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If anyone has a Vinyl Express plotter, please see if you can help me out. I am having problems with the tracking. From one end to the next my vinyl is moving over 9/16". This is happening on runs that are less than 4 ft long.
When it cuts the weed boxes it is cutting the letters. I don't know what to do. I called tech support and they are no help. Told me to line up the vinyl with the holes and lines on the plotter. (DID THAT). Tried moving the vinyl over as far as possible so that during the run I won't run off the edge. This is not working. Then they told me my plotter must be dirty (NOPE, TRY AGAIN!).
I have tried all different sizes, thicknesses, brands and types of vinyl from 3 mil endura gloss to 2 mil avery HP and 7 year reflective in 15" and 24" rolls. I don't know what else to do and I can't keep ruining rolls of vinyl.
PLEASE HELP!! UUGGHH!!
Thanks in advance.
------------------ Amy Brown AMBO Design Lake Helen, FL jabrown@cfl.rr.com
"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"
Posts: 3502 | From: Lake Helen, FL, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
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Amy....Over 1/2" in only 4 ft seems like a lot of drift!
A couple of first impressions...
Do you always line up one side of the vinyl with the guidelines? (sometimes when a full "log" is slit by a supplier the one edge can be "wavy" and since the plotter alignment lines are so close together the "wave" could affect the actual alignment. Maybe try aligning to the other edge instead)
Do you pre-unroll the amount of vinyl that is going to be consumed, or let it pull off the full roll? I find drifting usually occurs when I forget to pull off the amount I am going to be feeding through the plotter so that the plotter isn't fighting the weight of a full roll.
Does the drift occur in the same direction all the time? (the gudelines etc. may be off kilter)
Does the drift ALWAYS occur?
Can the pressure on the pinch rollers be adjusted?
After putting the pinch rollers down and then releasing the pinch rollers, does the vinyl and backing slide off the pinch rollers easily or does it take a bit of a tug to release it from the grit rollers? (it should take a bit of a tug)
Is there any little round bits of vinyl or backing on the grit rollers from the punched vinyl?
Has this drift been occuring since the day you got the cutter or has it just started happening?
Those are the things I can think of that you could check out or think about. Maybe if you post a reply to these questions someone can come up with an answer for you.
------------------ Dave Grundy AKA "applicator" on mIRC "stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!" in Granton, Ontario, Canada 1-519-225-2634 dave.grundy@quadro.net www.quadro.net/~shirley
[This message has been edited by Dave Grundy (edited May 14, 2001).]
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how long ago did you buy this cutter...and was it new...if so tech support better get off ther a**....or box it up and send it back if less then a yr old....and go buy a roland....if its used ....not sure what to tell ya,,,,
------------------ joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-944-5060 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND
Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I just want to note that someone from signwarehouse.com called as I was typing this and they don't know what it is either but are sending me a replacement.
Dave,
I usually hold the roll of vinyl with right hand and pull it from the center front with my left hand. Have done it that way since I got the plotter back in December 2000. Just started having problems in the last week or so. I have tried it uses the flanges for the ends and just placing the vinyl on the rollers without a change.
I haven't ever unrolled the amount I need before starting the cutting. Always just let it feed off the roll. The directions that came with the plotter state that the roll should be taut to start off.
I can't find any way of adjusting the pressure on the pinch rollers but it does stay in place securely. The grit rollers and pinch rollers are spotless.
I guess it is up to them to figure it out. I sure can't!!
------------------ Amy Brown AMBO Design Lake Helen, FL jabrown@cfl.rr.com
"If only my toddler was better with paint & computers!"
Posts: 3502 | From: Lake Helen, FL, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
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Amy, Occasionally I have some drift in my stuff too. The one thing I have found that helps me is putting the pen in instead of the blade and seeing what it is going to do. If it feeds alright, I kick it off line, use the control panel on the cutter to set the origin back to where it was, put the blade back in and cross my fingers.
Have you figured out a way to stop it from feeding about 5 times the amount of vinyl you need before it cuts? With mine, It wants to feed a bunch of vinyl, then back up and start cutting (I think it's called polling). It feeds more than it will need to cut then goes back to the beginning. I have some small stuff I was trying to cut and ended up having to start a new roll when there is more than enough left on the old roll, but the cutter thinks it needs 10 yards of vinyl on the roll to cut 3 inch letters. Any ideas?
------------------ Chris King Paper Works & Graphix Indiana, PA
Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Amy, Almost forgot. I had problems the other day about cutting letters. Seems some contours I did in Draw a few weeks ago, I had cut fine. Tried on Friday and it wanted to cut the lines inside the letters. Go into the cut/plot window, Advanced settings. make sure Auto-weld is checked. Then hit Cutter driver options. Make sure custom head and custon end tabs are both set to NONE. See if that works. Remember, switch your blade out for the pen to see if it cuts right. I don't usually use the easy-weed feature, so maybe try it without that too. Good luck and let me know what happens.
------------------ Chris King Paper Works & Graphix Indiana, PA
Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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The reason it unrolls all that way before it cuts is to relieve tension from the roll...It's called auto-unroll-media (on my gbc cutter) Most of them have an option to turn this feature off.
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