Bad Tracking And Skew Cuts

[Callum Lott]

Hi all ,

this is my first time opening a thread here and I'm hoping desperately for some help .

I am using a Summacut D140R for cutting labels along a CutContour set in Adobe Illustrator .

Printer : HP Latex 330

Software : Onyx 11

The problem is that my labels in the middle of the sheet are cutting way off where they should be. This , to me (Even as a youngun with Summa) , screams bowing. Alas i am not getting the correct cuts no matter what i change it to.

How do I measure how much "Bow" is happening , and what are the correct steps to ensure i am cutting on my contours?

After everything I've tried I am now starting to think it's a physical problem with the machine. e.g. Hardware/MOBO/skew grit rollers etc.




PS : The substrate is : Orajet 3164G-010 @ 1 meter wide rolls. and cuts are made off sheets not rolls.

HEEEEEELP

Callum Lott

 

[jerry369]

Are you using OPOS XY as alignment mode?

 

[bigben]

Check this link for the postnet barcode that will help you: ftp://ftp.onyxgfx.com/TechSupport/White_Papers/Summa_Changes_for_101_Cutting_Patch.pdf

 

[Dennis422]

usually you have to add a Straightness optimization setting on your HP printer.
Mine is set at -0.6.
That compensates for vinyl distortion that comes from the heat of the printer while curing.

 

[Dennis422]

You have to do it on every profile you are using

 

[ProPDF]

Call summa so they can sell you the required amount of over priced pinch rollers you actually need to hold down the material properly instead what they actually supply with their new cutters..... plus slow things down and calibrate it properly. Add a good amount of bleed to your prints too if you are not already.

 

[PHILJOHNSON]

Are you using the OPOS XY align option in Onyx as Jerry suggested? Also, just to clarify, I don't recommend adding additional pinch wheels as perfectpdf suggested. Your cutter already has 4 pinch wheels which is more than enough for the material you are cutting. In fact, I probably wouldn't even have the middle two wheels down on the material if they are currently as the outside two pinch wheels are really the only wheels responsible for tracking the material. There should be instructions for running a tracking test on your plotter to ensure the material is tracking properly. If not, send me an email to philj@summa.us and I can email you instructions.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Summa Inc.

 

[Callum Lott]

usually you have to add a Straightness optimization setting on your HP printer.
Mine is set at -0.6.
That compensates for vinyl distortion that comes from the heat of the printer while curing.

Thanks for the help everybody. If i go to print at -0.06 My print comes out in stripes . Maybe a rookie question , but how do compensate for that?

 

[Dennis422]

Here are the instructions. L360 - Straightness Optimization Plot - HP Communities
Sorry, I have put -0.6 instead -0.06.

What I did when I made adjustments? I did a regular print with decals that had to be cut and in between them I have put a few long horizontal lines that will print and later be cut.
If your cuts are below the lines in the middle of the print, you will need to go negative with the adjustment.
If the cut is above the printed line, adjustment needs to be positive number.

 

[stxrmxn]

Call summa so they can sell you the required amount of over priced pinch rollers you actually need to hold down the material properly instead what they actually supply with their new cutters..... plus slow things down and calibrate it properly. Add a good amount of bleed to your prints too if you are not already.

Don't bother spending $1000 on 2 pinch wheels they wont make any difference anyway. I have them. The image here shows a print file after cutting. Before cutting these marks were aligned perfectly on the cut strip and this is how they end up. This is on a Summa S2 T series cutter Just stay well away from them.
And just to preemt the obvious replies coming my way about the laminate not covering the entire sheet being the problem NO IT IS NOT it happens regardless.

 

[FrankW]

This is a video I have created some time ago for my old company (fortunately in english) about improving cutting accuracy. Beside common tasks there is a workaround unfortunately for Flexi only and smaller jobs what increases cutting accuracy dramatically.

 

[stxrmxn]

This is a video I have created some time ago for my old company (fortunately in english) about improving cutting accuracy. Beside common tasks there is a workaround unfortunately for Flexi only and smaller jobs what increases cutting accuracy dramatically.

Good tips but what do you think is happening in the photo i posted.
Perfectly alligned at the start.
reads the opos marks and comes back like that.
Brand new machine.
Been on the phone with summa for 3 hours today (fantastic customer support by the way)
All caliberations done.
Still the same.
Swapping the x and y motors on Monday.

 

[jerry369]

Assuming it is not a drag problem due to the type of material, has a Summa technician verified that the external pinch rollers both work at the same pressure?

 

[jerry369]

Assuming it is not a drag problem due to the type of material, has a Summa technician verified that the external pinch rollers both work at the same pressure?

I looked closer at the image, and you can see that the pinch roller on the right works on the laminated part of the material, the one on the left does not, therefore they work in different conditions.
This is most likely the cause of the problem.

 

[stxrmxn]

Thanks Jerry but it makes no difference whther the full sheet is laminated or not.