Large format printing has become a part of our lives. It is difficult to imagine an enterprise, which has never used the services of plotter printed products. Posters, banners, huge signs, large stickers - all this and much more is printed on special machines, require careful and thoughtful operation. Such devices are called plotters, or cutter plotters (devices, working on the principle " 2 v 1, printing and simultaneous cutting). Let's try to understand the intricacies of the operation of this technique, consider some examples and shed light on the nuances, which must be taken into account, before you start working with a plotter.
What is a plotter
These devices were invented for that, to print and cut adhesive large format products. But really mass plotters helped to become a thermal transfer film. When consumables became affordable and reliable in quality, the popularity of plotters has risen sharply. Looking at any inscription or image, applied to textiles, you can be sure, that it is made with a plotter. However, as well as almost any inscription on the film.
Cutting (cardboard or paper) also carried out by the plotter. According to the most common classification, such plotters are divided into the following options.
- Flat. The material is placed on a large horizontal surface, which is absolutely flat. The image is cut with a movable carriage with a knife fixed in it.
- Rolls. The material is fed by unwinding the roll, and cutting on labels occurs due to movement of the carriage only in one position (right and left). This type of device does not boast high image accuracy.
- Laser. At first glance, it may strongly resemble an ordinary flat plotter. The difference is, that instead of a cutting knife the laser head carries out.
Software for work
The plotter works according to a predetermined algorithm. You need to connect to a personal computer first. Image, to be printed, is sent to the device, after which the cutting process takes place. The speed of work strongly depends on technology, used by one or another model. Subsequently, the resulting material is applied to a metal or textile surface, depending on the need.
There is software on the plotter, which carries out the process. Of course, the appropriate program must also be installed on the personal computer, without which it is impossible to send a drawing for cutting. The easiest way to do this is with CorelDraw, software for plotter printing.
If contour cutting is performed incorrectly, or shifted the cut on the printed, you need to configure the software.
Except CorelDraw, you can use the PlotCalc program. It has a fairly simple interface, it is easy to work in it, Besides, it doesn't take much time to study. Another well-known program for working with plotters - SignCut. The full version is paid, but you can download a trial test from the official site, which has some limitations. In general, the program menu turned out to be a bit overloaded, but the functionality is significant. With this utility you can control the depth of cut of the knife, provided, that this option is supported by the model itself.
The eCut program is a little less known. The main advantage of this software is, that it allows you to cut files directly from CorelDraw. Files are written directly to the plotter port, bypassing the participation of drivers, so, errors and incompatibilities are minimized.
The next software for outputting information to the plotter is called OMEGA CUT. Omega is used mainly to work with project documentation and is popular with those, who works with plotters in this field. Functionality is limited by the scope, perhaps the programs can be described as average.
The principle of the plotter, in addition to printing, also involves cutting. Of course, not all software is written with this feature in mind. Simply put, not all plotter programs are suitable for plotter cutters and vice versa. For devices, working on the principle " 2 v 1, most often comes "native" software, developed and implemented by the manufacturer. However, there is always the option to use third-party software, if the capabilities of the installed cease to meet the requirements.
If you need to just cut out the pictures, then there is no need to buy the program, license for which is measured in hundreds of thousands of rubles. It is enough to be limited to more accessible analogues. Also, if the work involves only printing, then you can limit the capabilities of the firmware, without investing a penny in the purchase of software. Of course, if in the course of work it is necessary to resort to services of the editor of vector graphics, as well as to print complex patterns, then it is worth thinking about expanding the functionality for the plotter.
Plotter printing algorithm
Plotter printing algorithm (on the example of Corel) following.
- Need to find and open a "file", in the window find the page layout options and select one of them: fast printing (use of standard patterns), preset settings or resort to the current setting for future printing.
- If the drawing provides a page layout, you can adjust this setting in the corresponding menu. The page layout contains several sub-items, in which many different values are controlled. Most of them have hint markers, that bring clarity, which of the parameters will be changed. After completing all the manipulations, you can use the preview, and, if desired, undo changes.
- Next you need to go to print (or plotter output) and select a plotter model in the "Name" column, on which the printout will be carried out. You can set the plotter driver settings in the properties.
- Only standardized sizes should be used in the "paper size" section, to avoid confusion. It is best to follow the format, supported model. To find out, what formats the model works with, it is necessary to look into its operational characteristics.
