# Vinyl Sticker Cutting with Plotter



## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

Once we screen print 12x14 sheets of vinyl stickers and would like them diecut in circles, rectangles and various custom shapes, would a plotter do the job and then we weed them and have them cut into squares? Or would you diecut them first, then screen print (I imagine it'd be easier this way to register). Anyone have ideas? Deciding whether to buy a plotter or not.


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## kriscad (Dec 18, 2006)

I would sub it out!

or

buy a Gerber FX...


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

Just pull that 20 plus thousand out of your poket change and buy that little toy... I would sub it out. Good luck.....JB


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## mzmadmax (Nov 16, 2006)

Am I missing something?

I don't pretend to know the logistics of screen printing the stickers. But IF he chose to go this route, why would he need to spend $20k on a cutter?

If he's screen printing the stickers, then a 24" cutter with an optical eye should meet his needs for cutting. That runs what, about $1k - $2k? 

And we know he can use the cutter for other money making ventures as well.


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

I think it will be very difficult for you to get good cut location when you feed screen printed stickers into a vinyl cutter/plotter. Over here, there are custom made die cuts that are shaped as circles, rectangles, etc. Why did you not look for a shop with a printer/cutter machine like the Roland Versacamm in the first place?


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## kriscad (Dec 18, 2006)

mzmadmax said:


> Am I missing something?
> 
> I don't pretend to know the logistics of screen printing the stickers. But IF he chose to go this route, why would he need to spend $20k on a cutter?
> 
> ...



1 color stickers MAYBE - but it will take alot of time 

If he is doing multi color designs, he will need to uv or air dry (which is $$$ and time)


why not just sub out the work... there are tons of places making stickers that you can get contract pricing from... Sticker Guy! or if I was him, just email gerber, ask them for the last 5-10 customers that bought a FX, and email them to quote on the job.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

Thanks guys. We're currently sub sticker jobs, but we're moving into another warehouse soon and I want it in-house so we can control turn-arounds times more, and I hate sending a job for a quote and not receiving it for awhile which in turn makes our customers upset. 

Just like printing posters, I don't see a problem with printing multiple colors and letting each layer dry. I don't have much knowledge with a plotter, so I was curious on how I would print and then cut or cut then print vinyl sheets. I know other shops do it this way without sub contracting. Plus buying a plotter will allow us to offer vinyl signs etc. So my guess is we need to look at a plotter with an optical eye.


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## SomeSailor (Jun 29, 2007)

TeddyRocky said:


> Just like printing posters, I don't see a problem with printing multiple colors and letting each layer dry. I don't have much knowledge with a plotter, so I was curious on how I would print and then cut or cut then print vinyl sheets. I know other shops do it this way without sub contracting. Plus buying a plotter will allow us to offer vinyl signs etc. So my guess is we need to look at a plotter with an optical eye.


I think it would be very easy. Just build your screens and vinyl cutouts, in the same drawing and then do the screen work... dry and then feed it to the vinyl cutter and cut.

I do this same thing now for both Chromablast shirts and dye sub material. I have a laser cutter and I simply add registration marks as I sub the material. I then take the newly dyed substrate and put it in the laser. Align the substrate in the laser to track the registration marks... clear the interlocks and do the cuts. If your careful you can keep registration errors on the order of thousandths of an inch.

I could do the same thing with my vinyl cutter. The laser is just faster.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

SomeSailor said:


> I think it would be very easy. Just build your screens and vinyl cutouts, in the same drawing and then do the screen work... dry and then feed it to the vinyl cutter and cut.
> 
> I do this same thing now for both Chromablast shirts and dye sub material. I have a laser cutter and I simply add registration marks as I sub the material. I then take the newly dyed substrate and put it in the laser. Align the substrate in the laser to track the registration marks... clear the interlocks and do the cuts. If your careful you can keep registration errors on the order of thousandths of an inch.
> 
> I could do the same thing with my vinyl cutter. The laser is just faster.


Thanks, figured it was possible, but need buy a plotter and test it out. Woohoo Sticker time!


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## SomeSailor (Jun 29, 2007)

TeddyRocky said:


> Thanks, figured it was possible, but need buy a plotter and test it out. Woohoo Sticker time!


Yeppers... you can buy $5,000 worth of dye sub equipment... a $25,000 CNC laser... a $2,500 vinyl cutter... a few $100 rolls of dye sub Mate material...

... and cut $2.99 stickers with the best of us...


