Wildgoose

I have a Summa in 30". Or are you talking specifically 34"?

Welcome from across the country in Idaho. I agree with revious comments. Proper set-up (or rather the LACK of it) causes 99% of new user issues. Hand setting the blade depth like Skeeter explained is the first and most important, then dial in your pressure from a low number by small steps like 5g each step until it is cutting through the vinyl and just lightly making a mark on the carrier sheet. I usually suggest a speed setting at around 1/4 to 1/3 the may speed your machine is supposed to be capable of. If that max is 1000 mm/sec then 250 to 300 mm/sec I think most people run around the 170 to 200 mark. I even run that slow on my $3500 machine. going faster doesn't make the cut more accurate. In similar fasion going at the slowes speed may not yield the best results either. Just a nice consistent speed that will pull the blade around corners well.

I concur. But by that same token it is also a bit of a old wives tale about the 60deg being so much better. There are also trade-offs with them also being easier to break a tip. I use a Summa and the standard factory blade is only 36deg. I can tell you from experience that I can cut basically every bit as small with the 36 as I can with a 60. Now, when it comes to thickness the 36 is limited and as you work into thicker materials the amount of blade shoved into the cut does in fact come into play and will mess around more in extreme corners. But for basic 2 and 3 mil vinyl you are probably good to go with whatever you want. I'd try both and see if you find any difference. I DO wholeheartedly support the vote for Clean Cut blades, they will outlast the cheaper blades. A quality blade TAKEN CARE OF meaning staying out of your cutting strip will give you at least 6 months of regular cutting. I have been running on the same blade for 14 months.(summa blade but similar quality as the CC) 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. The others will turn up but we moved last year and I haven't found them yet. I like you am a AI designer and no there isn't really anything that can be done in other design programs that is missing in AI. They used to have one over on Illustrator by being able to do true block shadows but with the new updates Illustrator made to let that happen it's as good as it gets. I used to have to build those manually and it was a bit more time consuming. I DO agree with people that Illustrator is a bear to master, sort of like learning a reverse polish calculator I guess. But once you figure it out I really have no desire to spend time on other programs. I am a Mac guy and I use Sign Cut Pro 1 which is outdated and hard to even find these days. I own a dongle that I paid a few hundred for about 10 years ago so no subscription fees. It's a bare bones cutter interface but has most of the cutting bells and whistles that the highest versions of the others have. It works on both platforms (Mac and windows) which comes in handy sometimes but you have to own a dongle to quickly change between computers. They have Pro 2 out now and if my dongle ever dies I'll probably consider going to that upgraded version.

I think she means that by the time she gets them to be the same size the font point size (like 12pt or 24pt) are drastically different. human, I have seen similar between programs so I suspect it's something within one or both programs and how they interpret the data to produce the text. For instance when I had my beta version of SCALP it was set up to cut from live text without having to do any outlining compared to SignCut Pro which expects that to be done ahead of time. Similarly I have an embroidery digitizing program and within that you start with a basic font size such as 1.00 which is a true inch height in that program and then if you want to you can grab the handles and stretch it or compress it to fit a given size constraint yet the program still considers this the 1.00 even though it may actually have been heavily modified. I have to be careful when doing this that I go back and actually type new text for the next file if I am building personalized names or something because if I just erase the letters and change the name for the new file they will retain that morphed size. Not the same thing you are seeing but shows that programs may treat font size and other characters differently within their circle of influence.

My pleasure. That font is a commercial font and may be hard to find a free version. At least you know the correct one and can offer it at whatever price it comes in at or a cheaper alternative if they don't want to pay to match exactly. The other cool part about the program is it gives you a list of close fonts in order of percent matching and really helps finding a similar font.

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.

You might also double check that there is no "play" in the grit roller. I have heard of some cutters (don't recall the specific cutter model) occasionally having a set screw get loose and allowing some play from forward to back etc... This could account for a gap.

I agree with Slice that many letters are not the same height. I think I read somewhere that usually the height is associated with Capital A but can't confirm this. I always use a box the size I want my text to double check regardless of settings. Most font's have letters that are different heights slightly and I have sometimes adjusted them thinking it would look better but it usually makes them look slightly off. Those people who build fonts know their stuff and visually appealing does not always = exactness. Sort of similar to how some words look better when visually centered vs exactly centered when in stacked word art. There ARE fonts that run true such as M54 jersey fonts etc... but most have some minor height differences that make little difference in the end.

Vinyl Master Pro will for sure.

In this pic you reposted they have the left one moved off the detent position and that's most likely the problem. Left set and the right slides. Your question about the cutting head is valid if the cutter is turned on in this pic because it will move over, self check and then park just inside the right roller. It could be the angle of the shot because one of the other I couldn't see the pics roller due to the carriage head being where it should be. Perhaps they shut it off and pushed the head over?

Thinking about it I realized I may have given you bad info. My brain was not engaged fully. On small pieces the LEFT pinch roller will be locked in it's detent position and the right side will slide to make the width work. Similar to if you have a 20" wide roll or any other sized full width rolls the left side goes out to the approximate width and the right side will then adjust within that 6" wide grit area to accomodate the exact width of the vinyl. Sorry to state that backwards and probably caused you additional frustration. I think any errors you are getting is probably from not having the left side in the detent and the auto-measure (called Polling) is getting confused.

