GX 500 won't find the last crop marks. HELP!

[Signed Out]

Trying to do a large run of reverse printed static cling decals, print/cut. Printed on xj540 and trying to cut on gx500. We have done this job before with good results, but the plotter won't find the back set of crop marks this time. Only difference from the last time we did this job is we printed in 88" sheets, instead of 65" sheet like we did last time around.

Here's the process: Reverse printed clear static cling on xj540 with versaworks, 88" sheets. Then taped off crop marks, laminated with white vinyl. Carefully cut out white vinyl and tape so the plotter can read the crop marks. Load print into plotter, get it really nice and square, plotter finds the front 2 crop marks and travels to the back to find the second set. This is where the problem occurs. It doesn't travel far enough back, tries to find the crop marks but the sensor is about an inch away at it's closest point during the scan. We have tried several times, and with a few different 88" sheets (we have about 15 sheets total to do, and they are all printed already)

Not sure why it isn't traveling far enough back. Is there anyway or setting to make the sensor travel back further? Maybe mess with the Y axis calibration?

If we can't get this to cut with the sensor we could always try loading the pen tool into the plotter and manually registering the print, but we haven't had the best success doing that in the past and hope it doesn't come down to that.

 

[Signed Out]

Well, we tried adjusting the Y axis calibration to .25%, 2% and 5%. Didn't make any difference as far as where the sensor tries to read the crop marks.

Anybody have any ideas?

 

[woolly]

When it goes for the back ones does it just stop and say marks not found or does it think it's found one and giggles about before it says not found

On some of the older machines is a search limit it will travel the same distance each time but just stop at the limit and report mark not found and the enter key sign
Press the pause key it may continue

 

[Signed Out]

When it goes for the back ones does it just stop and say marks not found or does it think it's found one and giggles about before it says not found

On some of the older machines is a search limit it will travel the same distance each time but just stop at the limit and report mark not found and the enter key sign
Press the pause key it may continue

After it finds the front 2, it travels back for the back 2. It stops maybe 1-2" short and scans for the crop marks. When it fails to find the 3rd, it stops and the screen on the plotter reads cropmark error.

If only there was some way to make it travel back further before it starts to scan.

Perhaps we could setup a new print/cut file that has been stretched out 2", set all the colors to white (so no ink is used), and run some of the same material through the printer. Then we would be able to move that file over to the plotter's que, and use that file to try and cut our prints? Maybe I don't even have to actually print the file to move it to the plotter que.

Anybody ever try that?

I'm going to investigate.

 

[Signed Out]

It worked!

We measured how short the sensor was coming up to be 1". Divided that by the number of rows of decals, 15 and adjusted the size of the decal by adding .066667" to the height. Then loaded the new slightly taller decal into versaworks, entered the same quantity and tile spacing, and ripped the file. You don't actually have to print it, just rip it. Moved the new file to the plotter que, and it found the marks first try and plotter perfectly. Luckily these decals had a white background with some wiggle room, but even if there was a border in there I think it cut accurately enough that it would have worked.