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Well I have enlarged it and there is only one line. I have been tracing the files in Illustrator CS2 then importing them into artcut as eps. files. every line on every graphic I have cut has cut twice, cutting first in one direction then in the other, hence causing a slight offset. The strange thing is that it will cut a line, go and do another part of the graphic then come back and cut the second line. There seems to be no logic to the way in which it does this! Could this be a software issue? There are no settings for multiple passes of the blade in Artcut. The software does seem to be a little strange but it is really user friendly, so I would prefer to keep using it if I can, now that I have got my head around it... Thanks for your suggestions :-

Dogs aren't pets, they really are family. Very sad when a family member passes.

John - I enjoy your work and the limited conversations we have, but you are missing my point completely. I am not trying to hack anything, I am also not trying to take anything away from SB -- in fact through all of this I have always claimed that I wanted to PAY for everything! The problem comes down to this -- I am interested in setting my network up using thin clients. Thin Client information from Wikipedia: A thin client (sometimes also called a lean client) is a client computer or client software in client-server architecture networks which depends primarily on the central server for processing activities, and mainly focuses on conveying input and output between the user and the remote server. In contrast, a thick or fat client does as much processing as possible and passes only data for communications and storage to the server. Many thin client devices run only web browsers or remote desktop software, meaning that all significant processing occurs on the server. However, recent devices marketed as thin clients can run complete operating systems such as Debian GNU/Linux, qualifying them as diskless nodes or hybrid clients. Check out www.Wyse.com At my last "real" job I was a Project Manager for CSK Auto. I was in charge of New Store setup -- we were using a single server and anywhere from 5 to 30 thin clients in each store to run various operations from the parts counter. This is the type of setup I would like to use in my new shop. With Thin Clients strategically place around the shop I can access the main server and all programs and devices on that server. This would allow me to be in the front office and make changes to a design, or from back in the shipping area. With being able to access the central server I can pull up any design at anytime from anywhere. With each device you would be required to obtain a license to run SignBlazer from that device, so if I have 10 thin clients and one server I would require 11 licenses to be purchased from SignBlazer -- at, let's say $50.00 each for the thin clients and full price for the server. That way SB makes their money and I am able to run my shop my way without having 11 full PC (and all the problems and maintenance costs associated with that). Sorry so long winded, but just wanted to clear this up. I want to repeat -- I am not trying to take anything away from SB -- they make a wonderful product and deserve every penny they get. I am done now.

I was wondering how to do plotter art? I use Corel X3 and Sign Cut, do I need something else? cant figure out how to make the multiple passes to color.

I'm not thinking mine is heat related unless the fan just doesn't move enough air to keep the main board cool. It has been in an air conditioned room all its life. I have the cutter grounded to the stand but vinyl just seems to generate lots of static. I guess that could be an issue. Static causes all kinds of weird problems with computers and printers. I haven't had any failures on cuts less than 24" that I can recall. Seems like most of my cutting is either less than 24" or more than 4' so I can't really pinpoint a failure length. I don't think the complexity of the job is causing the problem because I have had it fail on 4' of 3" straight text as well as long graphic designs. But, it has also cut those same jobs with no problems. I think I can round up some grounding tensil that we use on high speed printers to take the static out of the paper. It is just a grounded strand of tensil type stuff that touches the paper as it passes through and discharges the static to ground. It should work the same on vinyl I would think. I don't know how long it would take to decide if this helped or not but I'll give it a shot.

hey, don't know if you solved this problem, but make sure when in the "cut-out" options box that "Nr of turns, objects" is set to '1'. That is how many passes the blade makes on the same line. I've only had this for a couple of days,so i could be wrong, but i think thats what the "help" file says.

