I am new to this site. I have been reading some of the posts and I must say I feel some what intimindated by the professionalism here. I ventured to another site about two years ago and the site has a lot of charactors with out any charactor. It is getting old. Letterville is a breath of fresh air. I have a delema and here it is: I am getting a new Graphtec FC7000-75. But I found out today it is being held up in Jacksonville Fl; because of the hurricane damage. My production has come to a halt as a result. But in a way I feel very fortunate, because I still have a house, a family and business I look forward to going to everyday, I feel sorry for the people in in the Delta region who lost everything. I have jobs which are piling up. I have good customers who keep coming back, not because I am the best at what I do, but because they have been getting their signs from someone who delivers on time and won't BS them (No offense). I think that is important. My old plotter is a Roland PNC 1100 and I am having problems with it, that I can not figure out. It doesn't close the letter all the way and is offset. Registration marks are off set. The first cut is fine but after a few minutes it starts to act up. If I cut a circle, the cut will not be complete and is offset. I replaced the nylon protection strip & still screwed up. I checked the carriage wire. I changed from a serial port to a parallel port. I repaced the printer cable to the p port. I still want to use Old Rol for back up. I give up. Help, I need to cut jobs, until my new baby gets here on the UPS truck. Here is the image of what the cuts look like which I posted on another great site I like. I wasn't able to get any help which was successful. But I appreciate their efforts.
[ August 31, 2005, 08:19 AM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
If they don't help, do a search on the forum until Timi or Old Paint chime in here.
And welcome aboard!
Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :
Welcome to Letterville Steve!
-grampa dan
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
Thanx chris for your help. The only thing I haven't done may be what the problem is. The reference you gave me helped a lot. I will try tomarrow.
Thanx Dan
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
i was on the phone with steve tuesday morning....YEA MORNING!!!!! power was out last nite, so i had to go to bed at 1 am and couldnt sleep well because of no electric....and bout 8 am..i just couldnt lay in bed any more....hence i did MORNING.....by the way steve....i dont usually get up and moving untill the crack of 10 am.....hehehehehehehehe
Posted by Catharine C. Kennedy (Member # 4459) on :
Welcome aboard, Steve- I trust you've gotten "straigtened out" by now with you Roland! Cat
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
Welcome to Letterville!!!
Posted by Felix Marcano (Member # 1833) on :
Welcome, Steve!
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
Hey Joe, I appreciate all your help yesterday. Unfortunately I haven't fixed the problem yet. Resferring to a post I saw last night,I am going to check the belt that drives the cutting head back and forth is tight. Thanx everyone, for your welcomes.
Posted by Rene Giroux (Member # 4980) on :
I have an old 15$ quill I got in the early 90s, and it still closes letters...hahaha !!!
Sorry about that....Welcome to Letterville Pal !!!
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Welcome Steve. So, what have you tried so far that's failed? (I only ask for the benefit of future people in the same need)
Without checking Chris' threads, you need to do a testplot without a computer attached to the plotter- this'll let you know if the problem is the plotter or in your computer.
( Turn plotter power off. Load vinyl & plotterblade, Set pressure to least amount. Press the up-arrow on the plotter keyboard, & hold it down while truning the power on. Release it. It should do a testplot telling you it's a PNC1100.)
Check the blade holder to see if it wobbles, too.
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
I did a test cut like you said and it cuts fine. I cut in flexi and I have dual operating system 98 on one drive and XP on the other. I cut Casmate pro on 98. It has the problem on both programs. The blade holder is tight, but the carriage moves about 1 inch along the rail, but it does not wobble.
[ August 31, 2005, 09:36 AM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
In my opinion, if the test-cut is fine, then the problem is not in the plotter- suggesting some software hiccough/hiccup in the PC or the printer cable. You say you switched cables, so that should eliminate that.
Do you use a printer switch box? Sometimes contacts inside them can heat & expand and lead to false instructions reaching the plotter- try a direct cable maybe.
How long ago did it last work fine? Can you do an XP System Restore to a time before it used to stuff-up?
I'd be retrying getting new drivers from RolandDGA.
Good luck!
edit to add I can't make flexi work our Camm1 under XP at all. I (dual) boot into W98 just for plotting, or use a USB key to transfer the file to an old W98 PC, and plot from there.
[ August 31, 2005, 09:47 AM: Message edited by: Ian Stewart-Koster ]
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
This problem has been gradual, And then one day it became significant.
Posted by Laura Butler (Member # 1830) on :
Check and see if there is a firmware upgrade/patch.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Can you try loading some software & drivers on an 'old clunker pc' & see if it works properly from that?
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
I trying to see if my laptop will cut
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
When I try to send it, It says that it can not communicate with production manager, the may be a personal firewall......etc. I have to leave for about a half hour and I will check the post when I get back. Thanx for all your help!!
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
I'd uninstall the plotter/printer drivers, then reinstall them. Ensure you have the right version for the operating system (98, or 2000 or ME or XP).
Try reloading flexi too.
