# cutting opaque transfers with GX-24



## thinkworksdan (Mar 16, 2007)

I am fairly new to the world of plotters, but have been using my GX24 for about six months now. love the machine, it does a great job. However, I just tried for the first time to contour cut some opaque transfers. I first attempted to print out of Illustrator onto transfer with an Epson 9600. Roland wouldn't recognize the second registration dot (even though the laser was right over it.) I then exported file out of illustrator into photoshop, got a much better looking print. Roland recognized the reg dots perfectly, and proceeded to contour cut in a completely different location that in the vector file. I'm guessing that if I had a RIP to print out of Illustrator, this wouldn't be an issue.. does anyone out there have some experience doing this?

thanks in advance,
dan


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

Video thread: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-articles/t10209.html



JoshEllsworth said:


> Here is a video tutorial on using the Roland GX-24 vinyl cutter's optic eye function for cutting around opaque transfer papers. The design featured, is very simple graphic that will allow you to understand the process. This basic process, should eliminate the need for using scissors to trim around the design to eliminate the white border.


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## thinkworksdan (Mar 16, 2007)

thanks for posting the video. unfortunately, it doesn't address the issues I'm having. the video shows printing out of CutStudio software. Since Roland only supports OSX with an Illustrator plug-in, this doesn't answer my question about printing out of illustrator. The printer shown in the video clearly isn't a postscript printer. Does CutStudio work as a RIP as well? 

You also mention in the video that it is possible to use a transfer tape for a design that has separate components. This is what I'm aiming to do - can I use vinyl application tape, or is the heat of the press going to cause issues with the adhesive? Is there a product that someone can recommend for this purpose?


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Hi Dan, I have a roland GX24, but I haven't tried cutting opaque transfers with it (yet).

I did notice that they have some driver updates for OSX and illustrator on this page:
Roland DGA Corp. - Support - Technical Support and Services for Roland Products


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## thinkworksdan (Mar 16, 2007)

Thanks for the post. I'm current on my updates - the cutter works perfectly in all other applications -- and it works in this one, except the registration is off by a mile.


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Dan,

Which RIP are you using? I ask this question only because when you work in CutStudio, the printer must be able to print everything that is shown on the screen. I heard at the Long Beach Show that the ErgoSoft RIP would not work with CutStudio until they made a patch. I am not sure if this has been done or not. There are several people that are using MultiRIP to do Print-Cut with the GX-24 with no problems. It has to do with the way the RIP processes the information and sends it to the printer. 

It does not sound like you are having problems with printing everything since the GX-24 picked everything up. It sounds more like there is an issue with the communication between your printer and the cutter. Have you tried unistalling / reinstalling the driver for the cutter already? There might be an issue with the RIP affecting the information that is being sent to the cutter, but I doubt this is the case. Have you tried send the graphic to the printer using the standard Epson driver?

I would also check the size of the paper in CutStudio and the location of the crop marks. You might want also contact Roland or the distributor that sold you the cutter. That is the best advice that I have for you. Good luck and let us know how you resolved the problem.

Mark


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## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

thinkworksdan said:


> ...Since Roland only supports OSX with an Illustrator plug-in, this doesn't answer my question about printing out of illustrator. The printer shown in the video clearly isn't a postscript printer. Does CutStudio work as a RIP as well?
> 
> You also mention in the video that it is possible to use a transfer tape for a design that has separate components. This is what I'm aiming to do - can I use vinyl application tape, or is the heat of the press going to cause issues with the adhesive? Is there a product that someone can recommend for this purpose?


I've used Illustrator CS/Mac OSX to print and cut. (Epson 1280, GX-24)

Read this to get the idea of the process.

http://www.rolanddga.com/rnet30/files/support/rasd-sb00020.pdf

You use the buttons in your CutStudio plug-in pallet instead of the PC program CutStudio.

It does work from the Illustrator plug-in. I haven't done it in the last three months so I'm rusty on the details. 

On the application tape question, imprintables.com has a mylar sheet that is sticky on one side. Contact Josh and ask him about it.


