Print'n'cut laser problems

[katherine]

Hi there
Im hoping some cleaver person out there can tell me what Im doing incorrectly. Im trying to do my first print/cut and I can't get the laser positioning arrows to work for me.
Im using win8 on pc, I've downloaded and installed whats supposed to be the latest SCAL program but the little buggers just wont react for me. Neither the onscreen or the computer arrows will shift that blastard red dot for me. Help please!!!
Frustrated Kath from Australia

[Gigi]

Katherine -

I am assuming you have gone through all of the instructions in the learning center.

You need to hit the arrow keys quickly or SCAL will time out. Once you position your blade below and to the right of the lowest registration mark, set your origin and then follow the =instructions in SCAL. When you hit the next button to start and it moves to the first registration mark (upper left) hit the arrow keys quickly - even if you just hit it on the keyboard to let the program know not to time out - they use the keyboard or the on screen arrows to move the laser light to the center of the mark. It will dim when it is dead center. Click on the origin button on the software and click next and it will move to the second one. Repeat. Once you get the first one going you should be ok. (and that was the short version assuming you have used the learning center for help!)

Holler if you still have trouble. Print and Cut is something that ideally should not be tackled until you have a good basic knowledge of the machine . As we will all attest to, there is a learning curve but with patience and help and a few deep breaths you will get through it and love your new machine!!

Keep us posted!

[katherine]

Hi Gigi
Thanks for your quick response
Yes Ive watched the tutorials but they didn't address my problem. Since posting my question (first time user of a forum....that was a learning experience in itself ) I came across a thread that deals with my exact problem,so, I will try all the great suggestions mentioned.....tomorrow lol
Whats the saying Cant teach an old dog new tricks? I WILL prove it wrong! (I hope) lol

[LisaH]

Hi Katherine, welcome!

My first question - have you had the machine do a successful cut through SCAL? If not, then make sure you have the drivers downloaded.

Just like Gigi said - always check the learning center first, then come here for questions. Lots of information is covered in the LC.

Second - when you have already set your ORIGIN to the bottom right of your paper/media (somewhere close to the #3 reg mark) and then send it to cut, once it stops moving somewhere near the 1st registration mark, IMMEDIATELY tap one of the arrow keys (either on the keyboard or the screen). Then start moving /centering it over the dot on the reg mark. I have found this to be the best way for me, personally, to not have the machine / SCAL communication time out.

Now all of this is assuming you have already calibrated the machine. If you are working on calibrating, the same immediate keystroke response from you will still be beneficial.

If for some reason, you still cannot get it to move, and you have done all of the things listed above, I would uninstall SCAL and reinstall, making sure the correct drivers are downloaded as well, and try again. I have had to do this before, and it fixed my issue. (But I would try that as a last resort lol)

Let us know how it goes...

[Gigi]

Hi Gigi
Thanks for your quick response
Yes Ive watched the tutorials but they didn't address my problem. Since posting my question (first time user of a forum....that was a learning experience in itself ) I came across a thread that deals with my exact problem,so, I will try all the great suggestions mentioned.....tomorrow lol
Whats the saying Cant teach an old dog new tricks? I WILL prove it wrong! (I hope) lol

Katherine - yes we have had lots of discussion abt this and it's an ongoing frustration . Once you get it moving you should be good to go!!

And trust me, a lot of us are determined to defy the "can't teach an old dog new tricks!!" Good luck.

[studio25o4]

I just experienced the same problems, so it's good to know about the timeout issue. Is this something that's can or has been reported to SCAL? It seems that they should be able to lengthen the timeout in a future release.

[Gigi]

Yes it has been reported and we are hopeful that there will soon be a fix for it. I know that Brandon has been very responsive to any issues that have arisen.