I use Flexi, and never have I encountered any problems which has been brought up, it is version 7.5 and never had I had any problems with it completing cuts. I use the Roland PNC 1000 driver. In Production manager, I have it set to port com 1, 9600 bps, 8 data bits, none parity, 1 stop bits, flow control hardware and CHECKED is DTR, RTS, CTS UNCHECKED is DSR and DCD resoltion is 1016 steps per inch, 1 passes, checked is advance after plot In production manager under the advanced tab, i have nothing checked. besides 'send all colors' So I dont know why your cutter is doing this, and mine is not...

I haven't but I've had great success using simple sign vinyl for my sandblaster. I've done glass, mirrors, and steel. All with regular vinyl. You can't cut deep, but for simple surface etching I've made out great. It's alot cheaper too! I also have a lower pressure (40psi) blaster which might be different than yours. If you have a monster sandblaster or are cutting deep into stone or something that requires a lot of blasting disregard me. If on the other hand you're doing light jobs that only need a few low pressure passes, save yourself time, money and headache and use vinyl. I recommend a removable exhibition vinyl. I use Oracal 631.

Just looking for a basic cross that most people have on there windows when a friend or family members passes away .. i had 3 or 4 people this weekend ask me if i had one and the ones i have arent the best

I don't use artcut.But I can tell you it's not the cutter.The cutter only cuts the commands that are sent to the cutter.In flexisign there are settings that allow you to overlap your cuts,and even make multiple passes with the cutter.The picture I posted shows some vinyls I cut.The lettering on the white vinyls is just a little bit less than a quarter of an inch.The lettering on the black is right at a half an inch.I wish I could tell you where to locate the advanced settings in artcut,but I am not familiar with that program at all.It could be in the modem commands.But I don't want to start telling you where to look.I have problems with small letters,but the problem is in the weeding of the inner parts of the o's,p's,r's and such.It's not because the cutter doesn't cut the letters.It's because I'm old and half blind and I tend to want to weed it faster than I should.Maybe someone on the board will post on how to find those settings.(hint,hint). Bill [attachment deleted by admin]

I think the best way to adjust the blade is to take a scrap piece of vinyl you are going to use for the job,and set the blade at the depth you think it should be.Then press the test button on the cutter.You can move the vinyl back and forth and just keep testing until the blade is cutting through the vinyl and leaving a line mark on the backing sheet,but not going all the way through.You might check your software and see if you have an option to specify an overlap.That way the blade will cut how ever much you specify past the end of the fill,or circles.I have even set mine to run a very shallow cut,with 2 passes around the entire design.I think if you play with it a little,you will find that these cutters really cut.At least I have had no problem with mine,and I have logged many many cutting and plotting hours on it in a very short time.You have to check your design for those tiny holes and lines through the design.The low resoultion graphics tend to leave a stipple pattern when converted.And when the cutter tries to cut the pattern,it just looks like an area of dots.The crab art I posted was from a low resoultion pic,and it has a stipple design covering 40% of the design.It's a nice effect when you are doing a plot,but the cutters just can't cut those small circles.Or maybe it's just that I don't want to try because I don't like to spend an hour weeding a design.It may help your cuts if you slow down the cutter as well.If it's running at 24 i.p.s. or better,it tends to skip across the smaller cuts rather than actually cutting them. Bill

I use flexisign to do most of my work.I also do embroidery digitizing,and I use the software on that as well.In flexi,you have to select all the design and then go to effects and click on seperate overlap.That will split the blacks away from the colors.Sometimes I have to use the point edit tool to bring the colors to the black.But the crab was a mistake.I had set it for a dark and light red with the black outline and shading,but I forgot to seperate the overlap and got a two color red effect just from the multiple passes on the first red.Sometimes, a mistake can turn out to be better than the image in the mind.I also have my plot pen set to .010 ,so it does go back and cover the area.It takes a little longer this way,but the quality is much better. Bill

Billy, I saw the pics on your website... Awesome work! I'm curious to know how you do this. I can't understand how to get the plotter to color without overlapping unnecessarily. I mean... say you are filling in a solid area. A pen with a thinner point is going to require more passes than a thick sharpie. How do you do this? And btw, what software are you using to design the images you are printing? Thanks...