Problems with PnC and Signcut

[Angel135612]

I tried to do PnC with Signcut when I first bought the program and I thought I saved the PDF file that was put out on Dawns forum explaining how to do it. Well I can't find it now, and I'm trying to cut out an image that I foiled, and when I set my cutter up, I can move the laser to each of the registration marks,but when I hit cut... the blade housing moves all the way over to the other side of the machine, and spits my mat out the back. I'm sure there is something set somewhere that is wrong, and I probably changed when I was playing around with something else. But now I can't get it to do the PnC... any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

[Gigi]

Does this help? LMK

[Angel135612]

That was what I was looking for Gigi.. thank you.. but now I don't have time to work on this... going to go get dinner. If I can't read through this later tonight and work on it some more, I will try again tomorrow... I want to get my butterfly cut out.

[Gigi]

Glad that was what you needed. Am eager to see your project!

[Angel135612]

Well, I was able to get back to this last night after dinner... and my offset numbers were WAY off... no wonder it wanted to travel so far before cutting. I have no idea how they got to be so far off, but even when I put them back to what they were the last time I calibrated it, it was off. I have no idea what happened.

Anyway, I am spot on and will try to cut out my project again sometime today.

I do have a few questions though.

Would changing back and forth between MM and inches in Signcut make your offset numbers get out of whack? I use mm to set my offset numbers, but want to look at inches when I see how much media my design will use when cutting.

I read on Dawns forum, that if you move the registration marks, you should do it in pairs. (Select the top two move them together, select the left two, etc) Is this so that they are all even with each other? Can't you just move them in the general area you want, then select two and align the centers, going all around pairing them up and aligning them?

Do the registration marks have to be a certain size? (I think I may have changed the size of them the first time I tried to calibrate my cutter, to get them on a Letter size sheet of paper, not knowing about the ungrouping and moving two at a time thing, so when I changed the size of the "design" it did make the marks smaller.

Can you put the marks closer to your design? It seems a waste of paper, to put them in the corners, print out one design, and cut it. Maybe I just need to have more than one PnC design to cut when I do this.

Can you cut out your image, THEN place it on another sheet of paper, then put it through the foil master? Or does it work better to foil first then cut? If my cut doesn't turn out as well as I would like, I don't want to waste the foil by foiling first then cutting, only to have it mess up.

I think that is all for now... hope to spend a good part of today playing with my Foil Master and doing some PnC. I didn't think I would do much PnC, so never really worked on it.. but now that I have the Foil Master, I am going to want to cut around my foiled designs... so will need to practice this a lot more. LOL

[Thyme]

Yes changing back and forth can put the offset numbers out of whack. It shouldn't do, but it can. So always best to check before print and cut if you have changed units.

Yes you can move your reg marks like that.

Yes they do need to be the default size.

Yes you could put the reg marks closer, BUT the closer together they are the great the error will be if you are not exactly spot on.

Yes you could cut and then foil.

[Angel135612]

Thanks Dawn!!!!

[Thyme]

you're welcome

[Angel135612]

So I have been trying to work on my PnC today, and have been having a few problems.

I was able to get the cutter calibrated and cut right on the squares while setting it up. I wrote down the numbers so I wouldn't forget them. I printed out some butterflies, that I want to cut and then foil. I am making the file on my desktop, and printing then going up to my cutter and opening the file on my laptop, and cutting. When I started to cut out the butterflies, the cut was way off. I checked my settings, and they were fine. I decided to try using my detail blade, and recalibrated, again, it cut fine on the test squares, but when I went to cut out my butterflies, it was way off.

Also, sometimes when I try to set up the Simple Contour cutting, my computer will freeze, and I end up having to shut it down and restart. When I get back into Signcut, my setting numbers have changed. Is there something I can do so my numbers don't keep changing on me?

I'm starting to get a bit frustrated with PnC, and this is probably why I haven't worked on it much... but now that I want to cut out around designs that I want to foil, I want to get this set up so I don't have so many problems when I try and do this. I'm sure this is something I'm doing wrong.. I just don't know what I'm missing.

[Gigi]

Are you printing your butterflies on the paper with the registration marks and going through the simple contour setting in order to cut them?

Just checking.......

[Angel135612]

Yes... and I put the registration marks in a different color, so they don't cut...
I can line up the registration marks just fine... but the cut is off.

[Gigi]

Hmmm - I haven't mastered it either, but haven't played with it enough either. Was just hoping for an easy fix.

Hopefully someone else will have the answer and then you can teach me!!

[Angel135612]

Gigi, maybe we can work on it together... because I sure don't know what I'm doing. My squares cut out just fine, but any other type of design... it is off. I'm starting to think that I may print out a design, foil it, and then just cut out a shape around it... like one of Pennys Shaplies... instead of trying to cut around the design.

But then if I can print a background, and a design then foil just the design, it may look a lot better than plain white around the design.

[Gigi]

That's funny Diane - had the same thought about using one of Penny's shapes around the image instead of the image, of course that would need to be in the right place too!

I am going to give it a good try again once the crop is over and I get a few needed cards made. I still want to do one more challenge but need to get a corrupted file from SVG Cuts fixed first!

Thanks Diane - we will get there!!

[Angel135612]

Gigi, I think it would be easy enough to get the shape cut around the image. Put them both in Inkscape but on different layers... Hide the layer with the shape when you print, then hide the color of the design when you cut. Cut it out then send it through the foil master...

But yes, I would still like to be able to cut around a shape. I may have to work on an easier shape first, until I get it working... butterflies aren't all that simple, but they look so nice.

[Gigi]

OH I get the how to do it, but if the cuts are off going around the image, the shape could be off around the image too.

Will try again and see if I can get it once and for all. If everyone else can do it, we should be able to as well!!

[Tyler]

I'm still stewing over the issue.

Try rotating your design 90 degrees.

[Angel135612]

Tyler, do you mean rotating it before printing, or rotating the page on the mat, and then in signcut?

I have to go back to work tomorrow. so not sure when I will have time to work on this again... but it will be on my list of things to be working on when I have the time.

[Tyler]

Try rotating before cutting and rotating the printed paper on your mat as well. You could try rotating from the start as well. Like I said, I will keep thinking. I am sure if I saw how you were doing it, we could fix it pretty quickly...

Have you tried it in MTC?

[Angel135612]

No, I haven't tried it in MTC, have been trying to learn signcut.. so wanted to keep using that. I will try your suggestions and also in MTC and see how it goes...