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## thinkworksdan (Mar 16, 2007)

thanks, John s. unfortunately, this .pdf discusses outputting the file with CutStudio. would like to be able to run CutStudio, but I guess Roland isn't interested in supporting osx. the illustrator plug in works for vinyl just fine, but the registration component for contour cutting seems extremely limited to me. Does anyone know if it is possible to change the physical size of the registration, in order to print a graphic larger than the 6x8 inches or so that is the default? I want to print opaque transfer on my large format epson and cut them with the gx24 -- am I going to be able to do this??

thanks,
Dan


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## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

thinkworksdan said:


> Does anyone know if it is possible to change the physical size of the registration, in order to print a graphic larger than the 6x8 inches or so that is the default? I want to print opaque transfer on my large format epson and cut them with the gx24 -- am I going to be able to do this??


Yes.

After you click the button with three dots, click the arrow on the upper right of the pallet. It will reveal the menu for the Crop-marks pallet.

Make your changes according to the rules in the pdf refered to earlier.


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## thinkworksdan (Mar 16, 2007)

john, 
thanks for that, big help. since you appear to be on a mac, could you answer me this? what type of printer are you outputting your opaque transfers with? I'm hoping to use my wide format epson to do this and stickers on adhesive vinyl.. print quality out of illustrator with no RIP is substandard, to say the least. 

thanks,
Dan


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## thinkworksdan (Mar 16, 2007)

wanted to thank MARK for his contribution, also. sounds like you are in the windows world, my friend. cutstudio doesn't run on the mac, only as an illustrator plug-in. as I said earlier, I have no rip, but John here is printing on an epson 1280, and he didn't mention having a rip. the video that was posted in this thread showed printing out of cutstudio onto a non-postscript printer, so I'm thinking that cutstudio has some kind of rudimentary RIP?? I mean, vector graphics aren't printable unless they're ripped.... I'm not really sure what illustrator does when you print to a non-PS printer. it must use the .pdf function to rasterize the artwork. anyway, I really appreciate your contributions, all of you!!


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## John S (Sep 9, 2006)

John S said:


> I've used Illustrator CS/Mac OSX to print and cut. (Epson 1280, GX-24)


Describe what do you mean my sub standard? 


The only thing I would use postscript for is to create a coarse screen for screen printing. 

If you create the file in photoshop, place it in Illustrator to print and cut. You just need to create the cut line with a vector stroke. (CutStudio PC has a feature that allows you to create one with a few steps). Photoshop allows you create a selection and export it as an illustrator path. Bring the image and the selection into the same illustrator file and you are ready to go.


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Sorry Dan, I missed the OSX part of your post. Below is information straight from a RIP Manufacturer about the quality of a vector graphic being printed on a non-postscript printer:

_It is possible to print vector (bezier) graphics without PostScript but it looks bad. Also, EPS files cannot be printed with detail. A lot of intricate text effects are not possible without PostScript because the print driver can't read all the information. This is why people add a RIP to a "non-PostScript" printer to get better quality prints._

Here is a link to Mac based RIP if you find out that you need to have one in order to get the quality you want - PowerRIP X for Epson InkJet Printers - Color Profile Printing Correction - Download

Best Wishes,

Mark


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## thinkworksdan (Mar 16, 2007)

john, mark, thanks again, you are both helping me through this. JOHN - I should clarify that I'm attempting to print vector graphics. I can run a print out of illustrator, but there are no options for media settings, resolution, output profiles, etc... It's illustrator's way or the highway. should I RIP the vector graphics with Photoshop and pull it back into illustrator??? by sub standard I mean it looks like I have the wrong media setting, too much ink, poor resolution. In my former life as a screen printer, I created all of my artwork in Illustrator and output film with a monochrome postscript laser printer. Maybe I'm still mentally stuck in that loop. So, you're saying that you print out of illustrator, yes? and you get acceptable results from the one-option print settings that illustrator provides?

MARK - thanks, I know abour printing vector graphics, a bit. do you have experince with this software?


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Dan,

iProof is the same company that made the hybrid RIP for me. They have been in the proofing industry for a long time and have created RIPs for several of the direct-to-garment machines (Flexi-Jet, DTG,...). However, the MAC RIPs run differently than what I use as most of the stuff is hidden. There is an interface or module (not sure what the best word is to call it) that allows you to change the settings. I would suggest downloading it and try it out to see if you like it. I imagine that it works in a similar fashion that allows you to print with it for testing purposes, but you get a watermark across the center of the page that prevents you from using the graphic. Sorry I am not more help. You should contact iProof directly if you have additional questions. Best Wishes.

Mark


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## thinkworksdan (Mar 16, 2007)

Mark, you're a ton of help! thanks for your input, I'm going to try out the demo today.


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