a monthly software subscription but I'm not familiar with that software.

so to drag our the rest of the anwer if you are using cutmaster 4 are you sending it to cut from corel or ILLY?

 

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Those are definitely ugly cuts and not what a Graphtec is capable of. You must have something wrong or a busted cutter. 

I use SignCut Pro and it works great with mac and Illustrator. Might be worth trying the free trial just to rule out once and for all any kind of software problem but I don't think it's software. Software doesn't get it THAT wrong, at least not on any quality cutter like the Graphtec. I would say you have something broken, loose or your pinch rollers are not over the drive wheels. I am not a Graphtec owner so the machine specific stuff I am no help. 

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22 hours ago, Dakotagrafx said:

glad

so to drag our the rest of the anwer if you are using cutmaster 4 are you sending it to cut from corel or ILLY?

 

I send straight from Illustrator CS6

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22 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

Those are definitely ugly cuts and not what a Graphtec is capable of. You must have something wrong or a busted cutter. 

I use SignCut Pro and it works great with mac and Illustrator. Might be worth trying the free trial just to rule out once and for all any kind of software problem but I don't think it's software. Software doesn't get it THAT wrong, at least not on any quality cutter like the Graphtec. I would say you have something broken, loose or your pinch rollers are not over the drive wheels. I am not a Graphtec owner so the machine specific stuff I am no help. 

I will re-alight the pinch rollers and look at that. I feel everything and nothing seems loose. Thats the strangest part.

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possibly show a picture of the vinyl loaded across the front of the machine. Like stand back and take a picture of the vinyl loaded, so we can see pinch rollers and all. 

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As I stated before, put the pinch rollers about an inch in from the edge of the vinyl.   The roller marks will not hurt the vinyl.   I even use a tape measure sometimes, Measure side of roller out to the  vinyl edge. Why does the vinyl look so rippled up in front and not laying flat? 

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41 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

As I stated before, put the pinch rollers about an inch in from the edge of the vinyl.   The roller marks will not hurt the vinyl.   I even use a tape measure sometimes, Measure side of roller out to the  vinyl edge. Why does the vinyl look so rippled up in front and not laying flat? 

 I was curious about the ripples also. It has been rainy and humid in Wisconsin the last few days and we have had all our windows open in the house so I am wondering if that is it. I don't see it after I cut and its laying flat to weed.

 

I will move the rollers in even more. I just want to use as much as the 24width as I can.

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You can turn the pinch rollers off.  I turned mine off day 1, 11 years ago.  FC Unit,  and the CE5000, you could do the same.  It will cut right up to the vinyl edge. Hit the ORIGIN button before you send cut.  I have told CE6000 users before how to do it. 

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I was about to mention that rippled vinyl - for years we have ran the central air for humidity control - but the printer was much more sensitive to humidity

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55 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

You can turn the pinch rollers off.  I turned mine off day 1, 11 years ago.  It will cut right up to the vinyl edge. Hit the ORIGIN button before you send cut.

On the CE6000 you can just ignore the pinch rollers? I looked on how to extend the cutting area but it was only like .175mm past the pinch roller. 

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Yes, you can turn them off. It's in advanced settings. Disable the push roller sensor.    I also disabled the media sensor, so that it did not measure the vinyl at start up..    I just place the carriage head where I want it and push ORIGIN.   I just send my design after prefeed. 

pinchroll off.JPG

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My Graphtec doesn't have the 2nd page in the Advance menu. It goes from 1/3 to 3/3 :(

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I run my Graphtec outside in my garage yearound, and my  vinyl never ripples up like that. What brand of vinyl is it?

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