There's a gremlin in the works & sometimes uninstalling & reloading is the only answer when other logical solutions fail
I'm off to bed for 7 hours, so good luck!
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
When I try to send it, It says that it can not communicate with production manager, there may be a personal firewall......etc. I diconnected the firewall and did a test cut from production manager and it works, but if I send from flexi I keep getting the error message about the firewall....Help!
[ August 31, 2005, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
There are two programs in Flexi that need to have full server rights granted by your firewall. Every time my firewall even thinks of an upgrade, I have to reset these permissions.
They will be in the C:\Program Files\Flexi\Program directory. The files are:
App.exe App2.exe
I hope you get everything working. Plotters are called that for a reason--they are all conspiring against us!
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
Thanx for the info, but what you said is above me. I can go the these files, but what do I do when I see them?
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
if you got a win XP loaded on a hard drive i hope you dont have SP2 LOADED...it will cause multiple problems. iam with ian..if the test cut works fine then it your software of conputer....
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
Joe I ran it on another operating system (98) on a different design program (casmate) and it still cut horrible. It starts out ok, but after 4 or 5 lines it starts to screw up. I turned off auto updates a long time ago. I do not have sp2.
[ August 31, 2005, 07:42 PM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Joe..Win XP SP2 isn't the answer to all problems!!!
If it were, I would have formatted the last 2 computers whaen I bought them and installed Win 98 SE on em!!! (NOT!!)
Since I know absolutely nothing about Flexi or CasMate, I can't offer any advice to Steve. But, from what he says, this is a problem that started out small and has escalated.
I would think that the problem is with the Roland, not the software/cutting programs.
But, what the heck do I know?
(I do know that there seems to be just as many people who blame WinXP SP2 for all of the world's problems as there are those who blame Bush for the same problems! )
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
WinXP SP2 caused all that flooding in New Orleans.
Posted by Jason Davie (Member # 2172) on :
Welcome Steve!!
Jason d
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
Are you saying people say Bush scewed up sp2? I don't think he knows how to operate a pc. He's much too busy for that.
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
I am ready to cash it in on the plotter. I've done everything.
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
Thanx for the welcome JD.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Steve..Sorry I can't offer any constructive insight..
I have owned a couple of Rolands, still cut to a CM 24, and love em..but I never owned a PNC 1100 and definitely don't know squat about either Flexi or CasMate.
Joe was probably your best bet..
(My above comments to him were "humorous"..we are friends)
And YES.. Welcome to the Bullboard Steve!
[ August 31, 2005, 08:03 PM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
Posted by Robert Lambie (Member # 4258) on :
Welcome aboard mate, this is a great place like you said, jam packed with talent!
Look forward to hearing your views on the new Graphtec; I already have an fc5000 series and considering the new model out to replace our Roland 48inch. Any feedback appreciated.
[ August 31, 2005, 08:30 PM: Message edited by: Robert Lambie ]
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Steve, perhaps try a cut from Corel- any version from 7.2468 or whatever it was, onwards.
So far I can't see what you've eliminated totally-
the problem is either in the plotter- mechanical, electronic, or a combination. If a test plot works, that suggests the problem is elsewhere.
or the problem is in what connects the plotter to the PC. Renew cables, and DON'T use the serial one, just the printer one.
or the problem is in the PC. In which case, it ought not to be mechanical (like a badly plugged-in printer cable) so it's a software problem.
If it's a software problem, you need to see if it's the operating system (& it's idiosyncracies), a driver problem, or in the program that created the file.
Changing computers, uninstalling & reinstalling the vector program & drivers should help eliminate whichever is not the problem.
Have you gone to RolandDGA & downloaded the latest drivers for the O/S you use?
Other than that, I'm out of ideas, but best wishes. I have had that same error message in the past, and as I mentioned earlier, I fixed it by: 1. Load Win98se. (fresh) 2. Load the plotting program. (fresh) Maybe even try corel- Dave Grundy has a really good file on plotting from there, stored somewhere on a thread in Letterville. 3.Install the drivers via their own installation exe file. (afresh). 4. Run Ghost or some imaging program to create & store an image of that working version on your system, so future fixes can happen more quickly.
5. That fixed it for us!
I can't help you re firewall permissions & altering that approach.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
take the plotter over to john, see if it will work from his.... dave dave.....only other problem is the canadian version aint the same as the USA SP2!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahaha. SP2 DONT WORK WELL WITH OLDER FLEXI/CASMATE PROGRAMS...they were designed for 95/98!!!! i have XP SP2 on my laptop no problems....but iam not running old programs....COREL 10 is the oldest.
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
I don't have sp2 on any of my machines
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
I have SP2 and run Casmate and Flexi just fine. I have the dual boot 98 also and kept it to run Casmate because folks said I needed to 'cause XP wouldn't run Casmate. Wrong...it does.
I don't know anything about Roland's, but certainly suspect the problem to be there. Isn't there anyone at Roland you can call?
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
LOL Steve! . . .Quote: "I ventured to another site about two years ago and (that) site has a lot of characters with out any character. It is getting old. Letterville is a breath of fresh air."
