dvddvd 14 Posted September 28, 2020 Trying to size the design to be as big as poss, If im using 610mm vinyl what size would the max be, leaving some room either side? Or can i nearly cut the full 610mm ? thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted September 28, 2020 Maybe it depends on your cutter. I can cut with in a fraction edge to edge and not hurt the design. My software is at .2 on edge side. But I could also make it .1 But I have a 30 inch cutter. The MH cutter may not be so accurate. I also have application tape, wider than 24". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted September 29, 2020 My rule-of-thumb for designs is as follows: 24" vinyl -- 22" workspace (1" margins) 30" vinyl -- 28" workspace I align the vinyl as perfectly as possible and avoid drift/stray on the full run. If you're not going to cut a longer length, then you can reduce the margins all the way to a fraction of an inch (or mm's as you guys figure) and should be OK. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dvddvd 14 Posted September 29, 2020 Any tips on aligning the vinyl before you start to cut? How do you avoid drift? Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,220 Posted September 29, 2020 You might get an idea of the degree of drift if you pre-jog the vinyl, and watch the level of drift compared to the ruler, or some kind of fixed mark. Correct drift as much as possible. I you cannot, then you can see if your design can be broken up into shorter pieces. The value machines will have more drift than the more higher end machines. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dvddvd 14 Posted September 29, 2020 Hi what do you mean by pre jog ? Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darcshadow 1,626 Posted September 29, 2020 Load the vinyl then manually advance it the length you will need. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dvddvd 14 Posted September 29, 2020 Ok yes good idea so use the directional buttons to move it to the end of the piece. I remembered when I was looking at software I tried a few different free trial copies and one of them had lots choices of different ways how it cut I can not see anything on vinylmaster? Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dvddvd 14 Posted September 29, 2020 Do people usually cut a piece of vinyl a little longer than their logo etc, or leave full roll on rollers and pull some out so it's free from the roll and cut at end? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted September 29, 2020 All of my rolls are 150 ft and I just prefeed the vinyl and leave it on the roll. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted September 29, 2020 7 hours ago, dvddvd said: Any tips on aligning the vinyl before you start to cut? How do you avoid drift? Thanks As mentioned above, your cutter may have more dificulty on drift than a higher end machine. I would definitly pre-feed (pre-jog) any work you do and you will have better luck. You should also take a look in Vinyl Mster in the Vinyl Spooler menu in Cut Options tab there is a box you can check called Cut In Strips (at least there is in the Pro version). I have not used this but I beleive it is a user defined amount of length that gets cut and then moves on to the next zone as it goes down the length of a project. I use a different cutting utility that has similar. It may help you on longer projects to overcome the inherent drift (called off-tracking) that happens on the budget machines. I used to have a budget cutter and occasionally battled this with my cutting program (SignCut Pro) which calls this feature "step-by-step cutting". My experience was that it really helped in long but simple jobs, but if the design was complicated (like with a bunch of text) the cutter didn't have the accuracy to cut parts of a bunch of letters and then try to come back and finish the other parts of the letters when in the next zone. But on long large graphics the slight misalignment at the step points was not so bad that it caused issues and I was able to cut some fairly large sign elements. This is one of the benefits of the higher end cutters. IF you find yourself doing enough to justify an upgrade it saves a lot of stress and mistakes. I have cut designs as long as 22 ft without problem with my new cutter. I have shifted to HTV on shirts moslty now but still benefit by being able to cut hundreds of copies of a logo without a tracking problem or static or memory space. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dvddvd 14 Posted September 29, 2020 It's the Liyu DF 631 cutter I have with servo motor thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted September 29, 2020 Ok, well in a previous thread, last week, you posted under MH cutter. So what's a person to think? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dvddvd 14 Posted September 29, 2020 Hi sorry there dont seem to be a Liyu brand in the list? Just had a play around with it and i ran a long piece through, it was ok but the biggest problem seems to be getting it in square with the machine? 1mm out of square and by the time it gets to the other end its drifted quite a bit. So i squared it up the other way and it was a lot better. Ive stuck a piece of tape between the edge of the machine and the vinyl so im not trying to square up a 2 inch gap with the tape its 1/2 gap now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted September 29, 2020 The SC series is the Liyu brand, as well as Laserpointer 2 and 3. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darcshadow 1,626 Posted September 29, 2020 What I do, is with the roll sitting on the stand rollers I put the end of the vinyl in the machine then hold it with one hand and roll the roll with the other taking out the slack. This usually squares it up pretty good, then just put the clamps down, unroll what will be needed for the cut and hit go. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites