Leaderboard

wildgoose brings up an interesting point -- "(haven't replaced a blade in so long that) I misplaced my stash of new ones and I started to get worried and ended up ordering some new ones, Ha-ha." Common problem, and I did the same thing, that little plastic container of blades vanished into a drawer or box somewhere. When a new set of blades arrived, I used a strip of Alien Tape and affixed the container right onto the back of the cutter end-cap.

The font is 4BigMedicineDNA (regular *Oblique) [SignDNA / (Commercial)] If you plan to do this kind of work often you should consider buying the Find-My-Font program. Probably one of the best bang for the buck programs available. I even use it on my own files sometimes when I can't remember which of my many fonts I used to create something. It's about $50 last time I bought it. Also, there are tricks to utilizing font search software. The one you posed was so washed out that it wouldn't work as it was. I picked the most distinguishing letter (in this case the P) and traced it out so it was clean, then screen shot the trace and used that for the search... whalla we have the correct font.

RIP Banner John- gone but not forgotten

Once leveled and taped at the top to hold it in place using blue painters tape. You can place a long piece of painters tape across the top to form a hinge, then cut up between the letters to apply them individually. Or if you have a graphic like in example #2 use a vertical hinge, peel the backing back to the blue tape and cut it off, then apply that half of the decal. remove the blue tape hinge peel the backing off of the second half and apply the other half of the decal.

I have a 1965 mustang that the original owner put a eelco flip gas cap on. The original rubber that is about 3/16" thick had deteriorated after all those years and is no longer available - I found some rubber that is proper thickness - designed the holes for the mounting bolt and vent hole along with proper diameter (in graphtec pro studio) and put in the cb15u blade, that I use for rhinestone template and thick sandblast mask, - cut a perfect replacement gasket. never tell a sign/decal person that something can't be found - we make em.

I really miss Bill, we used to talk all the time, His favorite saying " Going fishing, Somebody has to do it" LOL That was Bill.

Rest in peace Bill. You are no longer with us but you are not forgotten. Semper Fi

Clean Cut Blades are hard to beat and last a long time. And a lot of people go with the 60 degree blade and just use it for everything. Unless you're doing a lot of relatively low detail designs, the hassle of switching back and forth between 45 and 60 is just not worth it.

There is already a thread here that people showed their shops, you will have to find it. Also, there is only a couple handfuls of forum members that answer questions anymore. I never went small. I started with large graphics and never looked back. My average is 20" wide by 8 feet. L. Clear up to 27" w x 16 feet .L. I prefer making my money fast. Less work, more pay. Large detailed graphics is my niche' I work out of a 13' x 14' bedroom, 8 ft table, 30" cutter, old XP laptop. I have been at it for 16 years, online only. Good luck.

You said it was working properly before you moved it. Did you check to see if the carriage rollers are riding on the track properly? One good bump could knock them off the track. Just my 2 cents.

VinylMaster has a built-in Vectorization Engine (converter) that will take this raster image and turn it into a cuttable file, use your program's HELP menu to determine the steps required. It's fairly straightforward and simple.

You don't. What you posted is raster graphic. Cutters can only cut vector graphics.

It's good to see the Forums back up & running. While the server was inaccessible, I even managed to accomplish some work, instead of spending time here! Shave and a haircut, 2 bits. https://youtube.com/shorts/dxU-SgOtVSM

Hi, that was a nice response, the guys who are Font Gurus around here certainly are good. One thing to mention, when using a script font like this, that kinda overlaps/connects letters, make sure you WELD before cutting, to eliminate the intersections being cut out.

The Green Star vinyl is your problem. It's just not good. Go with Siser Vinyl and you'll be amazed at the difference. As for HTV vs "normal" vinyl, I don't change any of the settings on my machine. Actually, HTV is much more forgiving and you can get some very intricate designs to cut. The downside is, too small of pieces don't have enough adhesive to stick to the shirt. So while you may be able to cut it, it might not stick to the shirt.

