Thank You for this video. I'm about to buy the Roland VG3-640 and a Graphtec FC9000. My largest plotter (other than my current Roland) is only 24" and I want to separate the plotting from the printing to try and speed production. This was helpful for me to see how it'll all work. We use primarily CorelDraw too, so hopefully the transition will be an easy one from the software (Gerber) we are plotting with now.
Great video, I gained a lot of new info, I have a Roland printer and a Graphtec cutter, however I have never tried the die cutting as you show in the video. My question is, how bad does the blade cut into the cutting strip and how often do you need to change the cutting strip? You mentioned you use cheap blades from Amazon, but you didn't mention anything about the cutting strip or how often you replace it. Have you found a cheap source for the replacement cutting strips? Thanks,
A single run of die cuts isn't going to ruin the strip but continued used will do so over time as the blade continues to cut through the backing paper and slowly eat into the strip. How quickly that happens really varies a LOT based on how much die cutting you are doing. I have not found any cheap replacements for Roland or Graphtec strips. Well, the ones that are CHEAP usually don't have the adhesive tape on the back to where they are ready to use and apply. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!
Great video very helpful. Question how do you get the Perf cut color palette on coreldraw? I can’t for the life of me figure it out. I have the contour cut line, but not the Perf cut. I watched a video it shows you how to make your own, but it never shows up on my versa Work as a cut line just as a print line.
It's been a while since you've made the vid and tried double cutting. How has the double cutting gone for you? Save any time on cutter replacements? Thank you for doing the video. I use A.Illustrator to VersaWorks to Graphtec FC9000 and your vid helped with the confidence of setting up what I've done. Big Help.
Glad to hear it helped! I've continued to double cut since I made this video and I don't think I've replaced the blade yet. I am definitely a fan of it for die cutting with the CE6000. Having said that, I believe your FC9000 has a specific cut channel and option for perf/die cutting, so I would suspect that would be the best option for that cutter.
This is exactly what I needed! Thanks...I use Flexi and inside it of it I can reorder the cut path Have you figured out any settings on the Graphtec itself to default the origin?
I have not found any way to reorder cut paths with Graphtec and/or the CutMaster plugin. I am even in some Graphtec groups on Facebook and have asked about starting the cut from the front and working toward the back and have not seen a solution that works yet. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!
@DBG Studios Hey Marvin, I have a BN20 and just got the graphtec CE7000. I followed this tutorial for the workflow. Got the crop marks to appear in Corel, saved to a pdf and brought it into VW. I did do my design with the pink cutcontour in corel but when I have it in VW and have selected print only - it still prints on the media (5:18 in video). Also the wrench tool in my VW for my file to set custom settings and add the 90mm tail is greyed out. Can you advise on that too? Are you available to perhaps do a call to walk me thru this? Thanks.
It sounds like your CutContour line is being converted to a non-spot color which would be the cause for it printing. As far as the wrench tool being grayed out, I am not certain as to why that would be but my first thought would be to look into the Media Type (aka Media Profile) for the job. It may be that the media profile itself is limiting that ability. However, as far as I am aware the BN20 doesn't have a dedicated sheet cutter and I believe you have to manually cut the media. In which case the 90mm page space isn't really all that useful. The intent there is to leave a "tail" on the end of the print such that the cutter (either Roland or Graphtec) has additional media that allow it to be cut through the entirety of the print job. As long as you trim ~3.5" or so past the end of the printed area you should be good to go there. Happy to discuss further. Feel free to email or message me any time and we'll get it figured out!
Hey thanks for the video, I recently bought a vg3 540 but looking to get a graphtech or summa cutter because the VG3 isn’t great for pref cut, what cutter would you recommend? I just need a 30inch one because I am only using 30 inch rolls but I need a cutter that’s good for cutting die cut stickers.
Either one are great cutters. I have only used Graphtec myself but do have a LOT of interest in trying out the Summa T-Series with the tangential head.
