Reaction GFX
New Member
(If you were following my last post regarding which new plotter to buy, after getting my FC7000 back up and running via the serial port, I've decided to try to squeeze every ounce of life out of this machine...mostly because cash is really tight and I just can't afford a new one right now. Thanks, COVID!!!)
I've always had issues with print-to-cut registration accuracy with this machine. It's mostly noticeable with small contour cut decals, because it's only off by .5-2mm in each direction. I usually print extras and then send my file to cut, let it cut a few, then cancel and shift my cut layer in Illustrator to compensate and re-send. A pain and a waste of time and materials, but it's generally worked for the most part. After manually compensating for initial shift, now it seems the cut will start out looking acceptable and eventually drift, usually to the left (towards front of plotter).
My workflow is as follows: set up file in Illustrator, adding a separate layer for the contour cut. Use CM4 plug-in to add registration marks, print file on my Epson S40600 via Onyx GammaPrint, laminate, then load into Graphtec and output only cut layer to CM4 and send to plotter from there. Adjust as necessary (see above).
My first instinct is it's a media feed issue while printing. Measured my print after lamination and it still matches the file exactly. And shouldn't the plotter compensate for that anyhow when it scans the marks?
What should I check, tweak, adjust, etc. to hopefully correct this? It's really starting to get old.
Decals in attached photos are 1.25" wide x .8" high, so the black border is only about 1mm all around when cut perfectly. First row on far left is acceptable, but you can see it start to shift once we're a few rows into the job. Am I just asking too much of this plotter? I feel like sometimes it is off by even more...
Thanks!!
I've always had issues with print-to-cut registration accuracy with this machine. It's mostly noticeable with small contour cut decals, because it's only off by .5-2mm in each direction. I usually print extras and then send my file to cut, let it cut a few, then cancel and shift my cut layer in Illustrator to compensate and re-send. A pain and a waste of time and materials, but it's generally worked for the most part. After manually compensating for initial shift, now it seems the cut will start out looking acceptable and eventually drift, usually to the left (towards front of plotter).
My workflow is as follows: set up file in Illustrator, adding a separate layer for the contour cut. Use CM4 plug-in to add registration marks, print file on my Epson S40600 via Onyx GammaPrint, laminate, then load into Graphtec and output only cut layer to CM4 and send to plotter from there. Adjust as necessary (see above).
My first instinct is it's a media feed issue while printing. Measured my print after lamination and it still matches the file exactly. And shouldn't the plotter compensate for that anyhow when it scans the marks?
What should I check, tweak, adjust, etc. to hopefully correct this? It's really starting to get old.
Decals in attached photos are 1.25" wide x .8" high, so the black border is only about 1mm all around when cut perfectly. First row on far left is acceptable, but you can see it start to shift once we're a few rows into the job. Am I just asking too much of this plotter? I feel like sometimes it is off by even more...
Thanks!!
