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Yes found problem after decicded to change the head was encoder gave it a good clean all back and running again

You would be amazed at how many businesses that I interact with, who do not have their own artwork for one reason or another. I often dread having to recreate someone else's logo because it seems like reinventing the wheel, but it's the same wheel without any improvements

The other option would be to analyze the design and figure out a way to break it into smaller pieces. Add in some registration marks to get it all lined back up and you're good to go.

Jimbo, you got a solution that was offered 15 years ago, which is a fine testament to the effectiveness of these Forums and its Search functionality. By the way, 'mobby' was one of the most-well-versed people regarding SignBlazer, as he was personally familiar with the developer (Jerry Bonham). All of that is water under the bridge, of course, but it's great to see people are still able to obtain "Help" on a program that's long since been abandoned in the marketplace.

DXF files are not really cutter friendly. They look like a constant line, but they are actually several line segments and are typically not joined. VM can't do a contour, because it doesn't see a shape to contour cut around. You will need to join all the segments in order to create a shape. I might be as simple as joining the 3 areas circled below or you might need to join every single little line segment. Some software has the ability to automatically join line segments that are close enough, although this can give some funky results some times. I believe Inkscape has this ability. If you can get the file as an eps, ai, or svg rather than a dxf that would be the easiest way to go.

Update! Since we're in Hawai'i, Graphtec recommended that we check with a local authorized repair shop rather than send the whole thing to continental US. We called up the recommended shop and after hearing of our issue asked, "when did you last replace the plunger?" They noted that those can stop working, preventing the blade from spinning/rotating. We ordered a new plunger from them and we're back in business! We finished out the 15mil synthetic job and are getting through the 10mil job as I write this. The old plunger has been marked and is still good enough for most of our paper jobs. I did let the boss know about the other blades you folks recommended. Thank you

. Has this cutter ever cut correctly? Is it new or used? Your cutter is a value cutter with a cheap Chinese chipset on it,, will take a bit of fine tuning to cut correctly. Best to use with a Tripplite Keyspan Adapter and your null modem cable. Setting your blade depth correctly is the first thing you have to get correct, You do not use the depth of a credit card or post it notes. That is way too much blade exposed out of the blade holder. You set the blade depth to the vinyl you will be cutting.( Instructions below). For blade offset, start at 0.25mm and adjust at 0.05 to be correct. Show your test cuts from the TEST cut feature on the machine. That has to be correct first, before you cut anything. Square should be square. You could also ad a little overcut in your cutting software, but that is not going to fix what you have going on. You have to start with the correct blade depth first. this info has been posted on here hundreds and hundreds of times, it applies to any brand of vinyl cutter, except a Graphtec has a ZERO blade offset. Something that you will have to do if you haven't, if that cutter is on a stand, it needs grounded to the stand, or static from the vinyl, will stop the cutter. The tracking is not good on those cutters for larger designs. The memory is also not good for larger designs. To start with, you should set your blade depth correctly, by taking the blade holder out of the machine, and firmly cut across a piece of scrap vinyl, you will be cutting. You should only be cutting the vinyl and barely a mark on wax paper backing, Adjust blade to get there, Then put the blade holder back in machine, and use the force of the machine to get there, same results, only cutting the vinyl and barely a mark in wax paper backing. You should barely see and feel the blade tip out of the blade holder. Regular sign vinyl is only 2-3 mil thick. You only cut with the very tip of the blade. When you think the blade is so far in the blade holder, that you think it would not even cut, that is probably correct.

So, what kind of stories do you have out there of your first vehicle wrap experience. I'll go first. I did the quarter and a door on my truck today, and lets put it this way, if we count how many wrinkles are there you have Barbara Walters! Ok, all bad jokes aside, jeez I thought this was going to be a little easier. Probably doesnt help that I have to cut 60" vinyl on the ground, and the wind would not cooperate by stopping! Wrinkles, blems, and cuts oh my! The real question is should I press on and potentially waste the rest of the $250 spent for the Hexis, or should I cut my losses now?! Hmmmm....