- In the column "print scale" you should specify "the size of the paper" or set it to the required size. The thickness of the lines should also be scaled in strict accordance with the scale of the print.
- The "print range" column allows you to choose from the following items: "All geometry", "Drawing boundaries", "Named view" or make changes to all these parameters yourself.
- Then you need to set the required number of copies of the print.
- To send information not to the printer, and the file is saved, you can click on the "print to file" item.
- After all manipulations, the program will offer a preview of the planned printout. If the user wants to print the document as it is, it will be enough for him to press "ok", then the file will be immediately sent to the plotter or queued for printing, if for some reason the device is not available right now.
There are several shortcuts and hotkeys, with which you can greatly facilitate printing. Entering the command "print" command line, the user starts the printing process. And for quick access to print, just press the menu in the Explorer of the open program, hover over "file" and press "print", then "fast printing" (Ctrl + P hotkey).
Cutting different materials
Of course, a cutting plotter is required to perform this function, or plotter-cutter. The quality of cutting depends on a number of criteria.
- Blade sharpness. The newer than, the sharper it is. Of course, for simple tasks, example, paper cutting, suitable and not the newest knife, but for jewelry work, where much depends on accuracy, the blade should be as sharp as possible.
- The quality of the original, that is, how complex and correct the drawing itself is built. Sometimes it takes most of the time to refine a file, than for printing and design. After all, if even one indicator does not converge somewhere, the image structure will be broken.
- The rug should be fairly sticky, to fix the consumables well (cloth, vinyl, etc.. d.).
- Settings for a specific material. Usually all the available settings can be seen in the properties of the device itself. It is best to set them manually, because technology will not be able to recognize the material on its own.
For, to try new material in the case, you should always have a picture at hand. Test samples, offered by the manufacturer, do not always reflect the real picture, because they mean cutting circles and squares, in which there is nothing complicated.
It is not recommended to run a full template without prior testing - there is a high probability of incorrectly displayed material.
Another important factor in case, if you mean cutting several materials at once. You must have a separate knife for each material: blades for paper and fabric are quite different. Some experts mark the blades for this, so as not to confuse them. For example, "T" - fabric, "To" - cardboard, etc.. d.
If you plan not only to print patterns, it will be necessary to work with the pressure and departure of the knife, setting the necessary in the system settings. The difference in working with fabric is only in the principle of further use: cutting for tailoring or application. Height is important for cutting cardboard, on which the blade will rise. Because the material itself is easy to "play", must be traced, so that when cutting the cardboard was well fixed in one position, to eliminate distortion.
Film
Oracle film requires special precision when preparing for cutting. Because the vinyl base can easily be deformed, jewelry precision is required at the time of fixation. The bigger the image (picture, logo, etc.), the more careful the layout designer should be. When working with this material should be considered, that cutting will be only an intermediate process. Vinyl film, before you buy the finished look, goes through several stages of processing. If you compare it with other materials, example, fabric, then it is possible to note a certain complexity during operation.
Paper
When working with ordinary wide-format paper, it is quite simple to monitor the sharpness of the blades and change them in time. The paper is very unpretentious in terms of slicing. Its disadvantages can be manifested during chemical and thermal reactions, but when cutting the pattern itself, the probability of a defect is not so high.
Taking into account all the above aspects, cut different materials with a plotter-cutter will not be difficult. Of course, without some experience there will always be a risk of spoiling the batch of blanks. That is why experts recommend trying cutting first on small test materials. It is necessary to start the basic cutting of any of the materials listed above only then, when there is confidence, that the source image file is constructed correctly and all its parts are calculated and converge. It is also important to pay attention to the technical condition of the device, put the blades under the material and check their sharpness.
Conclusion
It is easy to work on the plotter, only a little dexterity and attention is required. All aspects of the work have their own step-by-step algorithm, from the selection and installation of a program for working with files to the maintenance of individual elements of the device. Even if something doesn't work the first time, do not despair and give up. Having shown patience, each of the stages of work with the plotter will be successfully mastered. It should be noted, that the use of large format printing technology for the most part is not very different from the operation of printers or any MFP. Certain specific nuances, of course, present, but if you want, you can learn all these points and learn to work with them.