Hey Al, thanks for the question. This was Orajet 6mil (3258). I typically only use 6mil vinyl when I do die cuts. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!
hi please can you tel me how did make coreldraw work with cm4 , i have the 2021 but get the message runnig coreldraw not found, i install the programme more then 10 times i tried everything i saw in the websites.. but success,your help will be so apreciated.(i have the graphtec ce7000 too) thanks lot
@@drivenbygraphics I can see the plug-in in the file draw and the icon of cm4/registration mark on lunch option , but when I click I got the message "Running Coreldraw Not found "
@@tonymacci7126 it's been a while since I performed the installation and don't recall running into that issue but I see via searches that it seems to be a repeat issues for many users without much in terms of finding a resolution. When you have been installing Cutting Master, have you been doing so while Corel is closed? I know you've installed so many times already but this would be my process from here... uninstall Cutting Master. Restart computer. Uninstall CorelDraw. Restart computer. Install CorelDraw, register CorelDraw, open CorelDraw, close CorelDraw. Restart computer. Install CuttingMaster. Restart computer. Open CorelDraw and see if CuttingMaster operates from there.
Do you use contour and perf cut? We print and cut with a vs300i Roland and it is murder on the cutting strip and we wanted to move to a dedicated machine but we like to do a contour cut with a small margin then the perf cut. This is after lamination. But now I am wondering if I should be tying a double cut to reduce wear.
I don't use the PerfCut at all. I only use CutContour lines and adjust cut force appropriately. Over time, it does ruin the cutting strip but I am careful in ensuring that I am not overcutting causing additional, pre-mature damage. I replace my cutting strips about once a year.
do you know how to put crop marks around each row AND use the barcode for continuous operation? I think that's what matrix copy is but I can't find any instructions or where it is for Cutting Master 4
If that material is vinyl you could have reduced the strength and save your teflon strip. Anyways, just a tad of force like 18 could have cut the vinyl, yet, let the paper back intact. Still, nice video covering all steps here.
Thanks for your comment! Yes, understood completely and I do perform kiss cuts with lower amounts of force all the time as well. In this case the customer wanted full, die cut stickers, so the intent was to cut all the way through as demonstrated :)
Yes, most models of Roland ecosolvent printers are capable of cutting as well. There are only a few of their more industrial printers (built for high production/speed) that are print only. As far as current models, their website separates the ones with Print & Cut capability from the ones that are Print only. www.rolanddga.com/products/printers
can you please help me. How does the plotter know how to cut the contour lines once its printed out the printer with only registration marks? Do I have to send it to cut to the plotter from the software? I cant manually just put the sheets onto the plotter without software correct?
Correct. Here everything was designed in Corel... I exported the PDF in order to PRINT on the Roland. Then launched the CuttingMaster plugin in order to CUT on the Graphtec. CM5 is now available for download here: www.graphteccorp.com/cutting/cm5/
@drivenbygraphics thank you very much. Does that plugin work for vinyl express? Because mine is a vinyl express q42 which is essentially a graphtec ce7000 or something. Manufactured by gtaphtec. It looks exactly the same. And how do I go about adding the plug-in to Adobe?
@@dandee28 You'd need to confirm with SignWarehouse and/or your manual to see if your cutter has the Automatic Registration Mark System (ARMS) sensor in order to read the registration marks. Many years ago I had a QE Series cutter from them and it did not. I sold it and got a Graphtec which did. As far as the plugin, the Graphtec page has downloads for both Corel and Illustrator plugins.
@drivenbygraphics oh the Arms it does have. I just checked last night. I usually use thr plotter to cut with auto films but decided I want to try it out for stickers/vinyl too. I had no idea I bought a machine that coukd do so much! Since it has the arms system I'm not sure what's the best software to use with it. Someone told me it shoukd have came with flexi but I don't see it. The tinttek software that came with the printer says it has flexi 10 but there is no digital download for it that I see. I think it's only available if paid subscription. Do you have suggestions
@@dandee28 What printer are you using? Either way, there are a few ways to go. You can use almost any design software to prepare your print files but how you go from there can vary quite a bit. There are 3rd party RIP software solutions that could streamline print and cut workflow, but most of them come at a steep price and/or monthly subscription. I personally use CorelDraw and the CuttingMaster plugin as shown in the video.
Hey Lenny! The CE6000 only has 1 blade position and does not have the separate blade position or channel specific for perf cutting. This is why I mentioned that this can really be done on any cutter with the proper force setting for your material. Having said that, this does cause premature wear on the blade and cutting strip, but I have been cutting this was for at least 3 years now and have only changed my cutting strip once and my blade a few times.