I had that written once, and removed it.. I try to give people a little credit that they do have it in the correct position in the carriage head, BUT the last Graphtec person that came here for help, had the blade holder in the front, cutting over the groove, and ready to throw his cutter out the window. Glad you posted it AGAIN. It crossed my mind again to post it, when the OP said he thought thicker vinyl would work better. Why? Thinner vinyl works better, not thicker. You would hope that people could see whether they are cutting over the groove or the teflon cutting strip. But I guess not, Said he been cutting for 19 years. Said worst cutter he ever ran. Blah blah blah. Nothing but user error. Those 2 holes are there for a reason.

Even though they are bottom of the barrel, they can be made to work well if you take the time to tune it and work out all the kinks. I've had one for about 15 years that has served me well as a hobbiest. Just have to know the limitations of the machine.

The $50.00 "CUT" version of VM is the entry-level. (The 'trial' or 'demo' version mentioned by Haumana above is offered for download to explore the features and interface, but is cutting-disabled). You asked about choosing between SCALP and VM, and I gave you an answer (my opinion). Illustrator is a fine design program, to be sure. Just as Inkscape can also be utilized for vector graphics, it's up to you regarding what application to work within while putting together cuttable files. If all you need is a functional way to get that cutter to work/communicate, then SCALP is sufficient (once you sort out the COM issue). I'm not a graphic designer. My work consists of text-based signage, single color lettering primarily, for banners, vehicle door magnets, window decals, job-site signs, simple things like that. My primary way to get my work accomplished is through an old software (that used to be provided with all US CUTTER machines) called SignBlazer Elements. I dont think you have a 'driver' problem, you likely have a COM selection problem.

Wildgoose -- BINGO. When I first started to work in the sign business, one of the guys at the shop where I apprenticed was a font savant. He could just look at a font and know its name, maybe a thousand of them he knew by eye.

Hey all hope your all good and people in Florida are doing well with the hurricane am looking for easy cut studio with serial number

FILE menu -- Print. (all versions) (or, click on the Printer icon within the upper toolbar, or Use CTRL+P key combo) Simples.

Before I started using plastisol screen print transfers I did many many left chest sized HTV copies and often set my Summa to run as I went to bed. It would cut a whole roll through the night (a couple times a whole 50yd roll) and be waiting there for me when I got up. I get smart later and only pull that sort of thing in dire emegencies now that I have found out about the plastisol option but I get the OP's point about letting it work while you're taking a break.

