# Vinyl Cutter Cutting Problem, Please Help!



## MM2021

Hi, I am trying to use a vinyl cutter to do some heat press prints. I am having a lot of trouble with the sharpness of the lines and corners. I attached a photo and circles my issues in red. It's almost like the beginning of the cut and the end of the cut are not meeting up leaving a gap that has to be ripped. It looks to me as if the end isn't meeting with the beginning because stopping early and/or its not stopping early and the end and beginning are just slightly off (one is above the other).

The cutter is have is VEVOR Vinyl Cutter 34 Inch Vinyl Cutter Machine

Any advice would be much appreciated!


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## splathead

How old is your blade?


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## MM2021

Hi Joe, 

Thank you for your response, the blade is brand new, as well as the vinyl cutter!


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## splathead

MM2021 said:


> Hi Joe,
> 
> Thank you for your response, the blade is brand new, as well as the vinyl cutter!


Check your blade and blade housing and make sure nothing is loose. Then call or email Vevor technical support if you still can't get it to work.


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## JynxDezyns

What is your blade offset?
Have you confirmed the artwork is faultless?


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## into the T

like Jynx said, check your vector nodes (zoom in to the trouble areas) and check your blade offset

have you tried the test cut feature on scrap vinyl to ensure everything is working?


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## caddaster

looks like the blade offset to me


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## MM2021

Hi All, 

Thank you guys for your responses. So at first our lines weren't very straight but we adjusted the blade offset and it fixed it. but it didn't fix the starting and ending point. It usually only happens when letters that have a whole or inside part but on the test we do it happens to the U. I have done multiple calibration test and the software tells me to pick which ones is the best but they all are horrible. All 16 of the different options all look the same. I have attached a picture of the calibration test. As for the vector file, it it happening when we just type a normal word on the software so I don't think it's the vector file. This is my first time using a vinyl cutter and we have done test with the offset from .2 all the way up to .9. and none of the offsets fix this issue. 

Any advice on offset settings I should know?


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## into the T

what does your manual recommend for blade offset?

60 degree blade should be 0.40 offset and the 45 blade should be 0.25, 30 blade is 0.25 (standard offsets for roland blades)
i would limit your offsets to a range of 0.2 - 0.5

try doing your test cuts with the lowest speed possible

ensure your vinyl is secure under the rollers and not shifting (use a long piece of vinyl and use the arrows to move it through and watch the edge for movement)
try using a cutting mat until you dial in your settings for the material (and any subsequent new material)
if you do not have one, go to michael's and get the cricut 24" mats, or make one with thick mylar and repositionable spray glue

your blade should barely be protruding from its housing, credit card at most
make sure your force matches your material, you want a very faint line on the backing, not a cut into it

lock your hammers away until you get it dialed in
it will take a little time, but you will get there

~


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## MM2021

Hi

So i tried at the lowest speed, and an offset of .25 and the first picture is the result. The corners are not sharp and the beginning / end thing is still happening. 

The second picture i put the offset up to .4 the corners are better but I'm still have the beginning not meeting the end issue.

My manual doesn't recommend anything for my offset, but the package of blades say .25 offset, but that clearly isn't working.


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## JynxDezyns

Changes to Offset should produce a discernable change in the cut quality, and It is not, so offset won't be your problem. Most font's have imperfections which aren't noticeable or a problem for their intended size/use but when you enlarge a 5 or 10 pixel font to a much larger size imperfections are amplified & you need to manually edit the file to remove them.

First you'll need to create a 100% perfect vector design to cut, once you know the integrity of your artwork is perfect, then you can resume experimenting with offset to perfect the cut.


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## webtrekker

What font are you using?


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## into the T

i would stick to test cuts, once you perfect that then move on

also, convert your font to a path and zoom in to the trouble areas and post a pic
then we can tell if the font is decent and it is indeed the cutter


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## MM2021

So I am using two fonts. One of them is a file from Illustrator but the other is just typing on sign master. So I don't think think it's the artwork. Also the same artwork has the error in different locations so that is another reason I don't think it is the vector file.


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## webtrekker

Well, your blade offset is definitely wrong, so you may want to correct that first.

Actually, why not try plotting the design using a pen (with offset=0) rather than the blade and see what you get? Most cutters will accept various pens. I use a Sharpie marker in my Silver Bullet machine wrapped with a few layers of masking tape so that it fits snugly into the blade holder.


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## into the T

well, at least we can cross off the file itself and focus on speed, force, offset, vinyl movement and blade depth

have you looked at the carrier sheet with the letters removed to check your blade depth?



