# Offset???



## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT IS OFFSET and what it does?
Ive been cutting tshirt vinyl and using some of the offset #'s others on this forum have posted and have way different settings that actually work for me. 
How does increasing/decreasing the offset affect the blade cut?

Thank you.


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## princessracer (May 31, 2009)

I'm not completely sure on how it works.. but I can tell you about my fun times with them.. 

I got my cutter, and figured that the offset should be 0 because, well, i dont need anything to be "off set" i needed it to be dead on. First mistake. Then, 90% of my text, especially small text, wouldnt close. 

Called tech support, it should be 0.25 (I think, it says on the box your blade comes in) and I havent had a problem with text yet. 

So, now I use the offset =D


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

cool, thank you. Ive found my offset works best at .25 also.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Because blades are cut at an angle, you need settings to compensate for that. For example, in ACS Studio we have both an Overcut and a Trailing Blade (Offset) setting, where Overcut will cut "a little further" on a closed path to make sure the image is completely cut. If it's set to 0, and you try to cut out a large circle, you'll see that the circle is still attached to the waste at the end of the cut. But when we set it at, say, 15, it cuts a fraction further and the circle is completely cut. The Trailing Blade setting is similar. It makes sure that corners are nice and sharp. If you have it set to 0, then a cut square will be a bit rounded due to how the blade travels around the corners.

The best way to see exactly what happens with an Offset is to set it kind of high and then draw a rectangle with a pen in the cutter. That's what I've done below. Since a pen nib isn't cut at an angle, it doesn't require these settings, thus the effect is exaggerated and you can see what that setting is actually doing.


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

Thanks, had a friend over last night as i did a shirt and he says "WOW, ..how easy is that!"
hes right...anybody can press ..its the setup thats hard.


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## zigax (Jan 19, 2009)

Hello, can some help me with my offset problem. My FOISON C24, after a new installation of FLEXISIGN cuts the same way as in the Linked picture above. In corners there are litlle "hooks". In linked picture it says that this happens when plotting with pen. 

But as far i could remember i didt choose anywhere to plotter with pen , but with knife. (it remans same if i change offset value in FLEXiSign- now its 0,31) ...i didnt change anything in overcut option - should i do this?

Thank you very much!


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

offset is the distance from the center of the blade to the actual tip that cuts on the blade. It will need to be adjusted for different blade types such as a 45 degree or a 60 degree blade. The measurement is 0.25 mm or 0.45 mm for a 60 degree blade on most units.

Hope this helps!

~Steven


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

In the screenshot, I was showing what happens if I have knife selected, but then draw with a pen instead of cut. Because a pen doesn't need an offset or overcut setting, the impact of those values are clearly seen.

If you are cutting and you see those little hooks, then that means your offset is too high. Try setting it to half much and I'm betting you'll see a huge improvement. Then you can continue to tweak the values so you get sharp corners but without the hooks.


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## Nvr2Old (Oct 14, 2009)

SandyMcC said:


> The best way to see exactly what happens with an Offset is to set it kind of high and then draw a rectangle with a pen in the cutter. That's what I've done below. Since a pen nib isn't cut at an angle, it doesn't require these settings, thus the effect is exaggerated and you can see what that setting is actually doing.


Thanks Sandy,
Great info. So in the example above the blade (or Pen) is traveling in a clockwise pattern. Would be interesting to see overcut pattern with a pen.


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## zigax (Jan 19, 2009)

Wooow very quick respond, ....  thx to all, ...i have finished with my cutter for today. I will try to lower the value of offset tommow, will get back with answer. THX AGAIN.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Nvr2Old said:


> Thanks Sandy,
> Great info. So in the example above the blade (or Pen) is traveling in a clockwise pattern. Would be interesting to see overcut pattern with a pen.


The overcut impact is easily explained. It tells the cutter to cut a little further to make sure the cut is closed. Thus, if I had a high value and then just drew it with a pen, you would see the pen continue further around the circle, drawing over what it has previously drawn. If you cut with a blade and have no overcut and draw a large circle, the circle just won't quite close, leaving it still attached to the waste. Hope this makes sense?


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## Nvr2Old (Oct 14, 2009)

If I am understanding what you are saying, the overcut would not have much of any effect on a rectangle.
I have never tried to close a cut on a large circle before (more than 12 inches) So I would imagine I would have to be cutting an awful big circle to need that function.


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## zigax (Jan 19, 2009)

zigax said:


> Wooow very quick respond, ....  thx to all, ...i have finished with my cutter for today. I will try to lower the value of offset tommow, will get back with answer. THX AGAIN.



Yes this was the problem, i set my offset value to 0.013 and now it is better. Thanx again.


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## Jones27 (Apr 3, 2021)

SandyMcC said:


> Because blades are cut at an angle, you need settings to compensate for that. For example, in ACS Studio we have both an Overcut and a Trailing Blade (Offset) setting, where Overcut will cut "a little further" on a closed path to make sure the image is completely cut. If it's set to 0, and you try to cut out a large circle, you'll see that the circle is still attached to the waste at the end of the cut. But when we set it at, say, 15, it cuts a fraction further and the circle is completely cut. The Trailing Blade setting is similar. It makes sure that corners are nice and sharp. If you have it set to 0, then a cut square will be a bit rounded due to how the blade travels around the corners.
> 
> The best way to see exactly what happens with an Offset is to set it kind of high and then draw a rectangle with a pen in the cutter. That's what I've done below. Since a pen nib isn't cut at an angle, it doesn't require these settings, thus the effect is exaggerated and you can see what that setting is actually doing.


Excellent answer. I think I get it so it's like programming the length of the overcut?


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

Think of blades like the castors on a shopping trolley. They need the offset so that the wheel (the blade point) always follows (drags behind) the pivot, hence the name 'drag-knife' cutter.

This is also why you need no offset when using a pen or engraving tool instead of a blade.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Jones27 said:


> Excellent answer. I think I get it so it's like programming the length of the overcut?


Yes, basically, although different algorithms are used from one program to the next to accomplish the same goal, which is to make sharp corners nice and sharp. One thing I noticed from helping paper crafters is that scallops that appear uneven are also cause by the wrong blade offset. Note also that some programs like Vinyl Master (and SignMaster) have calibration routines included which assist the user in determining the correct blade offset. In other programs, you just need to try cutting a square and tweak the blade offset until the corners are to your satisfaction.


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