# Vinyl cutter offset



## sewon (Sep 4, 2007)

Can anyone explain exactly what the offset setting does? I have been doing vinyl cutting for years and have never been completely understood what changing the "offset setting" does. I know it has something to do with the way the blade goes around corners and curves, I think. But if I increase or decrease the setting how does the movement of the blade change? When cutting something very small like holes for rhinestones, should you increase or decrease the offset. Thank you in advance.


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

The offset is the distance from the center of the blade shank to the point at which the blade does its cutting. This blog post explains it fairly well.

Vinyl Cutter Drag Knife Systems And Blade Offsets | Cutterpros.com

In a drag knife system, you need the cut point to trail the center of the blade so the blade self-orients.
There are a couple systems that employ active blade rotation but the majority of systems are drag knife systems.

If your blade offset is too small (worst case 0) your corners will be rounded similar to fillets.
If your blade offset is too large, your corners will have little hang nails.
If your blade offset is just right, your corners will be nice and sharp.

Don't confuse blade offset with overtravel. Overtravel is a distance that your blade can travel beyond the loop start point. This is set to insure that you don't have a little nit between the weed and the decal and your loops are fully cut through the blade entry / exit point.


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## K Chez (Jun 11, 2008)

The offset setting goes hand in hand with the angle of the blade you're using. 45º blade-.25 offset. 60º blade-.50 offset


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## sewon (Sep 4, 2007)

Sorry, I'm still confused. Does changing the offset change the angle of the blade?


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

No, changing the offset in the software changes the distance the software thinks is the distance from the blade shank to the cutting point. This distance will always vary somewhat with tolerances, blade manufacturer, etc.

Your blade angle is the cutting angle of the blade. The higher the blade angle the sharper the blade.

See the picture in the blog post for the 30, 45 and 60 degree measured blade offsets. These measurements are specific to a certain blade.

Vinyl Cutter Drag Knife Systems And Blade Offsets | Cutterpros.com


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## sewon (Sep 4, 2007)

Ok, I see, it does NOT change the angle of the blade. I think I kind of understand, is it the distance the point of the blade has to go out beyond the point of a corner to "offset" the blades inability to pivot accurately on a tight angle? Sorta? Does it affect curves at all ? or just sharp corners?


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

Yes, you are correct. This distance is used by the software to calculate how far the center of the blade must be from the cutting path to cut on the correct curve location.

During a straight line, it doesn't matter.
During a sharp (any angle, not just 90) corner, the cutter path will go beyond the corner by the blade offset and then use that offset as a radius to rotate down to the next path and then it will pull along the next path.
For a radius or curve, the vinyl cutter will travel at an offset from the true cut path so the blade cuts in the correct location.

If you would like to see these actual cutter paths you can increase the blade offset to something like .25" or 6-8mm and cut or plot a shape like a star or even just a square. You will see the motion that the cutter makes to achieve sharp corners.


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## arjan (Apr 25, 2014)

Brian, you are talking about "overtravel". Do you know if I can set that on my Graphtec craft robo pro vinyl cutter? Because the "little nit" you describe is just what I get all the time when cutting vinyl. it's very time consuming to manually cut the little "bridges", because if I don't do it the vinyl is likely to tear.
thanks. Arjan


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## keelynkreations (Nov 22, 2013)

Im with Arjan.... I cannot stand all those little "nits" as they cause all kinds of havoc and I cannot seem to get rid of them. I am also having issues with a small white line showing after I print (as if the cut line wasn't lined up in the program before I printed).

Thanks for any help with either issue!


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

You can set the overtravel in the software. It may have defaulted to 0. A good number for this would be around 1 mm - 2 mm or so. Which software are you using to drive the cutter?


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## Specialty Stitch (Feb 21, 2009)

Brian, I don't get the nits when cutting vinyl with 45 degree blade, but I do get them when cutting poly twill with 60 degree blade. I was told to use .200 offset for 60 degree. Using clean cut blades on Roland GX-24 with Roland CutStudio. I don't see where I can adjust overtravel.


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## keelynkreations (Nov 22, 2013)

Im using the VersaWorks, CorelDraw and the BN-20


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

this video will show you the difference. but on graphtec's there is 2 offsets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne71aXXp4BY

Offset: one on the regular cut screen. Adjust the offset value during test cuts to obtain perfect cutting of corners, and that they are not to little or too small. it sets from -5 to +5 only (This is always set to 0)

Offset Angle: is in advance. This angle control is applied if there is larger angle being cut than the angle specified as reference angle.

A small angle setting will allow for more angle control and increased cut quality but longer cut time.

A larger angle setting may not control the blade enough resulting in a lesser quality cut. (This setting is what most don't understand this is set to the blade you use which has a offset setting either on the box or somewhere. on my graphtec I use a 60* Cleancut Blades only and they say set this to .45 Offset)


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

arjan said:


> Brian, you are talking about "overtravel". Do you know if I can set that on my Graphtec craft robo pro vinyl cutter? Because the "little nit" you describe is just what I get all the time when cutting vinyl. it's very time consuming to manually cut the little "bridges", because if I don't do it the vinyl is likely to tear.
> thanks. Arjan


 what is your 

offset setting 
Blade your using (45* or 60*)
Offset angle (In advance settings under the cut screen)
Software your using.


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

I will check to see how to adjust overtravel on that system.


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

arjan said:


> Brian, you are talking about "overtravel". Do you know if I can set that on my Graphtec craft robo pro vinyl cutter? Because the "little nit" you describe is just what I get all the time when cutting vinyl. it's very time consuming to manually cut the little "bridges", because if I don't do it the vinyl is likely to tear.
> thanks. Arjan


this is under tangential mode if your cutting from cutting master 3 or graphtec studio. turn it on and the overcut drop down will show then you set it.


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## arjan (Apr 25, 2014)

Thanks for the info. I'm afraid I am the only guy who uses autocad to design ad cut. But that is what I use to make building maps and also to make my designs for the laser cutter. I feel more comfortable with that than my CorelDraw. If I knew in what order the thing would cut I could add the 1 or 2mm overlap. but it's always a surprise in what order the cut will be.


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## keelynkreations (Nov 22, 2013)

djque said:


> this is under tangential mode if your cutting from cutting master 3 or graphtec studio. turn it on and the overcut drop down will show then you set it.


What if I am not using either of those? I use CorelDraw/VersaStudio. We have been playing with it and cannot figure out the white line or the overtravel.

Thanks for any help you can offer.


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

If you are cutting direct from Illustrator / Corel Draw / AutoCAD, etc, then the plug-in that allows the program to send to the cutter should have properties that have an overtravel setting in it along with a blade offset. If it doesn't then this is one of the areas where a sign cutting program will have some benefits. Alternatively, some cutters have overtravel and blade offset available on the cutter itself. Scroll through the menu options to see if it can be controlled at the cutter level. Give SignCut a try for a week. You can get a free week here: SignCut | Professional Signmaking Software When you click the cut button, the overtravel is in the advanced tab.


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## keelynkreations (Nov 22, 2013)

I will try Brian... Thank you!


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## MauiCustomTshirt (Mar 26, 2011)

BrianHahn said:


> I will check to see how to adjust overtravel on that system.


Hi Brian, how would i adjust overtravel on a GCC 24 Expert Pro using GreatCut?
It would be great to get rid of those nasty little nits. Thanks!


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Ruben here is the manual,, look at the overcut section


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