Printable Stickers (die cut problems)

[Richard Lewins]

Hey Guys,

Just wondering if anyone out there has experienced the same problems that I'm having at the moment with die cutting stickers on a Versacamm,

The problem..... When I print and die cut a rectangle shape the blade as it goes round a 90 degree angle will nick the corners hence turning up the edges and making them look a bit ragged, also it sometimes doesn't quite get into the corners, so the shape is perfectly cut apart from the corners leaving me struggling to pop the shape out of the vinyl

Circular shapes and most others are fine on the other hand are great and pop out of the printable vinyl at ease,

I'm wondering if anyone has any specific settings the use for different shapes or advice on rectangular shapes...

Thanks in advance

Richie

[mrtn]

There are limited reasons for such behaviour:

1) check if the blade offset is 0.25 mm. This is most likely not the problem but it needs to be set to 0.25 with standard blades
2) check cutter protection strip on the bed. Replace if it has any grooves in it. The grooves will allow the vinyl liner to anchor on it and let the blade get too deep in the media
3) check if the blade is well. A good magnifying glass helps. The tip has to be intact. If in doubt, replace it.
4) check the cutting force. Quality work cutting sharp corners in standard vinyl and good blade cannot be done with over 100 grams downforce as it makes the blade go too deep and the blade width at vinyl layer depth is too big for it to turn corners well. Think of it as an elefant in a porcelain store.
5) check the blade rotating in the holder. Use a piece of vinyl for it: remove the blade holder from the machine, try to mimic cutting tiny circles on the piece of vinyl in your hand. Be careful not to break the blade, it's pointy and breaks easily. The less pressure you apply the better you notice the resistance. If there's any resistance in rotating the blade around its axle, replace both the holder and the blade and leave the "bad" one for large jobs and backup.

[Richard Lewins]

Hi Martin,

Thanks for your tips, I'll try this today and let you know how I get on,

Thanks

Richard

[Kai Perry]

Hi Richie,

You can also try lubricating the blade holder.

Have a look at this support document.

[Richard Lewins]

Hi Guys,

I have tried a new blade in the Versacamm machine to no avail, I'm still having the same problems,

When I'm using the Versacamm to do transfers for T-shirts and so on, everything is fine at 100 grams of force, its only when I come to use the Sticker Vinyl that I encounter problems,

I have tried starting at 100 grams but this won't cut the backing paper, I've moved up to 120 grams and 150 grams, still won't cut the backing paper, 180 starts to cut it but once again leaves the corners ragged, I must say this only happens on rectangular shapes when I'm using sticker vinyl....

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated...

Thanks

Richard

[Rob Goleniowski]

Hi Richard

Just wondering which blade you are using? For the best results with die-cutting / perf-cutting you are best off using the heavy duty blade (ZEC-U5025). This has a larger cutting surface and is better suited to cut through the backing paper as well.

It is tricky to get a paper backing to cut very cleanly as the paper always leave a little furry edge and you actually don't want the design to be cut fully out as little tabs help keep the design in place until it is fully cut. Some vinyls have a different backing materials as well (polyetheleyne as opposed to paper) and this also gives a better cut on most cases as the paper cuts more cleanly.

Hope this helps.

Rob

[sawdust]

Hi Richard just wondering why you want to cut the backing paper I just contour cut the vinyl to be removed when applied

[Richard Lewins]

Hi Rob,

I think mine is just a standard blade, I will order a new heavy duty blade and give that a go,

The reason I need to cut the backing paper is that my customers who want stickers need them die cutting, I couldn't just give them a big sheet with all their stickers on it...... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

Thanks

Richard

[sawdust]

I see what you mean but we just manualy cut them individualy

[Kai Perry]

Hi Richard,

Instead of using the CutContour feature to try cutting through the backing material, you need to use the PerfCutContour feature.

The standard way of cutting is not designed to cut completely through the material, it should only lightly score the backing material, so that if you are doing a multi colour job you can see where to place in the other colours, so you can complete a sign in a single lay.