sarconastic

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Posts posted by sarconastic

  4. Posted

    631 is what is often referred to as Wall vinyl, it can be left on for up to 2 years and removed with no residual damage to the wall. 651 is a calendered vinyl with permanent adhesive that WILL take paint with it when you remove it. I would use the 631 personally.

    I just did a bunch of winnie the pooh characters for my grandson, and used black 631 as a solid back and then applied the layers over the top with 651, this way i didn't have to buy 631 for every color I needed.

    Kevin

  5. Posted

    I love my pen, it works for trying out intricate designs o paper before I waste a bunch of vinyl. It is somewhere in my shop, I cannot tell you where at the moment but it IS in there. If someone could tell me where to locate it I would appreciate it. I have posted enough pics on here, maybe one of you can locate it in there. Sort of like the I-Spy games LOL.

    It's a handy little tool to have none the less.

    Kevin

  6. Posted

    I have gotten to where I use an UPS unit on all my computer/cutter stuff. It not only provides surge protection but voltage regulation and filtering too. This eliminates trouble caused by brown out conditions too. Low voltage is a bigger killer than surges. A good ups will raise and lower the actual voltage and make sure it is at 60Hz constantly. The newest software I got will even send me a message when a shutdown is eminent, that way if I am not right at the machine and there is a problem I can correct it right away or shut down manually.

    Kevin

  7. Posted

    what I am curious about is, when that thread was written, there wasn't a laserpoint driver for Flexi, the new driver pack that UScutter put out has it for Flexi and I am using it, The cutter cuts great with it, and the contour cut works in it I think, I am trying to remember if I have ever tried the contour cut feature since I got Flexi. I cannot say for sure that I have. Hmmm,,, New project to check out. LOL

    Another update, I just learned that it's not a good idea to edit the UsCutter.csm file while Flexi and the production manager is open. Locks it up tighter than crap LOL.

    Kevin

  8. Posted

    I have read somewhere about editing the Driver file but You would have to search for it. I came across it a long time ago. I think on the T-shirt forums.

    There was a guy there modifying other cutters driver files to work  on ones that hadn't been added to a program.

    UPDATE. out of curiosity I went into the device file of Flexi. it's in the Flexi folder under Output devices, and check the UScutter.CSM file, and the Pcut 24 and the Lp 24 have Exactly the same setting except for registration numbers. I thought maybe the setting would be there for the Contour cut setting. then I found this link

    http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php/topic,11924.0.html  same situation trying to get the lp to work. but I would try using the lp driver first in flexi. Maybe it will turn it on somehow.

    Kevin

  14. Posted

    occasionally windows has a problem that it will reassign com ports or change settings that make them mess up. I have had machines that worked fine for years, then windows updates something and messes up the port. So sometimes it is best to go it, and delete the comm ports, reboot and let it reinstall them. If your go into your device manager, (Right click on My Computer, then select Manage, and click on Device manager int eh screen that comes up, and see if any of your ports have the Yellow exclamation point in them, if they do then there is a problem with that port. . Also you can look and see what ports you have available. Most of the time Com 1 on a pc is already assigned to an internal device like a modem or serial port plug, so when you add a USB to serial converter or a USB port it may create a new port for that device. You can go to the device manager after installing it to see what port it is and assign your cutter to it.

    Kevin

  16. Posted

    I have the LP 24, I couldn't afford a Graphtec like all the Braggarts that Chimed in here earlier  ;D, they all have one now and I am extremely jealous, but that's a whole other thread.

    The laser point is  a really good machine,,,,,IF,, your willing to take a little time and do a proper setup on it. You see a lot of posts and complaints on just about every chinese cutter made about cuts not closing, not tracking straight, etc. but 90% of those can be attributed to the fact that they either didn't take the time to set the machine up properly or simply don't have the ability to do so. There are several posts here int eh Laser Point forum on what to do tot eh machine to make it cut great. The only real downfall I find with my machine, and this will be true of any chinese machine, is that the detail level on VERY small lettering (3/8" or smaller)  that has any fancy scroll work in it can be tedious to weed. Small Block style lettering they do a pretty good job. They just weren't design to be that precise.

    I have cut everything from 2"x3" multi line notice signs to 12' long 4' high Signs with it. And on the 12' long runs the lettering was 22" tall and tracked with in 1/16".

    The Contour cut feature on this machine ia  manual version, unlike the automatic version on the graphtec. The Graphtec scans across and locates your registration marks then makes the cut. The LP you have to manually set the the laser on the points then tell it to cut. A few extra steps but doable.

    I have cut Metallic's and reflective vinyl on this machine with no trouble at all. Again your not going to want to do extremely fine detail like 1/16" scroll work but it does cut them very nicely. It wear out the blades much faster, but blades are cheap. I have yet to find anything other than the tiny detail stuff this machine won't do. I wil be upgrading to a graphtec later this year, but my trusty LP will be there as a backup till it dies.

    Oh BTW get the stand with the media basket, it makes long run stuff SOOOOO much nicer. and it does help with tracking too, it keeps your vinyl aligned better without pulling it side to side.

    God Luck and hope to see you here later asking how to do this stuff.

    Kevin

  17. Posted

    I bought a JVC Averio HD Digital camcorder, and I use it for about everything now. It's wide screen, very good quality with a 30GB internal Harddrive. Not tapes or cards needed. You can use and SD card to dump pictures to and load in your PC. I love this thing. I bought i mainly to record my band shows but I use it now for tons of other stuff. And the price has come down dramatically since I bought mine. The audio quality was another thing I was impressed with the stereo mikes in it pick up things amazingly well.

    Kevin

  19. Posted

    the really nice thing about quickbooks is the accountants review. You export all your data into a file, and dump it on a zip drive or CDR and take it to your accoutnant, He can go through everything on it, and make changes to things, like if you put something int eh wrong category, then you take it home and it updates your local copy. This helps a lot in keeping your accounting straight.

    Kevin

  20. Posted

    Signcut is what's known as Bridge software, it creates a bridge between design software and your cutter. as far as this stuff goes, it's about as cheap as it gets. $300 for the dongle version is pretty cheap. the only other program I have tried that;s even Close in price is Procut XP Junior at $375. The next ones are upward of 500+ like CoCut and SignTools 3. You might get locky and find an older version of these online. But I can't say for sure.

    I personally would recommend finding an older version of FlexiSign Pro, a much better investment in my opinion.

    Kevin

  23. Posted

    rule of thumb on old sign plastic, if it breaks, is damaged or is altered in anyway while in your possession, it's your fault. Doesn't matter that it was a piece of crap when you started, they will tell everyone you scrfewed it up.

    the quote would go something like this "Yeah I told the idiot over at the new sign shop I just needed the letters freshened up on my sign and he destroyed the damn thing. It's been up there for 40 years and we haven't had a single problem with it. He's had for 1 dqy and it's crap, Now he's saying I need a new one. "

    You get the picture. Get a waiver on every [piece of sign material that you have to remove from an old sign saying your not responsible if it breaks due to it's age. 5 year old lexan on a south facing wall will crack 50% of the time when you take it out and start moving it around in the shop.

    Kevin

  24. Posted

    I use it, and it's handy to have, but not geared towards a POS program for a sign shop. But it does help you track your accounting info and expenses. But I would recommend a consult with someone who understands accounting, it can be a real pain understanding what accounts are associated with what, whether or not your on a cash or accrual basis etc. I had my boss at my day job review mine, i took a copy to her and she set it all up for me and told me where to put stuff. She's our director of finance, she says my accounting is like playing pacman for a little while. gets her mind of the big stuff in the 5 million dollar budget. LOL

    Kevin