mor1287

Alright everyone....I got it fixed. It did turn out to be the blade holder. I bought a cheap $15 non-oem one from Amazon today for same day delivery and it just came in. Using the same blades that gave me the issues earlier....the cuts are now perfect with this new blade holder. In fact, the cuts seem to be even better than I ever had with the original blade holder so I'm assuming it was always worn out a bit when I bought the machine used a few years ago. I honestly don't understand AT ALL why the blade holder would cause this issue...I'm assuming the bearings inside (which I do oil every once in a while) caused the issues. I appreciate everyone's help.

The new blades definitely did not cut into the strip. This "test" sample I attached in my post is with a brand new blade, first cut, and I had it barely stick out of the blade holder to the point where it wouldn't even cut through the first layer of the vinyl. It literally just touched the first layer at a very low down force and it still caused those white cuts. Before I started this topic, I did take apart the blade holder and tried to clean it the best I could. I'm not sure if there could be anything else in there. One thing I forgot to mention is at the same time this problem started happening, I also noticed that some of the cuts began to not meet at the ends. Meaning if I were to cut a circle for example, the end of the circle wouldn't meet perfectly with the beginning. That's another reason I'm beginning to think the blade holder could be the main issue.

Wildgood and bikmike...I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. I'm not talking about cutting perfectly to the edge of the image. My designs have an outer stroke and I cut inside of it. My issue is that when I cut over the print, it just suddenly stopped cutting cleanly and now you can clearly see the cut, almost like the blade is scratching the material. Attached is an example I just did. Zoom in to see the cuts. Dakotagrafx, does this actually sound like a blade holder problem to you? When heat pressing this onto a dark shirt, it looks terrible. This is the first time I've been unable to fix this issue in 2 years and like I said, usually it's just a dull blade but now I tried 4 brand new blades and the issue still happens. My blades are only sticking out enough to tough the liner of the material, and as I said I've been doing this for 2 years now so that's definitely not the issue.

I have a GCC Expert 24 LX and used it for over almost 2 years now with no serious issues. Usually when my contour cuts begin to show white edges on the image, a simple replacement of the blade fixes it. This time new blades didn't make a difference (I tried 3 brand new CleanCut blades!). I also tried replacing the cutting strip, adjusted the cut pressure down to the point where it doesn't even cut all the way through...still the white edges. A few things probably worth mentioning: 1. A strange thing I noticed is it's leaving a lot of debri on the material along the cuts. This has never happened before. 2. This began happening right after a project I did on Friday that involved a heavy vinyl that put out a lot of debris. I took apart the blade holder the best I could, cleaned it as best as I could an also oiled it. But still didn't help. I'm clueless at this point...could the blade holder itself be the problem? On some areas of the cuts, it looks perfect, but the majority shows white edges. If anybody has any idea what could be happening here please let me know.

I'm sorry I somehow completely looked over your last post in here. You asked what the reason was that I needed a new blade. I primarily contour cut on Inkjet heat transfer paper (not ideal but it's paying my bills for now). The issue is that the blades got dull quickly and I had to keep increasing the force in order to go through the top layer. While that still worked, it caused the edges of the prints to be white (I guess the dull blade caused it to lose ink), but the bigger problem was it became impossible to use application tape to lift up the design. I learned that when forcing the blade too hard, it pushes the material deep into the backing paper making it impossible to use application tape. Also, I'm realizing that these Chinese blades just don't work properly which is why the corners are lifting. I did some test cuts of squares and text and they were not accurate...pretty bad actually. I played with the offset and still couldn't get them to be accurate. I thought it might be the blade holder (which I oiled and cleaned) but I just tried the Clean Cut blades again and they cut the squares and text perfectly. I ordered more Clean Cut blades yesterday and I will give it another shot with putting the blade deeper into the blade holder. If it still doesn't do the job, I'm thinking I may need to try 60 degree blades since the inkjet paper is thicker than most vinyl.

I tried your suggestions with some 45 degree Chinese blades that arrived today and I'm running into some weird issues that make absolutely no sense to me. I hope one of you have an idea of what's going on here. First, I tested on Siser Easyweed Stretch with the blade barely sticking out and it worked beautifully at a downforce of 50g. Then I raised the blade just a bit, tested with Paropy Premium Inkjet paper (much thicker and has a different texture than regular vinyl...very grainy...using a cutting mat every time) on a hard surface to make sure I go just deep enough. But then I had absolutely terrible results when I actually tried to do a real print. The main problem is that the corners kept lifting as you can see in the attached image. I'm assuming it's because I have to use a stronger downforce, 90g or higher in this case. Any lower and it just would not cut through the first layer. I tried adjusting the blade up and down slightly and the downforce up and down slightly but got the same results every time. Literally spent hours doing this. VLCD (the software that comes with my GCC Expert 24 LX) doesn't have a setting for speed but I'm estimating about 25cm/sec and I don't believe that's too fast. Then I decided to go back to the 1/2 of a credit card's thickness to test the inkjet paper further and it completely resolved the corner lifting issue and the cuts came out perfect. I'm completely confused about what's going on here. Does it sound it's an issue with this paper?

There is so much misinformation online about how far out the blades should stick. I literally see that "1/2 of a credit card" suggestion on every website. What about the downforce setting? I thought the amount the blade sticks out doesn't matter much eitherway if the downforce is set low enough to not damage the wax paper backing.

After a ton of research, I've found most people to recommend Clean Cut blades. However, I bought the 3 pack from USCutter and each blade lasted no more than 2 weeks before I had to switch to a new one. I don't even cut much (approximately ten 11x17 inkjet heat transfer sheets a day) and I definitely don't use too much pressure (around 25g downforce on my GCC Expert..any less pressure and it will not cut the vinyl). I have the blade sticking out about 1/2 of a credit card's thickness and my cutting strip is new with no issues. Can anyone else recommend blades that last longer?

Has anyone had success using a mask for Jet Opaque 2? I've tried Stahl's High Tack tape and it's too strong. It ends up ripping some of the paper along with the weeded design and it also pulls some ink off of the design after heat pressing it.

I actually have an Epson 7600. I haven't used it yet because it was just recently given to me by a relative and I was planning on using it for the decal stuff. Would this be suitable without needing to laminate? Or am I simply out of luck and need to buy a thermal printer? dee10w....when you say "sub printing" are you talking about sublimation? I currently use sublimation on aluminum plates as a part of my business and have seen iPhone decal sublimation sheets from Conde. I'm trying to stay away from premade sheets like that but if you know of vinyl that I can sublimate, I'd really appreciate the help. I'd much prefer printing directly to vinyl and using a cutter but if that requires a new expensive printer, I'll just go the sublimation route if I can find the right vinyl for that.

Thanks for your help. It looks like I need to do more research after reading your response. I didn't know that you had to laminate (I know absolutely nothing about that). I honestly thought it was as simple as printing on the vinyl and being done with it before cutting it. My goal is basically to be able to do this: http://www.decalgirl.com/info/installation.htm

I've been doing some research and planning on adding custom decals (for cell phones, laptops, etc.) to my business. I've come across other forums where people claim that they use Oracal 631 or 651 with their own image printed on it. However, when looking through the USCutters store, those models are not on the Printable Vinyls page. I'm just a bit confused about this....Can all vinyls be printed on? My goal is to be able to print multi colors graphics on the vinyl (both glossy and matte). I didn't realize there were so many different types!