We DEFINITLEY have a lot of characters with character here!!!
Welcome to Letterville!! Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
And speaking of a breath of fresh air....I must say judging from your picture you are in that same catagory. Thanx for everyone's help & welcome. I spoke with a rep from Roland today and I still haven't made any progress. I did find out why there is a hold up on my new FC7000 which I purchased last Thurs. Are you ready for this????? It was last scanned by UPS in New Oleans. Of all places!!! It arrived on the 29th there and it sits; most likely under 2ft of water (or under the arm of a looter). I called Sign Warehouse and got nowhere with them. UPS was no help either. I must admitt, I was not as patient as I should have been. So, I put it in my wife's lap and she charmed the hell out of both them It worked! They are sending me another plotter today. (Shipped around the Delta this time) Moral: When you want something, yelling goes nowhere, but charm will get both feet in the door. One foot in UPS and One foot in Sign Warehouse. Left up to me, my feet would not have been in their doors, but in another location.
[ September 01, 2005, 07:09 PM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
Steve, not sure what you have & haven't checked yet but I had an issue where my Roland looked like a drunk with an exacto cut everything. Still not sure exactly what fixed it, but some things to try...
Delete all Roland drivers from the machine. Empty recycle bin after deleting so everything is gone from machine.
Re-download & re-install the driver.
Remove blade from blade holder & clean the heck outta it. I couldn't believe the amount of ick that accumulated around the blade. If you have a pen, put that in, do a 'cut' and see if the pen acts the same as the blade.
Tighten every screw, check belts, etc. in cutting head.
Make sure it's on a level sturdy surface.
Move it to a different part of the room, maybe it's having issues in it's current location.
Threaten it with a sledge hammer or threaten to take it for a long ride down a short road (that used to straighten out the lynx from hell I had)
[ September 01, 2005, 06:51 PM: Message edited by: Kissymatina ]
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
I already threatened it with the replacement of another machine.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Steve,
You said in essence that the characters with character in Letterville are a breath of fresh air. Sometimes, you will find, they are also a breath of hot air.
Fresh air or hot air, they will try to help. Welcome to the Windy City!
Posted by Patrick Whatley (Member # 2008) on :
Welcome Steve.
Had the same problem at one time of another with both our Roland plotters. Both times the cable was bad. The insulation around the individual wires was cracking and causing interference. The first time we had to replace the parallel cable with a genuine Roland cable to get our PNC 1000A to work. The second plotter (can't remember the model) used a Wal-Mart cable.
Both times Roland tech support failed to be any help at all.
Try plugging in with a different cable. If that doesn't work then just go throw the thing in the river.
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Dave is right, Steve, sometimes the Heads get to be a breath of hot air, or they get to be hot Heads about some stuff! Don't let that scare you away!
The info found here is invaluable, & the people are really good. You've GOT to go to a meet, too!
Sorry I can't help you with your plotter problem, but i wanted to say, "Glad to meet ya!"
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
Pat, I would take you up on throwing it in the river, but it would take a quarter tank of gas. Also the breath of fresh air was merely metaphoric. The longer I am on this site, I start to see the some of the bad air. It is sometimes refered to as; "Dairy". Over all it is the best site I have been 2.
[ September 01, 2005, 09:57 PM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
The ordeal I have been thru, with the inclusion of the people who lost everything in the Delta region, has been a terrible week for me. At least from the stand point of getting back on my feet and getting caught up, is a relief.
After proof-reading my post, I feel some what guilty for having a some what selfish demeanor. All things considered I am happy to have a family and a home to go to. The response has been great & I do whole heartily thank everyone on this forum.
[ September 02, 2005, 06:31 AM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
(but is the plotter working yet ?)
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
The winner Is: Michael Latham - Signdogopie. Give this dog a bone. He noticed my whining and emailed me with his phone number. Hit the dot on the eye. My plotter will now cut the way it was designed to. I noticed the other day, when I removed the cover, the lateral movement of the carriage had a one inch play, but it was solid on the rail. I also noticed a screw (see photo) that was under the cable that moves the blade holder back and forth was not doing anything but starin at me. So, I designed an offset clamp and fastened it to the the cable to remove the play. I next ran off about 300 letters of the alphabet, and a fuzzy feeling came over me. It was shootin straight just like John Wayne (when he was alive). I am now officially back in the Biz. Anybody need their truck lettered? My momma told me to stay away from the message boards, she said it would make me go blind. But you guys proved her wrong. Thanx in bunches!!
[ September 02, 2005, 12:44 PM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
see them rolands are hard to kill....heheheheehehe
Posted by Steve Trumbo (Member # 5962) on :
But Sign Guys are a dime a dozen. But with the price of gas going up, I'm sure that will go up also. This is the cheapest gas i could find. Only in the history books..... And Argentina!
[ September 02, 2005, 02:19 PM: Message edited by: Steve Trumbo ]
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Glad to see you got the problem resolved Steve. Naturally, I have made a mental note of THAT screw!
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