# Vinyl slips sideways when cutting



## Charms4all (Jan 29, 2007)

I was wondering if anyone else has problems with the roll of vinyl slipping a little one way and making the whole cut off.. 
I will try to explain

I put the roll of vinyl in the cutter, push the 2 roll wheels in place, (the roll is straight in the beginning) then as going through the cut, one side gets caulk ceyed (Crooked) a little, and make the rest of the cut a little off... sometimes, the vinyl will also grab a bit and indent upwards, and that does it with the whole image..
anyways... is there a way to correct this, i have tried to put the tray that holds the vinyl close up to the cutter, and also pulled it back little to see if that would work.. i also only cut one row of images at a time.. because i am afreaid of it jumping around, and not cutting correct.. talk about slow turn over when i have to watch the cut go all the time, although i am right there, sometimes i weed at the same time, but then i dont always catch the hand up...

Anyhelp would be appreciated.. thank you in advance
Jess


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## CoolTech (Feb 3, 2007)

How much pressure are you using?

How deep are you cutting?

Is this a new or used cutter? (If used, the wheels may be worn and need changing)

Are there any "dead roller spaces" that you are not aware of (On mine, the first 4" and the middle are places where the the mover rollers change. If I put a roller there, it will ALWAYS move)


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

One thing that we were taught to do by an old sign maker is this.
with the lever up i pull the amount of vinyl thru that im gonna be cutting on.. say im gonna cut something 4 ft long.. I pull that much thru.. then i get it lined up to what i think is straight ... lower the lever and push the back button and watch it feed back to make sure it is tracking straight. alot of times..when it looks straight it is off a tiny bit.. even being off 1/32 of an inch will mulitpy to where at the end you can be 1/4 inch off when you get to the end of the run..

we often cut long lenths of vinyl and dont run into tracking problems doing it this way.. .. Hope this helps a bit
sue


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## Charms4all (Jan 29, 2007)

Hello,
I just got the cutter maybe 4 months ago...I bought it new.. still a newbie at it, but have to admit, getting it sure has opened doors for me..

i am not sure by what you mean by roller, but i noticed on the cutter that there are a few places that are black where the vinyl lays, these black parts have a sandpaper like affect.. i could be wrong but maybe if i put my lever rollers iso that they lay on that with the vinyl that may help?? i think.. 

I dont know, and it is hard to explain with out someone being here to see with their eyes...

thanks for you posts
jess


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

Sounds like your pinch rollers need adjusted. You should have a screw or thumb screw to be able to adjust them. You've got to make sure both pinch rollers have exactly the same tension on them or it will pull one side of the vinyl more then the other causing it to not track correctly. BTW, what make and model cutter do you have?


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## CoolTech (Feb 3, 2007)

Charms4all said:


> Hello,
> I just got the cutter maybe 4 months ago...I bought it new.. still a newbie at it, but have to admit, getting it sure has opened doors for me..
> 
> i am not sure by what you mean by roller, but i noticed on the cutter that there are a few places that are black where the vinyl lays, these black parts have a sandpaper like affect.. i could be wrong but maybe if i put my lever rollers iso that they lay on that with the vinyl that may help?? i think..
> ...


Here is what I mean by dead roller space

If you place your pinch roller on a dead space, your vinyl will turn


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## jberte (Mar 25, 2007)

your pinch rollers - both of them! - have to be on top of those grit rollers in order for the vinyl to grab and pull evenly - otherwise you're always gonna have that problem


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## jacsma (May 14, 2006)

I'm having the same problem now with my Roland24. I don't see anyplace to adjust the roller tension though. I rolled it foward and backwards, and no matter what I do or where I put the rollers -- it pulls to the left.
So frustrating.


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## Robin (Aug 28, 2006)

does it still pull to one side when you unroll the amount of vinyl you will be using.

Sometimes I forget, and the machine pulls the vinyl off the roll, which is too heavy and this shifts it on me everytime.

I also find it helps if I put the roll guide (thingys) on the back roll holders in place and tighten them so they dont move. That way the roll doesnt move or shift when the vinyl is being pulled.


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## prometheus (Oct 19, 2006)

I am using a Stika-15. When I first got it, I had the same problem. Especially with a job that had a lot of cutting going on. I would walk away and come back to a disaster. One thing I found was that I didn't have enough space for the vinyl to move around. I haven't put a roll on there. I just cut it down to what I need. If you are using a roll, it might be that it is getting stuck on something or rubbing or the weight could be hindering it. If you are doing smaller jobs, try cutting it down to easier manageable sheets. Also make sure there is plenty of room around the unit. In the begining I had mine in a place where the sheet kept hitting something and that is what was throwing it off.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

jberte said:


> your pinch rollers - both of them! - have to be on top of those grit rollers in order for the vinyl to grab and pull evenly - otherwise you're always gonna have that problem


Jan hit the nail on the head. You must have your rollers positioned correctly over the "gritty" part. If it's not the vinyl will slide around.


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