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.

I can't see the far right pinch wheel. Be sure that it is in it's detent position. There is a definite spot and sort of a click sound very faint. Once it's in the corret spot then you slide the left one over until you are on the vinyl. Your left pinch roller is close to the edge but within tolerance that I use when cutting on scraps. You can cut down to about a 2" wide piece. As to it not scanning you probably have a sensor out. I've never had mine do that so I can't give you much help on that specifically. Summa offers free live tech support regardless of who owns their products. Look them up and give them a call. They are wonderful. On a side note perhaps you are using a broken blade or too much cutting force which can cause the smaller peice to react weird. Could be some gunk built up on the grit roller underneath. Summa recomends yearly cleaning with a soft plastic bristle brush. I find a stiff toothbrush works great to kind of sweep out any debris that finds it way into the roller. That particular vinyl appears to be quite stiff. Summa's usually squish a substantial track into the vinyl when clamped down. If you are having to run some higher cutting force to get through it that could be some of the reason as mentioned. If possible it's better to leave a little more sticking out past the roller (like about 1/2"). There is a spot in the machine control that will let you turn off the width sensor and some people do this but I like having it measure the width. Summ's strong pressure ususally renders the vinyl unsuable from the roller out so having a known measurement is key to making sure the whole thing gets cut. Also your D60 is a 30" machine (same as mine) and typically come with just two pinh rollers but sometimes if people are cutting heavy materials they add a third middle pinch roller which have lighter pressure and reduce the smallest possible width by a couple inches. If your machine has three you wil have to use all three.

I use Illustrator but not for print work, or at least not for production print work. I would think the magenta special lines probably need to be on a separate layer. Have you tried that? Your I-MARK software should give you specific instructions. Another possible issue could be the I-MARK software was designed for a certain version of Illustrator. My cutting software prefers Illustrator version 8 which is older and simpler than the new higher tech versions. For instance Version 8 does not support multiple art boards. You can save your work in older legacy versions within the program by using "save as" and when it comes to the screen that lets you choose the .ai format (as opposed to PDF or EPS etc.) you will toggle open the drop menu and choose an older version. There is likely something along those lines to look for.

Sounds like you're a man of many cutters!

Most of us were in your shoes at some point and understand the frustration when it seems like inanimate objects have conspired against you. At some point you will look back and wonder why it seemed so hard to get to work right. My niece has a cricuit and there are some things that it does better than what we here on the forum consider a "real cutter". Such as craft paper on the little cutting board they have. But once you're used to the real thing you won't go back. I have turned my activities into a part time business and so at the moment I use mine to make money, but I can tell you I doubt I will EVER have a future that does NOT have a cutter tucked over in a corner somewhere. Their just too much fun and too handy for all sorts of nik-naks that I don't see myself without one ever again.

If you are seeing a difference between the two it is entirely possible that your changes are not being applied to the cutter. You'll want to figure out what's going on there. My software (different than yours) has a check box to either allow or not allow the program to control the cutter settings. I personally do the cutter setting directly on the cutter. Some budget cutters do not have the ability to adjust any of the setting manually on the cutter. I never trusted the software to be completely trustworthy and it seemed prudent to make sure my cutter was doing what I told it without the possibility of some weird thing happening. I'm less trusting than some so your mileage may vary.

For beginners I usually recommend doing about 1/4 to 1/3 speed. So if your cutter goes to 600 I'd shoot for 150 to 200 to get started. You don't want to be too slow but you don't need to be slamming things around. Once you get it dialed in (And you will! Don't give up!) then you can speed up to whatever turns your crank. I don't run my $3500 cutter any faster than about 200mm/sec most of the time. If your car engine redlines at 5000 rpm it's generally not all that smart to rev it there all the time, at least that's my opinion. Each to his own though.

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!

I would cut it an inch or so wide and hand trim like you said. That way it will match really tight. You can cut right on glass without too much worry if you don't push too hard. Another option is to use a piece of app tape to make a template. Apply the tape (low tack) and then pull it up and reinstall it on top of the vinyl or even over the real app tape as a second layer to trim to. I saw similar on a youtube with a guy maing a decal for the side of a jeep hood and it worked real sweet to make a curved peice fit well. My dad once told me there are 10 ways to do a job and 7 or 8 of them are right.

if it is all one object then in the curves tab you can break it apart (quote from previous post)

Slice, I thought you had VM cut? (as well as being the SB guru)

Potentially yes if the design is all one object. If it is a grouped object then in the arrange tab you can ungroup or ungroup all or if it is all one object then in the curves tab you can break it apart. I am much more handy in adobe illustrator and have to go hunting to find the way through with VM.

The quick way is to just switch your selection tool to the object mode vs the pick mode. There is a small triangle in the lower RH corner that you can tool open and change the selection tool to the other version. This will let you select each individual parts and then once selected just pic a color over on the tools and change it.