Brettomitus 0 Posted May 19, 2009 Alright i have dug through every forum page and help thing i could find. There is no explanation for the problems I'm having with Sign Blazer Elements and contour cutting. Here is a list of the issues and what i have tried. 1. There doesn't appear to be any way to do tile printing. Ive got stuff larger then i can print on a single page and i need to cut them into thirds. I have done this with Illustrator CS2 to work around the SBE program. However it is still making things extremely difficult. 2. I set my work board space to the size of print on vinyl paper i have to work with 14x17. After importing and fitting my graphic onto this space i click print. When SBE forwards to the print screen, margins are mysteriously added to every side of the work board space. There appears to be no way to remove these margins and setup-> Printer Settings, still says I'm working with a 14x17 even though the rulers clearly tell me otherwise. Ive worked around this by manually resizing the document back down to 14x17 so i can actually print. If i don't re-size the document, it gets scaled down to fit on the paper size. Effectively ruining the sizes of my text and graphics. 3. Ok so here is the one that is really screwing me over seeing as the other 2 infuriating issues i have found long and frustrating ways around. After i print i go over to the cut a print screen. In this screen i am met with a page size that seems completely un-editable. I go to settings and change the page size to 14x17 and OK the changes. THE PAPER WILL NOT CHANGE SIZES it is stuck at 8.5x11. Ive clicked and un-clicked every setting and change i can find and it will not update the page size. I even guessed that the program was just being retarded as it has been and ignored the screen and proceeded to tell the cutter the location of the 2 registration marks. It of course started cutting the letters as if they were on and 8.5x11 so no workaround there. It also brought me to my last issue which i cant seem to work around either. 4. every time i try to cut anything more then a square or test cut the blade retracts and wont cut anything. I think it is the cap that keeps unscrewing but no matter how i set the pressure, the blade retracts mid cut and stays that way. The blade is no longer sticking out of the cap a little like its supposed to when cutting completes. So i go and reset and retest the blade pressure and depth till it works perfect and try again but the only way i have gotten the cutter to actually finish cutting a larger image is by screwing the the blade all the way out and trying to set the pressure for that. It cuts fine on some things and others it cuts all the way through the backing all within the same cut. On a side note i have downloaded Sign cut x2 and i despise the interface. However since i couldn't get SBE to do what i want, i thought i might try to figure it out. I got far enough to get it to try and print (where i cant turn on registration marks anywhere unless i insert them by hand which does me no good for contour cutting) and the program throws a huge table onto the page telling me useless info about what im printing and magically resizing my work to fit said table over a 1/3 of my paper. If anyone can tell me any fixes to any of these issues it would be a huge help however the one i need answered the most is why in the heck my cut a print page wont let me re-size the page. I have 32, 16x40 signs/logos to make and people are waiting. I really do not want to return this machine but all these issues are driving me towards it. Brett Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 OK, I'm replying to my own post to help others out. So working with Brandon on the US cutter tech support we have managed to figure out at least the cause of some of my issues and fixes for some. Its definitely enough to get things rolling again. Ill answer my own issues in the order i posted them. 1. I just missed the button on this one its under the setup screen once you go into print. 2. I guess the margins are forced on the print screen and there is no work around other then to make things smaller. The cutter has to have those spaces in order to cut. 3. This one here was the big one fixing the cut a print page size and the solution even took the Tech a couple hours to figure out. The main issue is actually my printer i have a cannon pro 9000 a really nice larger format printer. It came with special software to operate it and for some reason when my printer is set to my Cannon the cut a print screen goes haywire. My printer was mysteriously overriding the sign blazer software. Brandon fixed the problem by simply switching the printer to a different one before entering the cut a print screen. Voila everything updates and the page sizes change. 4. So far on this one i have not tested the changes Brandon made on anything really large and detailed. But by switching the cutting settings to normal rather then anything fancy like clockwise or best tracking it has stopped missing cuts in the middle of my vinyl sheet and the blade seems to be remaining set in depth and pressure. I did notice that the times my blade retracted back into its housing were when it got close to or off the edge of the paper. If you get really stuck like i did, call tech support all the guys are friendly and helpful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
midwaste 4 Posted May 21, 2009 I had the same problem with the workspace looking fine, then I went to print and it resized and was not centered. When you say "switched the printer to a different one before entering the cut a print screen" what do you mean? Set your default printer to a different printer? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 Yes he changed the default outside the program and once we re entered the SBE program page sizes updated however... On more inspection and testing i still have not gotten the page size on the cut a print page correct. It does update when i restart the program or sometimes when i start a new document but its still not the correct sizes, at least its no longer 8.5x11. I am going to try some more stuff. I may end up uninstalling my printers and see if that clears all of this up... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