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## kriscad (Dec 18, 2006)

SomeSailor said:


> Yeppers... you can buy $5,000 worth of dye sub equipment... a $25,000 CNC laser... a $2,500 vinyl cutter... a few $100 rolls of dye sub Mate material...
> 
> ... and cut $2.99 stickers with the best of us...




lol true


that's why i said - contact gerber, see who bought a machine last will usually need the business the most!


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

Roland Versacamm a la rescue. Print and cut vinyl, print banners, print and or cut apparel materials etc... around $10,000 for a 30" unit.


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## SomeSailor (Jun 29, 2007)

MotoskinGraphix said:


> Roland Versacamm a la rescue. Print and cut vinyl, print banners, print and or cut apparel materials etc... around $10,000 for a 30" unit.


My bad... only $10,000 to cut $2.99 stickers.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

Wouldn't it just take vinyl and a plotter if we already screen print?  Confused.

Not looking to print full color banners, stickers....just Screen printing spot colored stickers.


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## Robin (Aug 28, 2006)

Im going to add my 2cents in here for what it is worth.

I dont know anything about screen printing. But Ive been thinking about the ink on the vinyl, and trying to cut it. I suspect it would be hard on the blade, and maybe cause chipping of the ink? I dont really know....something that you might have to test out.

But I dont see why you couldnt pre-cut your stickers, have your silkscreen template all ready, and screen to fit "after" everything is cut. Does that make sense?


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

Robin said:


> Im going to add my 2cents in here for what it is worth.
> 
> I dont know anything about screen printing. But Ive been thinking about the ink on the vinyl, and trying to cut it. I suspect it would be hard on the blade, and maybe cause chipping of the ink? I dont really know....something that you might have to test out.
> 
> But I dont see why you couldnt pre-cut your stickers, have your silkscreen template all ready, and screen to fit "after" everything is cut. Does that make sense?


Those are my thoughts too, precutting sheets and registering the screen afterwards.


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Maybe you could possibly use a laser printer on an already die cut
durable weatherproof polyester label sheets, they come cheep enough.


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## gothicaleigh (Jun 16, 2007)

Why would cutting screenprinted vinyl be any different than cutting inkjet or solvent printed vinyl? Put registration marks on the vinyl when printing and send it to the cutter.

Am I missing something here?


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

Sound easy, but actually, doing this on a, say, 200 pcs, 4" square stickers with a border of a separate color, and a sheet of size of 18x24"; you will definitely get an INCONSISTENT result. Then, try doing that cutting on a complex shape (star, a shield, or a crest, or even a simple circle) with a 3 mm border and you'll wish you cut it using a pair of scissors.


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

I guess production time and or screen time labour etc amounts to zero. You can certainly figure a way to screen print decals. You can dye sublimate decals and then cut them on a plotter, you can do a bunch of silly process to produce $2.99 decals. I assume you are producing decals on a mass wholesale structure so $ 2.99, no one would buy wholesale period. You did mention sign making and then ran away from banner production etc. To be blunt...the future of sign making, colored decal production and the apparel industry is based in digital printing. Labour, screen production and everything else that goes into making that $2.99 decal is solved within digital production. Set up the machine and walk away as you deal with another customer and or some other production. Is $10,000 for a full sized production house right or wrong? Well you are going to have to do some fact checking but I bet its a winner. Why purchase the mule when the calvary is around the bend. You can buy a cutter that will recognize reg., you can buy a monkey with a chrome necklace. You can buy a cutter that just cuts solid colored vinyl which is what most folks put on their cars 90% of the time. Many ways to solve the problem but you did mention the future.


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

MotoskinGraphix said:


> I guess production time and or screen time labour etc amounts to zero. You can certainly figure a way to screen print decals. You can dye sublimate decals and then cut them on a plotter, you can do a bunch of silly process to produce $2.99 decals. I assume you are producing decals on a mass wholesale structure so $ 2.99, no one would buy wholesale period. You did mention sign making and then ran away from banner production etc. To be blunt...the future of sign making, colored decal production and the apparel industry is based in digital printing. Labour, screen production and everything else that goes into making that $2.99 decal is solved within digital production. Set up the machine and walk away as you deal with another customer and or some other production. Is $10,000 for a full sized production house right or wrong? Well you are going to have to do some fact checking but I bet its a winner. Why purchase the mule when the calvary is around the bend. You can buy a cutter that will recognize reg., you can buy a monkey with a chrome necklace. You can buy a cutter that just cuts solid colored vinyl which is what most folks put on their cars 90% of the time. Many ways to solve the problem but you did mention the future.


I think there's a misunderstanding. The question was meant for an example = 500-2000 3" circle vinyl spot color stickers and not to screen print one decal for one customer type deal.


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