How to contourcut with Corel X4-Illu CS3 and Signcut pro with three reg marks

[NukleoN 34]

As usual, more good tips.

In Signcut, there is only one option for offset that I see, and that's mm. There's no 'inches' setting for blade offset thankfully. However, I set my offset to zero and it works perfectly! I did set it to .25 once but my cutter didn't like it. I might try some smaller values in the range you mentioned. For pen I use zero, as instructed.

You just gave me a great idea about the outline....making it at the very edge of the vinyl instead of inside. But, I did get the most perfect contour cut ever today. I had a small line, and then space and then the contour, and they perfectly matched...but this is hugely depedent on getting the most perfect alignment possible when doing 3-point calibration. I like your idea of just doing a thick contour and letting that be the border (and cutting inside that).

Here are a few things I learned along the way:

-When printing with your inkjet, border or borderless works about the same as far as contour cutting. However, 'borderless' is not always an option with some print styles.

-My first black decals were not very black, and more of a sad dark gray (I wanted the blackest black). I changed my printer setting to 'black ink only' and the problem was solved.

-If you're printing on specialty metallic paper from Papilio, use a 'normal' resolution (fine) and regular paper setting. Set to 'black ink only', and make sure your paper size is correct. I got weird crackly ink patterns when I used 'photo' or 'best photo' settings. 'Graphic' setting worked the best. This knowledge came at a good cost of ink and paper.

-A4 paper is not the same as American 'letter' size. A4 is a European standard, and is a little bigger than 8.5 x 11 letter size. Careful, coz some paper for printers is A4, but most of it is Letter. Make sure you know the size paper you're printing on for your documents in Corel, Illustrator, etc.

-Forgetting to rotate your contour 90 degrees inside SignCut is a nice waste of expensive Papilio paper.

-A USB numeric keypad rocks for aligning your Laserpoint, since you can look very close and still make adjustments. Hit 'Enter' on the numeric keypad to advance to the next calibration point.

-Some specialty papers require either more knife pressure or a deeper cut (Papilio Glow in the Dark inkjet vinyl).

-Nice to let the ink dry a bit before cutting, and especially before weeding (thumbprints have a way of showing up in fresh prints).

-Your contour cut is only as good as your calibration. It pays to make triple sure (hehe) that your points are perfectly aligned. You can cut the same cut twice for thicker vinyls if you don't move anything.

I'll share more insights later. This is a great thread Paco, thanks.

Oh, if I want to use over-laminate, should I apply the overlaminate right after printing, and then cut all together?

[CRD 9]

I have more.

Use a wireless keyboard!

You have to use the CTRL and ALT key to make small steps to jog the laser.

This is how I align.

By the eye I make the paper as aligned as possible in the machine.

I start the CC.

I put the laser pointer inside the boundrybox

I go to the first mark and take the vertical line by ALT + arrow right.

When the laser point is on the vertical line I perform one time CRTL + arrow left.

The I jog with ALT + arrow down untill the laser hits the horizontal line.

Then I perform one time CTRL + arrow right.

Then the laser is in the edge of the corner precisely as can.

Do the same for the other three reg marks.

You can set up when a file is imported in SC it is automaticly rotated 90 degrees!

Search for it yourselve 

best to dry the print then overlminate and then contour cut.

Paco

[NukleoN 34]

You're right Paco, wireless keyboard would work, except I hate wireless mice/keyboards. Can't stand keyboard batteries going out when I am healing a 25 man raid in World of Warcraft! Hehehe. With my numeric keypad, I just use the 5 button to cycle between big, medium, and small jog movements. It's kinda nice too that it's always near the cutter, and it's small and light, and easy to use without looking at it.

Thanks for the tip on overlaminate contour-cutting. I'll find out how to do that 90 degree rotation on import for SignCut!

[NukleoN 34]

Ok, I am having contour-cut issues again, which I've already written to Paco about. I am just putting it here so others can benefit from our discussion.

I've been using zero blade offset in signcut which was working fine, but now my contour cuts are all 2mm too low now. I tried .15 and .25mm offset and my cutter hates it...really sloppy cuts. I've read that .25 is the correct offset for a 45-degree blade which I am using.

I tested contour cutting again with the same file I am using in Illustrator, but this time using the pen plotter and zero offset. It works fine and as expected. However, when I put the blade in, it's off by 2mm or so lower than it should be. This is all very odd since my cutter was doing fine with the cutter blade and zero offset, but now it's off and it's consistently off every time. It's horribly annoying and costing me dollars in wasted ink (and paper). 

Offset doesn't seem to make a difference. I tried .25mm offset and it's no help. I've checked the blade and there's no extra vinyl or anything blocking it, but I am getting consistent cuts, just incorrect cuts.

[freebird1963 11]

I am test driving the scp with a refine mh 721.

Are the instructions in the paco manual still the same ? I see in these posts the laserpoint one is the only cutter mentioned.

Thanks

Mark