Just about everyday with me, drives me nuts...

I tweaked it to try and see if it would help. Still didn't get there in FMF but Agency FB Bold is close and with some work could be made to work. If you figure it out to be an actual font post the name cause it's a cool look.

Again, have you checked what COM Port your Windows machine has assigned to the cutter? Yes, VinylMaster does work with Windows 7. Sign Blazer (SBE) - I would recommend that you absolutely find out with COM Port, and manually designated it in SBE, because auto detect doesn't always work properly. I don't have an LP II, but I do have an original LP, and the machine that I needed to select from the list was the Creation PCUT 735.

Did you see this cutter preform before buying? Ask the previous owner about the error. Not many people here who even own a Roland that answers questions. Probably more help at the Roland Forum . Roland has their own forum.

Everyone calls it the Z-Chip because it controls the Z-axis movement (the up/down of the cutting blade). Here's a video that explains the replacement process on the earlier models. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68rrkF6gFTE 1:25-1:55

Every once in a while, I come through with the goods! I probably would just throw the image into GIMP (free raster editor) and crop it there, and then import the final result to whatever level of VM I've got. Yeah, it's an extra step for a workaround, but it'll suffice, unless a higher level of VM is financially viable for that added functionality.

Ok, did some test cuts, came out great but what just blew me away was cutting some glitter. I hated working with glitter, the Graphtec just laughed at me and cut it amazingly. Wish I got this thing sooner. I spent several hours last week weeding glitter. Had I only known. ha!

Signblazer is an unlimited trial now. It has been for quite sometime. It cannot upgrade. There is not any support for it. The owner passed away, years back.

blade depth first, because you're getting scratches on the vinyl where there shouldn't be any. if you have dialed in the right blade depth, then make sure you vinyl isn't tenting, or if you have a 3rd pinch roller, use it. off set, to try and tighten up the corners.

Believe you'rere right, Mike.... seems the 'LTR' Version of VinylMaster does not include the Tile Bleed (Overlap) Tools.

Not sure how you sized the logos. But when I do race cars or any vehicle, I usually take a picture of it with a piece of 8.5x11 piece of paper taped to it. Then I do my design work. The when the design is ready for print or cut. I make an 8.5 inch line. Then I size the picture with the design to match the line using the piece of paper. Car looks good.

I found this used cutter for sell. I see its a cutter and printer. did a lil online research, saw most complaint was for the cost of using it for printing and heads going bad. can anyone school me on this machine? ins and outs and what would be a decent price if its a decent cond and working machine. owner told me he never used the printing feature

As long as your clean the heads after every print it`s all good. Still running one that i`ve had for 8 years. mark-s

I've just had my first ever (spam link removed) returned and I'm very unimpressed with the job. The wrapping guy is pressurising me to sign it off so that he can get paid but I feel really reluctant to do so. He tells me that my expectations are too high but I find the finishes around certain areas unacceptable. It's been vinyled in two horizontal sheets with about an inch overlap, made to look even worse as the pattern doesn't line up. In addition to these finishes, the logo and contact details are vinyl cut and placed onto the wrap and so have lost the effects that I placed on them and he has lost some clipping paths on an image that I used on the rear, so the background colour doesn't come through. Are my expectations really too high?

Bagged, poo...

Sa, you are correct in the HExis being cast. Here is a link to what I bought - http://www.ebay.com/itm/110836734567?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 . This is my 1st time ever doing something to this extreme. I am frustrated to say the least. I suppose I might be exaggerating the wrinkles a little bit, but there are a few that are definitely noticeable at 5'. At 10'+ the vinyl looks great (i think?!)! I'll put a few pics up tomorrow. I am also having sticking issues from going down, peeling up, down, up, etc.. I know that I just need to go slow and lay it down easy. My door I did, was going great, until I got the main part below the window.. then it went to hell.. lol

First time wrap should always be done WET WET WET WET.... vehicle and material...... (Assuming you aren't cutting and just wrapping with Carbon or something.....)