Larryc39 0 Posted January 3, 2009 I've never gotten the hang of using the plotter, I mainly use it for larger 4-5" block shapes and the minor issues were ignorable. I'm trying to cut some smaller graphics lately and these are giving me a problem. First, is this graphic in the photo cuttable on the LP24? It's some sans serif fonts, converted to curves in CorelDraw, outer dimensions 1" x 3". On my larger items there was always a slight pucker when the ends met, sort of like a small J mark. Changing the blade offset in SB to 0.25 seemed to reduce this. For cutting smaller things, I've tried pressures from 70-120, 120 seemed a little better, and taken the speed all the way down to 10. I've got the blade set almost all the way into the holder, I can barely see the tip and it's juuust cutting through the vinyl any less and I don't think it'd be weedable. When it cuts the small letters, normally straight solid characters come out looking like a cartoon all curvy and bendy. What else should I try? I ran test 1 on the machine, it created the small box cut but that also seems to close with the J-edge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,220 Posted January 4, 2009 So far you're off to a good start. I personally found the cleanest text is if you can actually use the text in SBE, rather than it being converted to a vector file for cutting. Regardless of method,generally any text smaller than 1/4" is going to give you grief. Tiny text is a huge pain. Sounds like you got the blade situated perfectly for your use. The keep the pressure you have. Slowing down the cutter should have minimized any radius in the corners. The LP isn't the most precision cutter out there, but it works well. You could also double check your vector file and see if there are any unnecessary nodes in the corners that might be causing the cutter to stray a bit. Others have also had better "closing cuts" using Flexi Starter or other cutting software. You can usually download it the software and test drive it for a bit. It might be worth trying just to see if it's the software or the cutter. Another thing that might be worth trying is a 60-degree blade. Many here, as well as myself, found that for smaller or more intricate cuts the 60-degree blades do a better job. I changed to a 60-degree to run a special project I was working on, and haven't bothered to go back to the 45-degree blade. Good luck. Keep on posting, as we all want to help you get to where you going. Keep us posted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Larryc39 0 Posted January 4, 2009 I'm not using an actual font, I take a base font in Corel, convert it to curves, and modfy it to the shape I want. SB is just used as the printer interface. I'm a little confused how to get the test cut box to be square. I need to fix that before worrying about software issues. Any suggestions on how to fix that, the corners are bad and the criss-cross at the start point doesn't help. (PS I noticed the forum resized my pics, here's links to the two full size to see them better.) http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h318/larryc39/misc%20junk/plotter1.jpg http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h318/larryc39/misc%20junk/plotter2.jpg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cutme 5 Posted January 4, 2009 wouldn't it be easier to print all of that on adhesive vinyl and cut out a rectangular decal? bb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,220 Posted January 4, 2009 wouldn't it be easier to print all of that on adhesive vinyl and cut out a rectangular decal? bb too easy? Larry - since what you're cutting is really only text, why aren't you just doing the layout and cut in SBE? Any text under 1/4" is a nightmare to weed. the test cut on the cutter has nothing to do with what SBE spits out. I can't say that any of the test boxes I cut ever came out with absolute 90-degree 0-radius corners - it comes close, but not absolute. the only thing I can think of is if you post your issue to the LP Support bulletin and see what kind of solution that Ken comes up with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Larryc39 0 Posted January 4, 2009 cutme - I'm not sure of your suggestion. I'm weeding out the background to use this as a stencil mask, I hope. haumana - As I mentioned, it's not really text, I had to convert a real font to curves and tweak about half the letters to match the font I needed to reproduce. I've got Corel and Visio already I use for gfx. I'll post over there, my testbox isn't even close to 90 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cutme 5 Posted January 4, 2009 larry; you did not mention you wanted a paint mask. i think the big problem evryone is having with these cutters, is the x y axis compensation on the plotter itself. the problem does not show up until you cut something small and proportionate. if you have not downloaded and read completely the lazerpoint manual here... http://www.knittelfamily.com/new%20folder/laserpoint_manual.pdf page 9 specifically. the plotter seems to come from the factory with incorrect settings. i set mine to the settings in the manual and the small cutting improved. but your results may vary. also i am going to suggest (i know kenimes and others have said to the contrary) and this takes some trial and error. crank the blade adjustment up until you can see lots (about 1/16 of an inch) of the blade sticking out. then turn the cutter pressure way down ( i have gone as low as 80 on some vinyls) so you are only cutting the vinyl and not the backing. hope this helps, it works for me. bb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Larryc39 0 Posted January 4, 2009 OK, last time I was here there was no manual yet. I had something in semi-english for a CTO Serial Cutting Plotter that appeared to be for the same base plotter. I'll have to play with those settings then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cutme 5 Posted January 4, 2009 yes, i learned a lot when i read through it myself. it is very helpful. bb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