@@drivenbygraphics I printed some labels that I want to cut out. Put registration marks on, when it printed on my SP330i it didn't print the registration marks. What am I doing wrong? They are in my coreldraw page???
@@lennyamore7382 were they also on the file that you exported from Corel and loaded into VersaWorks? Also, if you are on any social platforms where we could chat directly, I could likely provide better / real-time support to help get you squared away. Feel free to email me any contact info etc. to me at drivenbygraphics @ gmail . com
I typically run it at 20cm/s, but as far as force it varies a lot based on blade and cutting strip condition. Lately, as of this comment 4/22/22, I've been running force around 24 , but I've been as high as 36. You really have to manually test and dial it in for your machine.
Unfortunately, yes. By die cutting with a machine that does not offer a separate cutting channel specifically for die cutting it will increase the wear in the cutting strip [and the blade] which will require it to be replaced sooner than normal. Having said that, I've been replacing my cutting strips once every 8-10 months [on average] since I have been doing this. Prior to doing this I would go 18-24 months between replacements. Ultimately, I feel it's a small price to pay for the capability.
@@drivenbygraphics hey bro thanks for the info I have the ce6000 120 and was tying to figure out how to do it. But I guess I’ll have to load up on Teflon strips then lol.
@@GaZaLoC1 Very welcome! I typically keep one backup and just cut as long as I can with my current strip until I notice that I'm running into issues (ie non clean cuts) and a blade change doesn't fix the issue. My strip currently looks fairly rough, but it still cuts just fine so I'm not changing it just yet ;-) Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!
Thank You for this video. I'm about to buy the Roland VG3-640 and a Graphtec FC9000. My largest plotter (other than my current Roland) is only 24" and I want to separate the plotting from the printing to try and speed production. This was helpful for me to see how it'll all work. We use primarily CorelDraw too, so hopefully the transition will be an easy one from the software (Gerber) we are plotting with now.
Glad it helped! Feel free to contact me directly via email if you have any questions. drivenbygraphics@gmail.com
Great video, I gained a lot of new info, I have a Roland printer and a Graphtec cutter, however I have never tried the die cutting as you show in the video.
My question is, how bad does the blade cut into the cutting strip and how often do you need to change the cutting strip?
You mentioned you use cheap blades from Amazon, but you didn't mention anything about the cutting strip or how often you replace it.
Have you found a cheap source for the replacement cutting strips?
Thanks,
A single run of die cuts isn't going to ruin the strip but continued used will do so over time as the blade continues to cut through the backing paper and slowly eat into the strip. How quickly that happens really varies a LOT based on how much die cutting you are doing.
I have not found any cheap replacements for Roland or Graphtec strips. Well, the ones that are CHEAP usually don't have the adhesive tape on the back to where they are ready to use and apply. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!
Thanks for sharing this very good Information.
Great video very helpful. Question how do you get the Perf cut color palette on coreldraw? I can’t for the life of me figure it out. I have the contour cut line, but not the Perf cut. I watched a video it shows you how to make your own, but it never shows up on my versa Work as a cut line just as a print line.
I sent you an email with the custom color palette which includes the PerfCutContour color as well.
@@drivenbygraphics just got it thank you so much your a lifesaver
It's been a while since you've made the vid and tried double cutting. How has the double cutting gone for you? Save any time on cutter replacements?
Thank you for doing the video. I use A.Illustrator to VersaWorks to Graphtec FC9000 and your vid helped with the confidence of setting up what I've done. Big Help.
Glad to hear it helped! I've continued to double cut since I made this video and I don't think I've replaced the blade yet. I am definitely a fan of it for die cutting with the CE6000. Having said that, I believe your FC9000 has a specific cut channel and option for perf/die cutting, so I would suspect that would be the best option for that cutter.
This is exactly what I needed! Thanks...I use Flexi and inside it of it I can reorder the cut path Have you figured out any settings on the Graphtec itself to default the origin?
I have not found any way to reorder cut paths with Graphtec and/or the CutMaster plugin. I am even in some Graphtec groups on Facebook and have asked about starting the cut from the front and working toward the back and have not seen a solution that works yet. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!
@DBG Studios Hey Marvin, I have a BN20 and just got the graphtec CE7000. I followed this tutorial for the workflow. Got the crop marks to appear in Corel, saved to a pdf and brought it into VW. I did do my design with the pink cutcontour in corel but when I have it in VW and have selected print only - it still prints on the media (5:18 in video). Also the wrench tool in my VW for my file to set custom settings and add the 90mm tail is greyed out. Can you advise on that too? Are you available to perhaps do a call to walk me thru this? Thanks.