Hi I have been having some trouble lately trying to transfer special lines over to i-mark plus. I colored them magenta as per the instructions but the entire file comes out as black and white. Is there something that I am missing? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am late to the discussion but thought I would add my bit. I am not totally familiar with the PrismCut but according to the user manual, any material that has a carrier (backing) can (and I add for emphasis) probably SHOULD be loaded right in the cutter without using the mat. I am one who often pooh-hoo's the greenstar exterior vinyl along with the others but honestly have no problems with cutting and weeding it most of the time. My problem with it is longevity, but for very temporary use it's fine and for very abrasive situations it can also outperform higher end vinyl simply because it's so much thicker. For instance I prefer it for sand blast resist on glass because the adhesive lets go easier for removal after the blasting process. If you are having major weeding issues it is more likely that you're a bit out of "tune" with your machine settings. If you are having trouble with weeding HTV of almost any brand then you definitely have some dialing in to do because HTV is very easy if it has adhesive backing. Some of the styles that are not adhesive attached to the carrier will weed more poorly though. (Siser Easyweed got it's name for a reason). I suggest double checking your various settings. 1. Blade depth (more accurately described as blade exposed). You said you followed Skeeters method and so you should be fine if you did that. Be sure that your blade holder still clears the top of the vinyl just barely. Sometimes if you are actually dragging across the top it will prevent cutting all the way through. I like to watch the cut in action and make sure I can see just a little bit of light between the blade holder and the vinyl while it's working. You should be able to see a slight scratch in the carrier sheet but not feel the impression/dent from the cut on the back side of the carrier sheet. (THIS SHOULD BE DONE ON REGULAR SIGN VINYL not on HTV) I recommend doing the hand cut set-up on greenstar with is 3mil thick and then you will be good for all 3mil and 2 mil products which is most of what you will be doing. You don't need to re-adjust between 3 and 2 mil. ALSO be sure you haven't accidentally broken a tip off prior to doing this step or it's all for nothing. Tips can break if you accidentally had too much out the first time and cut through and snagged your cutting strip while doing maneuvers. If you have a high level magnifier you can sometimes spot a broken tip but most of the cheap blades that come with the Chinese machines just aren't that expensive so maybe set it aside and start with a brand new one until you get dialed in and KNOW FOR SURE how it's supposed to be able to cut. - A word about HTV vs regular sign vinyl. For intricacy HTV is more forgiving and you can also get away with more down force (cutting force applied to the blade) without it cutting though your carrier because the HTV carriers are usually plastic and are tough. HOWEVER HTV can be less forgiving if you have a dull blade or a broken tip where regular sign vinyl will let you still get the job done with a dull/worn tip. Yes they do wear a bit over time. I have had several time that I was fine when cutting regular vinyl but had major problems getting HTV to cut and it took me a painful minute to figure out my tip was rounded down. 2. After you are 100% on the blade you will want to run a test cut at a pressure that should be less than you need to cut through your sign vinyl. Too much and you may break your new blade tip right off the bat. Work into the cutting force a little at a time until you reach the point where you cut though and just scratch the backing. IF you machine has a hand built in test feature that is best but you can also just create a small square or rectangle. My machine has a test square with an X in the middle and when cut you can pluck it off the backing and also see that the X has been cut through as well. It is about a half inch or maybe slightly larger. does not waste a bunch of product to test. 3. Once you get your pressure set then you will want to check to see if your blade offset is dialed in. The idea behind this is that the point on the blade is like a castor wheel on a shopping cart and as the machine lowers it into the vinyl it may be rotated in an odd angle and then as the blade begins to cut the "castor" drags the point of the tip into the following position as the cutting head moves about the design. Once again a square works well but maybe a bit bigger like 3/4". You will want to cut the square and play with the offset so that you can see the corners of the square go from round to perfect and then to having little "tails" and figure out where the middle of those was. The number that was the squarest corner is where you want to be and you should write that down because it will be your number for the foreseeable future. My cutter says that as blade ware happens this needs to be adjusted slightly but I just run a blade about half a year and throw it away. (This was good advice I got from Dakotagrafx years ago and have never needed to look back) 4. There may be a setting called "Overcut". The above mentioned castor concept is also pertaining to this setting. When the blade reaches the end of the cut it raises back up and sometimes there is a very small piece of uncut vinyl at that point where the end meets the beginning. Overcut is to allow a little extra run-out to make sure that the two points meet. In theory is should only be a bit longer than the amount of castor built into your blade tip. Maybe slightly more than half of your blade offset and no more than the total thickness of your blade. Most cutter do not need ANY overcut, I recommend reading your manual about this IF it even offers the option. I also do not know enough about the prism to know if these settings are done directly on the machine or only within the cutting software. You will have to figure that out on your end or another user may chime in. This has been a long drawn out answer but hopefully it help you or a future search gain some cutter knowledge. There are all these settings and sometime they make no sense at first. Good luck!

Blades are readily available everywhere online. Many suggest CleanCut brand. SignBlazer has the CE3000-40 machine driver, and costs you zero. Cutters operate on principles developed in the 1950's (by Remington Rand and HewlettPackard) ---- nothing really has changed. If you are moderately competent in computer usage, you'll be fine.