> When setting the blade length,hold the blade holder up next to the material before pressing the material to the mat, so that you can more accurately set the length to match the thickness of the material.For really thin materials, like vinyl and thin paper, just the very tip of the blade will be protruding from the bottom of the blade holder. In fact, you should just barely be able to feel it with your fingertip and not be able to see it very well, if at all.


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## into the T

ok, i downloaded signmaster basic demo and have it running

it looks like the default overcut is way too high (mine started at 2.00), try lowering to 0.05 or 0.10

leave the blade offset to around 0.25 to start with


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## MM2021

Hi 

Thank you for your response. We have lowered the overcut already. We tried 0, .2, .5 and .10. None of them fixed the issue. So the last test we did .4 overcut and .25 offset, and it was still messed up.


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## JynxDezyns

Pointless making any machine adjustments without beginning with a cut file that is 100% correct. The machine can never be accurate if the artwork isn't and you certainly can't make adjustments to the machine to compensate for shoddy artwork.

Into the T asked about your "test cut" results in his 1st post, this is using the inbuilt test cut feature, but you didn't answer?

You said "The same artwork has the error in different locations." What do you mean?


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## MM2021

JynxDezyns said:


> Pointless making any machine adjustments without beginning with a cut file that is 100% correct. The machine can never be accurate if the artwork isn't and you certainly can't make adjustments to the machine to compensate for shoddy artwork.
> 
> Into the T asked about your "test cut" results in his 1st post, this is using the inbuilt test cut feature, but you didn't answer?
> 
> You said "The same artwork has the error in different locations." What do you mean?


This is my test cut and all of them are messed up. Ive done about 4 test cuts. 

And what I mean by the same artwork having the error in different locations is...I made one artwork. I've probably cut it 15 different times, each time the mess up in the cutting is in a different locations. One cut the mess up will be at the top of the B and the next it'll be at the bottom of the B but it is the same exact file. If you look at the second picture attached. The 2 B on the left side are the same file but the messed up area is at a different spot which means the error is not in the artwork or the mess up would be consistent.


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## MM2021

akonjil said:


> How old is your blade?


The blade is brand new, I just opened the blades and the machine.


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## splathead

MM2021 said:


> The blade is brand new, I just opened the blades and the machine.


I recommended 5 days ago that you call Vevor tech support. Have you done that yet?


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## MM2021

splathead said:


> I recommended 5 days ago that you call Vevor tech support. Have you done that yet?


Hi, yes I called and they told me to email them and they would call back with someone experienced by the end of last week. I still haven't gotten a call back.


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## JynxDezyns

Couple more things to check while waiting for tech support....

I know it's new but problem solving is often a process of elimination, so you also need to make sure there's no foreign matter like vinyl shavings or anything else within the blade holder.

I have seen similar issues with good artwork, but it was caused by trying to maximize the area available on a scrap piece of vinyl, which was allowing the vinyl to ripple at times while cutting. So in your case I would also be making sure that all of the rollers are providing sufficient grip on your vinyl and that the piece of vinyl you're cutting is not too small.

Having said that, a new machine unable to cut a satisfactory test cut definitely points to a manufacturing issue.


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## into the T

4 test cuts?

did you try the pen yet to see if it you are having issues like Jynx mentioned?

you are not even close to the number needed to dial in a new machine as a first time user of a cutter
you have to let your font go for now and focus on test cuts, test cuts, test cuts

once you get that accomplished, and you get to intimately know your machine, then you can probably get away with 4 test cuts for a new material


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## SpecMat

I would try a fresh blade. I have experienced getting a bum blade fresh out of the pack.


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## webtrekker

I check my blade tips with a 40x magnifier (jewellers loupe). It's amazing how a tiny chip or blunt edge can destroy your workpieces, even though the blade looks ok to the naked eye.


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## Audrey67

Hello
I would like to know if someone can help me!
I bought a vevor machine and no matter what settings I put, I can't get a good line


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## SciFientist

MM2021 said:


> Hi, I am trying to use a vinyl cutter to do some heat press prints. I am having a lot of trouble with the sharpness of the lines and corners. I attached a photo and circles my issues in red. It's almost like the beginning of the cut and the end of the cut are not meeting up leaving a gap that has to be ripped. It looks to me as if the end isn't meeting with the beginning because stopping early and/or its not stopping early and the end and beginning are just slightly off (one is above the other).
> 
> The cutter is have is VEVOR Vinyl Cutter 34 Inch Vinyl Cutter Machine
> 
> Any advice would be much appreciated!


I was having the same problem. I don't know if you are still having that problem, but I fixed mine by increasing the overcut to 35.


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