midwaste 4 Posted May 21, 2009 I never did get it to work, up to and including uninstalling and re-installing SB. I printed the page out with reg marks fine from SB. However, when I go to cut a print, the sheet size shows up as 8.5x11, but my 8.5x11 design is not centered on it, and no amount of moving the design around inside the workspace changes anything on the cut a print. The reg marks are still on the corners of the page, offset from where they are when I actually print a page, so it doesnt cut right. Edit: This is the last post I made on the subject: http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php/topic,3222.30.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 Dang that is strange... I am going to assume you use the sign cut X2 or flexi then right ? Yeah Brandon the tech reinstalled my program 3 times he even gave me a fresh copy from his own PC but it was to no avail. Only thing that seems to change page sizes is moving defaults to another printer and yeah that is still causing issues cause the other printer i have can only do 8.5x11 and i need to print larger then that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
midwaste 4 Posted May 21, 2009 No, I just never got it to work. I don't really need it anyway, I was just trying it to see if I could cut some labels out. You should still be able to change the printer back to whatever printer you want to use, even if the default is set to something else, right? Set it to default outside of SB, then choose a diff printer in SB? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 just been trying that its a no go either... changed the size and printer for a print but go to cut and its back to the ole 8.5x11 again which i cant change Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
midwaste 4 Posted May 21, 2009 How are you changing your workspace size? Using the drop down at the top or the manual adjustments below that? It looks like it might be working for me now, but I havent tried 11x17. One things for sure, if you try putting the reg marks in opposing corners, rather than on the leading edge only, it screws it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 I have tried using the drop down and the manual settings neither one seems to effect the page size on the cut a print screen but i am reinstalling my canon printer right now to see if with just the basic drivers i might be able to use it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
midwaste 4 Posted May 21, 2009 I used the bottom manual adjustment and it worked, as opposed to selecting the actual page size ( on the top. Also, I went to the Print screen, Setup, Printer Configure, then Properties of my printer (Epson 1400), then changed the sheet size properties in that screen, OK, OK, OK and it changed my Print screen workspace to 11x17. However, when I go to cut a print, it still is 8.5x11. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brandon_Davis 1 Posted May 21, 2009 Thanks for the Credit... I did some more looking into your issue and I have tried your issue with like multiple different printers at this point and I am getting results that confirm our conclusion and findings... I am really interested in this issue please post anything further you find out and I am glad we were able to move forward with our fix. How is everything going as of now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
midwaste 4 Posted May 21, 2009 Did Brandon verify that it even has the capability to cut larger than 8.5x11? I can't find anything about it in the documentation. Thanks for popping in Brandon. Are you aware of anyone having success contour cutting sheets larger than 8.5x11 with SBE? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 Yeah I'm still hitting the same wall after reinstalling my printer... I tried switching to another printer as default and after entering the program adjusting the settings in the print screen. I'm now getting a different page size/work space on each screen: work board, print, cut a print. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 I adjusted my sizes for work space to 8.5x14 (legal) and on the print screen when i update it to legal. The document suddenly goes to like 10x24. If i finish that and go to the cut a print screen im looking at a about 20x14 document... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brandon_Davis 1 Posted May 21, 2009 Which printer are defaulted to at the moment.... I have some down time right now if you wanted to call back in...? -BD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 Just tried calling i got voice mail... Ive got the printer defaulted to an old HP laser jet and the page sizes are locked up again on the cut a print page and the print page is way out of scale like 5 to 10 extra inches beyond what i set paper sizes to... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brandon_Davis 1 Posted May 21, 2009 I was helping this person from another post.. LoL... Call me now if you would like I am sitting in front of the phone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brettomitus 0 Posted May 21, 2009 guess ill try catching you tomorrow you guys are shutting down shop right now anyways Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheister 1 Posted December 8, 2009 was this ever resolved. I am having the same problem. Print a cut resizes page and nothing corrects this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
