small letter issues

[SCCAstickerguy]

Hey, I have been cutting with a 3000-60 24" plotter for about 8 years. Over the last couple months I have been fighting with little letters a inch to 2 inches.

They weed the best at offset -1 and pressure around 12 but I get pulls in the vinyl on ether side of Os and in sharp corners. I'm cutting on Avery A9.

I feel like I have tried just about everything and I come back to these settings that work best but give me the marks in the cut line.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

small letters are a 1/4" not an inch or 2

 

[royster13]

I never do anything less than 1" because I do not like to do them....I figure I can not charge enough for the extra time versus the cost of outsourced printed equivalents.....

 

[eahicks]

Maybe that is a small letter in his particular line of work? 1" is a small letter if he normally cuts 12" letters. Man, offer a solution instead of question how he phrased his question. Lots of that on this site....really annoying.




I have issues with our 10+ old Graphtec on letters under 1"....they do not finish cuts all the time and the letters appear warped or distorted. Cut the same thing enlarged to 3 or 4 inch and they look fine. I have tried everything under the sun. I think the next step is getting a tech in and it may need a new drive belt or something.

 

[rcook99]

I have issues with our 10+ old Graphtec on letters under 1"....they do not finish cuts all the time and the letters appear warped or distorted. Cut the same thing enlarged to 3 or 4 inch and they look fine. I have tried everything under the sun. I think the next step is getting a tech in and it may need a new drive belt or something.

Just out of curiosity do the 3 or 4 inch letters look fine do to the larger size? Maybe you just don't see the distortion because it is amplified on smaller lettering? Also just make sure you head does not have movement. Gently check to see if the head rocks clockwise or counter clockwise. Just some thoughts to try to help. I had a loose head on one of my older graphtecs and it cut like garbage. Once it was fixed I was all set.

 

[fine point]

I had a similar issue with Graphtec FC8000 with 3M Electrocut.

I was told Electrocut is great with small letter with an ease of weeding. But my FC8000 was not cutting it well (charp corners got picked up not cut clear).

I tried just about everything and couldn't fix it (i.e, speed, offset, force etc). Then I just decided to set up my cutter like it was a brand new. When I adjusted needle length, the problem went away.

I don't suppose your problem will be remedied with the same solution, but it just might be something easy that you might have overlooked.

FP

 

[eahicks]

Thanks rcook....yeah the head on it is fine. And yes you can tell a difference between small (1" or less) and larger. Really weird. If I have to cut really small (like 1/2" or less) I use the plotter on our Roland. It's super precise.

 

[Pro Image]

You need a new blade holder......it has small bearings in it and they wear out.....lets the blade move in the holder and it doesnt make the cuts right.....

 

[eahicks]

Well then ALL of my blade holders are bad....I have different ones with different blades in them....one for reflective only, one with a 60 for paint mask etc...and ANYTHING I cut in any material is bad on small scale. So that's why I think it's the belt or some other issue.

 

[Pro Image]

Does the blades turn freely in the holders....? Sometime the bearing rust up....A little 5 in 1 oil will free them up if they are......

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

Maybe all you need is a new cutting strip

 

[SCCAstickerguy]

Thanks for all the ideas so far.

Most of the small logos or letters are for things like car window stickers, small print on signs or small print in race cars graphics.

I included 2" in my question just because the issue doesn't get better till I go larger than 2".

So I'm going to try resetting my plotter, checking for movement in the holder and oil or get a new holder. I have already tried new blades.

If anyone has anything else I should try please let me know.

I have some window stickers I do a lot. For those I have them in a box with a horizontal line connecting all the letters at the best spots to weed. They weed fast that way but I would like to get rid of those tiny marks on the Os and corners.

 

[SCCAstickerguy]

It is funny, I have never replaced the strip but it doesn't look to have a single mark on it. I'm very cautious about blade pressure. But maybe I will try that anyway.

 

[d fleming]

Offset would be my first guess. Just a guess. Once you get the problem solved, for small letters I always use a weed border with a line at horizontal midpoint. It helps to split the type that way.

 

[CES020]

Clean Cut Blades. It'll be the last one you ever try.

Simply amazing blades that do make a huge difference in cutting.