Wanted; Mutoh Falcon Jr Mentor

[John L]

I recently purchased a Falcon Jr and a Vinyl Express Q100 cutter package from Sign warehouse. I use Flexi8 software. I've been in the sign business since 1983 but I just cannot seem to get the hang of this printer/plotter setup for the life of me.

I try to follow SW instructions, call and wait on tech support, then follow their instructions, all to have issues come around again with the very next job down the line. My main trouble is contour cutting... SW doesn't seem to have an explanation of placement of the graphics that will work so that the plotter will be able to pickup the registration marks.

People that use this equipment must have figured this all out, and that's what I need, the simple explanantion of what will work, each time... where to place the graphics to be printed, which marks to use, where to place them, where do you never place items to be printed (so as to not cause trouble with the contour cutting) etc, etc, etc..

My question... Is there anyone with the same printer/cutter/software within 50-60 miles of Hagerstown, Md. that would so courteous and generous as to offer me a little of their time to show me how to use this stuff? I would, of course, pay you something for your trouble, or bring you some lunch, or some beer, or whatever tickles.

By the way, our shop is located just north of Hagerstown, Md. but most all of my work goes to clients in Central Florida. Just to be clear, I am not asking for someone to train their competition.

Thanks in advance.
John

[Bradster941]

By the way, our shop is located just north of Hagerstown,
Thanks in advance.
John


Not sure why your location says Orlando, but to each his own.

John, I can't help you out much as I'm on the up side of the learning curve as well.

Taking a guess, your getting a "Scan Mark Error".

To solve this, advance your print 5 inches before you cut it off.
( Hold down SHIFT, and press MENU for a second).

That way there is enough media to advance in the "SHEET" mode on the Q100 for the "ARMS" to read the back Reg. marks.

If that doesn't work, increase your REG MARK SIZE from the the default .25 inches to the actual size they are on the print. ( Probably .75 inches).

Also, in Production manager you can grab and move your graphics around by holding down the left mouse button, (hand), and center it.


Hope this helps a little.


Bradster.



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[Bogie]

Bradmeister, that may have fixed a problem or three for me... I've been fighting with a Mutoh Falcon Jr (with photoprint 5dx) and a graphtec CE5000 for a few days now.

[PMG]

dont feel bad guys,i have a MAJOR contour issues going on with mine,seems to be the norm on these machines......... wish my cat cutter would cut and print ,because i have more issues with the Graphtec Pro 7000...Than i ever had or never had i should say with my cat!!!!

[Flame]

Well, I can't drop by, but you can drop me a call sometime and I can give you a few minutes of my time. I'm no expert, but I've played with this machine for a little over a year now and know it pretty well.

[John L]

Bradster; I have a small shop very near Orlando also (Auburndale, Fl.) but most of my work is done at my larger shop in Pa. and then shipped down to Orlando. When I first set up here, I was probably at the Orlando shop. Monday, I will increase my space left at the end of a print cause I have probably not been leaving enough... what about the sides? any minimums to maintain there? When you stated "increase your REG MARK SIZE from the the default .25 inches", do you mean the default in Flexi?

Flame; I appreciate that. If I am unable to get this going Monday in some dependable form, I will PM you and maybe try to call you if you do have a few minutes.

Many thanks,
John

[Jackpine]

"I will increase my space left at the end of a print cause I have probably not been leaving enough... what about the sides? any minimums to maintain there?"

Leave 1 to 2 inches at the beginning and end of print. I leave 1.5" at the right side. This will leave room for the pinch rollers and allow the ARMS to work properly. At the maximum, in the best setup, you will lose 2" in the cuttable width. I don't push it if I don't have to. All these setting are done in the RIP.

[bob]

...deletia...
I try to follow SW instructions, call and wait on tech support, then follow their instructions, all to have issues come around again with the very next job down the line. My main trouble is contour cutting... SW doesn't seem to have an explanation of placement of the graphics that will work so that the plotter will be able to pickup the registration marks.
...deletia...

Assuming that you're using Flexi or a clone and you're using the 'Contour Cut' effect to define your cut lines...

Leave at least 2" on each side and ~5" at the rear. If you don't have this clearance, tape a scrap piece of media to the offending edge. It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be there. Flexi, if left to it's own choices will try to leave you 4" margins which is probably overkill, but can't hurt.

The thing here is to not try to be a media miser and try use every square inch. A penny wise and pound foolish approach. The margins are as much a part of the job as the print. That's why you calculate media cost as the number of linear feet unrolled, not the square inches/feet/whatever of media printed or cut.

