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this is a real beginner vinyl question. i don't use much vinyl, and when i do i only buy enough for the job at hand.
i have a roll of shiny red something-Cal that i got at a sign event give-away. i've got my cutter fine-tuned to cutting depth and cutter force - it just cuts the backer but doesn't leave much of an impression on the underside. when i went to weed the it letters did't want to come apart from the weed. it was like it had fused back together (almost). is that typical of some brands, or is this just past its useful date? is this just crappy vinyl?
(i decided to use it on a sign i was doing for a friend. "oh, this is free, i'll use it." little did i realize it was going to take me twice as long to use the "free" stuff).
-------------------- :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: Oakland, CA :: :: still a beginner :: ::
Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
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You don't mention what kind of plotter you have but it sounds to me like you may not be cutting deep enough. We use a Gerber HS 15 and run alot of different materials such as sandblast mask and metalic vinyl. Because of this we change our blade presure quite a bit. Often I will set up small 1/2 squares and run a series at the beginning of my vinyl. I run one and if it doesn't weed well I tweak the presure a bit till I get a good weed without cutting through the backing. Then I run the job. Make sure your blade is good. The only problem I've had with "old" vinyl is that it doesn't adhere as well to things and tends to peel off. Good luck. It's always the freebies, this won't take long, jobs that seem to be the worst.
Though I've never really experienced any problems due to the age of the vinyl I do always check my cutting depth. My plotter happens to have a button for that but even without one, it really is quite simple to do.
It makes for a long day when you finish plotting a roll of vinyl 10 feet long and only then find out the blades dull or not set deep enough.
-------------------- Great White Signs Logan, Ohio
"All signs now come with new and improved vinyl." jimw@1067wwtl.com
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Scooter, run a test spot like Steve says...my Roland has a button just for that, (it cuts a little circle with a box around it) when it peels up easily, your at the right depth.
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yeah, i always do a test cut too. the little circle was cut cleanly. if i go deeper i'll just be cutting the backer. the letters are all cut cleanly -- its just that the adhesive seems to have migrated in the 1/2 hour between cut and weed -- its the "edge" adhesive that seems to be sticking. i'm afraid if i cut deeper i'll risk ripping up the backer along with the letters.
-------------------- :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: Oakland, CA :: :: still a beginner :: :: Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
that's weird, Scooter...I have lots of scrap, some are old...never had that happen,,,..what kind is it? Anything on the roll or the back? maybe it's something different....?
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skooter...what plotter you got? name brand of vinyl? the blade in you plotter how new? if we new ythese things we might, just have run into same problem........
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
sound like what i run into from time to time when i have cut a scosh to deep. there is a 2 parts to the backing and if you cut all the way through the shinney part then it wants to lift up with the vinyl when pealing the transfer tape. light-en up on the force a tiny bit.
now i have heard that vinyl has a shelf life and with age the adheasive begins to break down and not last as long on the substrate but i have come to discover that the cost of the vinyl(high performance) is worth the cost for lack of premature failure. i always tell the customer how long the manufacturer estimate the life of the addheasive and let them choose!
-------------------- "We have been making house calls since 1992"
Chris Lovelady Vital Signs
NOW WITH 2 LOCATIONS! Tallahassee, Florida Thomasville, Ga.
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Change your cutter blade. You are scoring the vinyl and not cutting it. I've had this with intermediate vinyls. I usually use 3 steps higher for intermediate vinyl and spray mask.
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Scooter I've been thinking about your problem for a while now. Years ago Oral Roberts University in Tulsa OK (ORU) experimented with making their own vinyl records. They had to stop after a while as they found that the holes in the records were "healing" themselves. Could it be that you got a hold of some Oral Roberts vinyl and the cuts are healing themselves?
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