It sounds like your CutContour line is being converted to a non-spot color which would be the cause for it printing.
As far as the wrench tool being grayed out, I am not certain as to why that would be but my first thought would be to look into the Media Type (aka Media Profile) for the job. It may be that the media profile itself is limiting that ability. However, as far as I am aware the BN20 doesn't have a dedicated sheet cutter and I believe you have to manually cut the media. In which case the 90mm page space isn't really all that useful. The intent there is to leave a "tail" on the end of the print such that the cutter (either Roland or Graphtec) has additional media that allow it to be cut through the entirety of the print job. As long as you trim ~3.5" or so past the end of the printed area you should be good to go there.
Happy to discuss further. Feel free to email or message me any time and we'll get it figured out!
Hey thanks for the video, I recently bought a vg3 540 but looking to get a graphtech or summa cutter because the VG3 isn’t great for pref cut, what cutter would you recommend? I just need a 30inch one because I am only using 30 inch rolls but I need a cutter that’s good for cutting die cut stickers.
Either one are great cutters. I have only used Graphtec myself but do have a LOT of interest in trying out the Summa T-Series with the tangential head.
Thank you for the demonstration and detail. Would you mind sharing what media you are using in this video?
Hey Al, thanks for the question. This was Orajet 6mil (3258). I typically only use 6mil vinyl when I do die cuts. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!
hi please can you tel me how did make coreldraw work with cm4 , i have the 2021 but get the message runnig coreldraw not found, i install the programme more then 10 times i tried everything i saw in the websites.. but success,your help will be so apreciated.(i have the graphtec ce7000 too) thanks lot
Hey Tony! Are you running the full version of CorelDraw or the Home & Student / Educational version?
@@drivenbygraphics hi yes I'm running full version
@@drivenbygraphics I can see the plug-in in the file draw and the icon of cm4/registration mark on lunch option , but when I click I got the message "Running Coreldraw Not found "
@@tonymacci7126 it's been a while since I performed the installation and don't recall running into that issue but I see via searches that it seems to be a repeat issues for many users without much in terms of finding a resolution. When you have been installing Cutting Master, have you been doing so while Corel is closed?
I know you've installed so many times already but this would be my process from here... uninstall Cutting Master. Restart computer. Uninstall CorelDraw. Restart computer. Install CorelDraw, register CorelDraw, open CorelDraw, close CorelDraw. Restart computer. Install CuttingMaster. Restart computer. Open CorelDraw and see if CuttingMaster operates from there.
@@drivenbygraphics yes I did that all night yesterday no success :( , by the way thanks for your videos and all your explanations ,very interesting.
Do you use contour and perf cut? We print and cut with a vs300i Roland and it is murder on the cutting strip and we wanted to move to a dedicated machine but we like to do a contour cut with a small margin then the perf cut. This is after lamination. But now I am wondering if I should be tying a double cut to reduce wear.
I don't use the PerfCut at all. I only use CutContour lines and adjust cut force appropriately. Over time, it does ruin the cutting strip but I am careful in ensuring that I am not overcutting causing additional, pre-mature damage. I replace my cutting strips about once a year.
do you know how to put crop marks around each row AND use the barcode for continuous operation? I think that's what matrix copy is but I can't find any instructions or where it is for Cutting Master 4
No, I haven't seen the barcode option in Cutting Master 4 either.
If that material is vinyl you could have reduced the strength and save your teflon strip. Anyways, just a tad of force like 18 could have cut the vinyl, yet, let the paper back intact. Still, nice video covering all steps here.
Thanks for your comment! Yes, understood completely and I do perform kiss cuts with lower amounts of force all the time as well. In this case the customer wanted full, die cut stickers, so the intent was to cut all the way through as demonstrated :)
@@drivenbygraphics I see. The only time I use full force is to cut lightweight micro pvc with vinyl applied on them. Cheers!
so can the roland cut as well? doing some research on what i should buy
Yes, most models of Roland ecosolvent printers are capable of cutting as well. There are only a few of their more industrial printers (built for high production/speed) that are print only.
