Can I cut A3 on a 15"x16.75" mat?

[maxmorris]

Hey there,

I want to cut A3 using the 16.75" X 15" mat provided with my machine but I get a pause on my machine on every attempt to cut. https://silverbulletcutters.com/9.25x14 ... t-mat.aspx

Before I go ahead and buy a 18" mat I just want to check if I need it or if I'm doing something wrong in setup?

A few key things to note:
- Using a 15" professional SB
- Using Origin to set my start point
- Mat placed and secured to the right side
- tried changing mat from landscape to portrait and vice versa
- Working from Print and cut setting menu
- As it moves to the first reg mark I get the pause

Thanks in advance!

[Gigi]

I had to look up the measurements for A3 because that is one I don't know by heart. So it is roughly 11.75 x 16.5. I wanted to be sure you had plenty of room. Chances are you are cutting out of range of the cutting surface. You have the 18" SB right? So that is your cutting area even tho the opening is larger, so your mat and media need to be measured from the inside right of the machine - that is your 18" cutting area. You have plenty of room, but if you move the media out of that 18" cutting area, it will pause so just be sure it is within the cutting boundaries of the machine.

Be sure your first registration mark isn't out of range. That is my best guess as it is the only reason for it to pause - something is out of bounds.

[MeFlick]

Is he using an 18" SB or a 15" SB? I ask because he says in his first post above under a "few key things to note" that he is using a 15" SB I think but then on the left under his user name where it lists machine, it says an 18" SB so I am confused. I was going to note the same thing - with the pause, and size of his machine, he is probably trying to cut outside of its cutting range. Clearly this would be the case if it is in fact a 15" machine so I guess we need him to clarify which machine it is for sure.

[Gigi]

Thanks for catching that Melanie - didn't see the reference to the 15". and yes, either way I think it is an out of area issue but, as you stated, would be tricky with the 15" as the media would have to be set for the horizontal to be the 11.75. I have a feeling the mat is being set all the way over but not the media. We shall see.........

[maxmorris]

Hi,

thanks for the replies. I have a 15" SB. I was also confused but I checked and it's 15".

The inside area of the cutter measures approx 19" and my 15"x16.75" mat fits in landscape and portrait without issues but the A3 paper goes edge to edge on one side of the mat (as you can see from my pic). I thought maybe this might be the issue? Does it matter if my paper goes edge to edge like this? Should I still be able to cut A3 on this size mat and machine ok?

Today I will try to bring in my reg marks slightly around the artwork and see if that works. I just don't want to waste time thumbing around trying to get it to work if indeed it's not possible on this size mat.

thanks

[Gigi]

I can see two problems. When I look at your first picture, your mat is 16.75 as you stated and the image is 16.5. There will not be enough room even without registration marks to cut the length of the image because your pinch wheels will run off the mat trying to cut the top part of the image. You would need to slightly decrease the size of the longest side of the image so it will fit vertically - your have to have enough room for the pinch wheels to hold on to the mat while it cuts the top of the image. To see how much room you need, you could use the pen tool and draw the image (so you dont damage the blade running off the mat or waste expensive material). That would help you clearly see the problem and how to solve it.

Secondly, when I look at the first picture that is the paper inserted in the machine, you can see the space you are losing between the right side of the machine and where the actual paper starts. The opening is always larger to accommodate larger mats for convenience - hence the 19". But the actual cutting surface is 15". So you would need to move your image closer to the right of the mat and measure and be sure that it fits within the 15". Hope that makes sense.

[maxmorris]

Thanks Gigi,

All makes perfect sense now. I'll adjust my reg marks and note for future on the cutting area.

[Gigi]

OK. Sounds good!