New chick. Please be kind. Plotter Q's

May 2, 2004

My husband and I have jumped in with both feet. We're a startup intending to offer automotive tint & custom cut vinyl auto graphics. We're Llumar dealers & we've *just* got a 48" Graphtec cutting plotter (CE3000-120). I'm *attempting* to cut vinyl with Adobe Illustrator 9.0 and, well, failing miserably... more on that later.

We want to focus on tint, not vinyl, but got the big-a$$ plotter so we could computer-cut the tint at some point (hand cutting now). This is a part-time venture currently, but through our existing 'networking' through our sports car club and my hubby's current employer (a large dealer network in our area), we have many initial vinyl customers with cash in fist & would be doing quite well in our first few days of plotter ownership... IF I COULD GET THE *&^%ING PLOTTER to CUT what I TELL it to cut.

I got a test triangle cut just fine. I can move the tip down with the menu and cut straight lines like a a charm. but who needs a plotter for this? right now I have a very large, very expensive source of aggravation. I have mastered the art of quickly feeding an entire roll of vinyl onto the floor with no problem. :hmmm I can adjust speed, cutting force, quality... everything but cut actual patterns.

does anyone on here have one of these beasties that can point me in the right direction?

May 2, 2004

:hmmm I didn't know you could run a plotter with adobe illustrator. :evileye

you need a sign program like flexi. they're expensive, complicated, and takes a while to learn. but definately worth the money. I just added a plotter to my tint business a couple years ago. now I make almost as much money with it as I do with tinting.

May 2, 2004

oh, and welcome aboard. :hmmm

May 2, 2004

Yeah, you can. In fact, Graphtec includes an Illustrator Plug-in on their driver CD called 'Cutting Master.' I'm just having difficulty with it, and I'm 99% certain it's because my Illustrator version hasn't been patched. I've worked with Illustrator a bit, and Photoshop extensively, so I know the adobe products. I can't exactly call myself a graphic artist, but I can get along pretty well with vector graphics, and that what Illustrator does best.

I'm a really technical person by nature, so it's bugging me that this is defeating me right now. Illustrator or no is a moot point, I've put Adobe on the back burner. I'm attempting to work with the free utility that came on the CD, and even that's not working out properly. I'm telling it to cut text and it's cutting my vinyl into large diagonal strips. :hmmm

-- Carrie

May 2, 2004

Illustrator or no is a moot point,

moot means the point "IS debatable". everyone uses it wrong, what they mean to say is, "it's NOT a moot point". :hmmm

from the merriam webster dictionary

Main Entry: moot
Function: adjective

1 a : open to question : DEBATABLE b : subjected to discussion : DISPUTED

just a bit of hazing. :gasp

May 2, 2004

moot means the point "IS debatable". everyone uses it wrong, what they mean to say is, "it's NOT a moot point".
just a bit of hazing.

sweet! I never knew! seriously, I often argue semantics. now I have more ammo! :hmmm

-- Carrie, effectively hazed. ("it might look a little hazy now, but it will clear as it dries in a day or two")

toodark · May 2, 2004

I have not cut from Illustrator nor do I know how to but does it give you the option to pick a plotter? I use WinPCSign and Flexi

May 3, 2004

I would recommend calling Graphtec Tech Support!

May 3, 2004

I would recommend calling Graphtec Tech Support!

the bummer is... during graphtec's business hours, I'm at my n@zi-environment day job that I'm desperately trying to get out of.

so again, I resort to glorious email.

I *like* illustrator, I know how to maneuver in it. I really can't afford another software package right now, although it does make more sense because the sign packages include their own graphtec driver. even graphtec's site tells you to use it instead, if you have it.

-- carrie