Note that on prints much longer that ~30" or so the system seems to have a hell of a time reading the registration marks. This was improved somewhat when Scanvec or someone increased the size of the registration mark search area but it's still not ready for prime time in my never humble opinion.

For large stuff, consider going manual either with the bombsight marks or your own registration marks that you create and position. That's another lesson.

[Sign-Man Signs]

I think it's time for Sign Warehouse to (1) Stop selling this package or (2) Start posting answers to these questions on this forum, I'm sure they read it everyday. Come on Sign Warehouse, step up to the plate!
Call me anytime 352-528-6090.
:help: :rolleyes:

[bob]

I think it's time for Sign Warehouse to (1) Stop selling this package or (2) Start posting answers to these questions on this forum, I'm sure they read it everyday. Come on Sign Warehouse, step up to the plate!

Since some manage to use these systems with good effect it's hard to hold Sign Warehouse responsible for those others that don't.

While it is inarguable that Sign Warehouse has its warts and foibles, lack of comprehension on the part of any particular user is most definitely not their problem.

[Sign-Man Signs]

Since some manage to use these systems with good effect it's hard to hold Sign Warehouse responsible for those others that don't.

While it is inarguable that Sign Warehouse has its warts and foibles, lack of comprehension on the part of any particular user is most definitely not their problem.

While I agree that "Lack of Comprehension" is not a SW problem, it should be stated that when selling such a package it should come with tech support for the idiot (myself) included that bought into the idea or sales pitch that a cut and plot system was not the way to go and would "save you money". There is no doubt that those that have a problem my not have the skill or knowledge to understand binary code but are just asking for help by posting a request for help in this forum. It's to bad that some people think they are stupid. It's hard to see that when you see yourself as all knowing and all seeing. Again, SW, step up to the plate, there's a problem. Not to much to ask for for a $10,000 dollar purchase.
:Oops:

[Bradster941]

When you stated "increase your REG MARK SIZE from the the default .25 inches", do you mean the default in Flexi?


John


On the Q plotter menu I found a registration mark sub menu. In it was registration size. Mine was set at .25 inches though the actual printed size of the registration was 3/4" so I changed that setting from .25 to .75 inches.

Keep in mind, I don't know what I'm doing, I was just farting around with it while waiting for tech. support to call back. :rolleyes:

I do believe though that my problem was caused by not leaving enough media on the back side causing the rear media sensor to be uncovered which meant the media could not be advanced far enough to read the rear registration marks.


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[Bradster941]

Just wondering John if you got 'er working?



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[John L]

Sorry brad... yep I did get er going. And many, many thanks for the tips (to all). I believe my issues were a combination of not leaving enough margin and improper initial setup.

I later found another link on these forums to some videos (which SW didn't provide me, but maybe they weren't finished when I bought my system).

The videos that helped me are at http://www.signwarehouse.com/support/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=view&parentcategoryid=16&pcid=6&nav=0,6

If the guy in those videos is ever looking for a job, he has a new home here.

Take care!

[John L]

On my Falc Jr control panel I currently have my settings at;

Vacuume - High
Quality - The gem
Resolution - 1440 (both lights lit)

My heaters are at;

Front - 50
Fixer - 45

I print on the LG calendered media. Do these settings sound right for general sign type and decal type vinyl printing? Am I wasting inks? Doing harm? Wearing out the machine in any way? Any thoughts appreciated.

~John

[bob]

On my Falc Jr control panel I currently have my settings at;

Vacuume - High
Quality - The gem
Resolution - 1440 (both lights lit)

My heaters are at;

Front - 50
Fixer - 45


The vacuum and heater settings are indeed controlled from the printer's front panel. The resolution is not. The resolution is set programmatically via your RIP and/or printer driver. What you might have set on the front panel doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot.

Leave the vacuum on high. The only reason you should ever use anything but high is if you have some super delicate media that would be harmed by sucking it down hard on the platten.

Your heaters are in the range of correct. You'll get the hang of tweaking them, especially the one under the heads, a few degrees up or down to suit your ambient temperature and humidity conditions. There's no algorithm for doing this, you just develop a feel for it depending on what's coming out of the printer.

[John L]

Thanks Bob,

As far as developing a feel for the heat... I noticed once that the vinyl was ever so slightly wrinkling right under the print head. I lowered the fixer temp by a couple degrees and it seemed to stop that.