As far as current models, their website separates the ones with Print & Cut capability from the ones that are Print only.
www.rolanddga.com/products/printers
can you please help me. How does the plotter know how to cut the contour lines once its printed out the printer with only registration marks? Do I have to send it to cut to the plotter from the software? I cant manually just put the sheets onto the plotter without software correct?
Correct. Here everything was designed in Corel... I exported the PDF in order to PRINT on the Roland. Then launched the CuttingMaster plugin in order to CUT on the Graphtec. CM5 is now available for download here: www.graphteccorp.com/cutting/cm5/
@drivenbygraphics thank you very much. Does that plugin work for vinyl express? Because mine is a vinyl express q42 which is essentially a graphtec ce7000 or something. Manufactured by gtaphtec. It looks exactly the same. And how do I go about adding the plug-in to Adobe?
@@dandee28 You'd need to confirm with SignWarehouse and/or your manual to see if your cutter has the Automatic Registration Mark System (ARMS) sensor in order to read the registration marks. Many years ago I had a QE Series cutter from them and it did not. I sold it and got a Graphtec which did. As far as the plugin, the Graphtec page has downloads for both Corel and Illustrator plugins.
@drivenbygraphics oh the Arms it does have. I just checked last night. I usually use thr plotter to cut with auto films but decided I want to try it out for stickers/vinyl too. I had no idea I bought a machine that coukd do so much! Since it has the arms system I'm not sure what's the best software to use with it. Someone told me it shoukd have came with flexi but I don't see it. The tinttek software that came with the printer says it has flexi 10 but there is no digital download for it that I see. I think it's only available if paid subscription. Do you have suggestions
@@dandee28 What printer are you using?
Either way, there are a few ways to go. You can use almost any design software to prepare your print files but how you go from there can vary quite a bit. There are 3rd party RIP software solutions that could streamline print and cut workflow, but most of them come at a steep price and/or monthly subscription. I personally use CorelDraw and the CuttingMaster plugin as shown in the video.
Is your cutter blade in position 1 or 3? They say position 1 is for contour cutting and position 3 is for perf cutting
Hey Lenny! The CE6000 only has 1 blade position and does not have the separate blade position or channel specific for perf cutting. This is why I mentioned that this can really be done on any cutter with the proper force setting for your material. Having said that, this does cause premature wear on the blade and cutting strip, but I have been cutting this was for at least 3 years now and have only changed my cutting strip once and my blade a few times.
@@drivenbygraphics I printed some labels that I want to cut out. Put registration marks on, when it printed on my SP330i it didn't print the registration marks. What am I doing wrong? They are in my coreldraw page???
@@lennyamore7382 were they also on the file that you exported from Corel and loaded into VersaWorks? Also, if you are on any social platforms where we could chat directly, I could likely provide better / real-time support to help get you squared away. Feel free to email me any contact info etc. to me at drivenbygraphics @ gmail . com
@@drivenbygraphics Are you able to help me???
@@lennyamore7382 please send email as requested in the previous message so I can assist further.
How do you downland registration Marks into Corel??
I downloaded and installed the Cut Master plugin:
www.graphteccorp.com/product/soft/cm4/index.html
At what speed and force do you have the graphtec setup?
I typically run it at 20cm/s, but as far as force it varies a lot based on blade and cutting strip condition. Lately, as of this comment 4/22/22, I've been running force around 24 , but I've been as high as 36. You really have to manually test and dial it in for your machine.
Does this mess up the Teflon strip???
Unfortunately, yes. By die cutting with a machine that does not offer a separate cutting channel specifically for die cutting it will increase the wear in the cutting strip [and the blade] which will require it to be replaced sooner than normal. Having said that, I've been replacing my cutting strips once every 8-10 months [on average] since I have been doing this. Prior to doing this I would go 18-24 months between replacements. Ultimately, I feel it's a small price to pay for the capability.
@@drivenbygraphics hey bro thanks for the info I have the ce6000 120 and was tying to figure out how to do it. But I guess I’ll have to load up on Teflon strips then lol.
@@GaZaLoC1 Very welcome! I typically keep one backup and just cut as long as I can with my current strip until I notice that I'm running into issues (ie non clean cuts) and a blade change doesn't fix the issue. My strip currently looks fairly rough, but it still cuts just fine so I'm not changing it just yet ;-) Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!