Cutting Plotter Question

[jesse888]

Hi!

I'm thinking of buying this cutterplotter:
HobbyCut ABH-721 Schneideplotter 720mm Plotter inkl. Artcut 2009 Schneideplotter HobbyCut ABH-721 Plotter

I use airbrush to create decorations for festivals, so I work on a big scale. I wonder:
can I use a cutting plotter to cut a 300cm*60 cm sheet of paper? Can I virtualy cut a shape that is 20 meters long?
On all demo's I've seen so far, a cutting mat is beeing used.
When cutting a 300cm sheet of paper that would be a problem (since there are no 300cm mats i think?). Can you cut paper/mylar without a cutting mat? I don't need the shapes that would fall out of the design when cutted.

Thanks guys!
Jesse

 

[Oddball]

My son has been in the Vinyl bussiness for a long time. he has done everything from Cup coasters to yachts! He flies all over the world doing vinyl wraps on yachts.
They have really big plotters that will cut lenghts of vinyl for 80 foot plus yachts.
I have no idea if they ever use carriers because they work with vinyl. My point is, why not see if you can find a Vinyl fitter shop in, or near where you live and geive them a bell. you might find they can do what you want and save to getting a plotter.

 

[jesse888]

My son has been in the Vinyl bussiness for a long time. he has done everything from Cup coasters to yachts! He flies all over the world doing vinyl wraps on yachts.
They have really big plotters that will cut lenghts of vinyl for 80 foot plus yachts.
I have no idea if they ever use carriers because they work with vinyl. My point is, why not see if you can find a Vinyl fitter shop in, or near where you live and geive them a bell. you might find they can do what you want and save to getting a plotter.

Great, good to know that these long cuts are possible. Thanks for your resonse!
I still want to get the Plotter though, as I will be using it a lot.
So the main question still is: do I need a carrier/cutting mat to cut big sheets of paper or Mylar?

 

[poccoinc]

Hi,

I would say yes. The blade will cut trough the paper/mylar.
Vinyl has backing there for the blade won't cut the cutter

 

[wmlepage]

It will cut paper I no issue, you will need a matte or carrier sheet though, same would apply for anything without a backer.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[AndreZA]

There definitely need to be a carrier to keep everything together. If you cut everything that has moved past the blade will fall apart and the machine will rip the paper apart. You can always just draw the shapes on with a pen attachment and cut it out by hand. Or you can use a pounce/prick wheel attachment and make pounce patterns.

 

[Oddball]

I have a small A4 plotter which has the pen attachment and with my software I can set a user defined paper size so I would say that the suggestion from Andre would be the way to go.
Having said that, I was looking at carrier sheets yeterday on line and there is an adhisive for refurbishing your carrier mat so there should be no reason why with a little inginuity you can't make your own carrier. you deffo need one or the machine and blade will be dameaged good style!

 

[jesse888]

Thanks all for the replies.
The patterns are complex geometric ones, it's already taking ages to draw and cut them by hand,
and they will only get more complex as I'm designing them. I'll post pictures when done :redface-new:

So a cutting plotter it must be

I think I have two options:

- cutting the shapes out of a material that has a backer. The only thing is, I need a lot. What is the cheapest material out there? I'd like it to be +- 26 inch wide, and preferably, very long, on a roll? Is it only vinyl that has a backer?

- or making a very large carrier for paper. In that case I'd like to make one that's 26 inches by 130 inches. Does anyone know how to do that? Are those things for sale? The biggest I seem to find is A2...

Shoot

 

[Oddball]

Hi Jesse, Don't know where you are? you need to fill in your Bio so people can advise you on stuff.
I use Shot blast vinyl for a lot of my stuff.
Have a look at this link to to Compamy I use, it will give you an idea of whats out there.
Sandblasting Stencil Films | MDP Supplies

 

[jesse888]

Hi Jesse, Don't know where you are? you need to fill in your Bio so people can advise you on stuff.
I use Shot blast vinyl for a lot of my stuff.
Have a look at this link to to Compamy I use, it will give you an idea of whats out there.
Sandblasting Stencil Films | MDP Supplies

Thanks for the link Oddball. I am belgium based, I'll update my profile.
I visited a printshop that has a cutting plotter today.
With the materials I've seen so far I have this problem:
All vinyls that have their own base, are stickers. Since I'd like to use it as a stencil, it should be non-sticky and stronger.
Are there materials with their own base that are a bit stronger and non-sticky?

Thanks

 

[jesse888]

whoa, I just checked their website, they have a 1m*2m cutting mat, nice!

 

[Oddball]

You mentioned Mylar? I don't think that can be cut - I think it is lasered.
I did buy a mylar cutter that looked like a soldering iron but I couldn't get nice crisp edges with it ... operator error

 

[patricks]

You can cut mylar, use it for my homemade freehand shields.
I order it from lion-art Plotter materialen 60cm wide but not cheap.

As a carrier you can use backing from vinyl (maybe some leftover from a signshop) some spray glue and put the mylar on it. After cutting, a bit of water or white spirit will get rid of the glue residue.

Maybe you can try the same vinyl backing and some cheap wallpaper.

I think i personally would create the stencils that large in hand-able parts.
Let's say 60cm by 1m and tape them together on the object you want to paint.

 

[Oddball]

You cut mylar, use it for my homemade freehand shields.
I order it from lion-art Plotter materialen 60cm wide but nog cheap.

As a carrier you can use backing from vinyl (maybe some leftover from a signshop) some spray glue and put the mylar on it. After cutting, a bit of water or white spirit will get rid of the glue residue.

Maybe you van try the same vinyl backing and soms cheap wallpaper.

I think i personally would create the stencils that large in handable parts.
Let's say 60cm by 1m and tape them together on the object you want to paint.

Thanks for that site and the info about cutting mylar , Live and learn!

 

[jesse888]

You cut mylar, use it for my homemade freehand shields.
I order it from lion-art Plotter materialen 60cm wide but nog cheap.

As a carrier you can use backing from vinyl (maybe some leftover from a signshop) some spray glue and put the mylar on it. After cutting, a bit of water or white spirit will get rid of the glue residue.

Maybe you van try the same vinyl backing and soms cheap wallpaper.

I think i personally would create the stencils that large in handable parts.
Let's say 60cm by 1m and tape them together on the object you want to paint.

That's some very good info, thanks!
I think I will buy a roll of printing plotter paper then, and stick it to leftover backings.
I'm thinking of getting my a HobbyCut Plotter at Plotter-City,
or do you have a good suggestion for a Dutch plotter company or plotter brand?

THanks,
Jesse

 

[patricks]

Jesse888,

I only have experience with a refine mh721 plotter, which i bought second hand. It is sold by uscutter, but i think it is a Chinese cloon.

It works well as a hobby cutter, it is ok if you don't need a very small/accurate stuff.
I recently bought a silhouette cameo and was impressed how small detail it would cut.

My best guess is if you need to cut large amounts of stencils on daily basis you are better of with a decent brand like SUMMA or Roland but these will cost 5 or 6 times more than the Chinese ones.

But on the other hand the price of a Chinese one is quite low, so if you get one, you can get started and get familiar working with plotters and if you see the benefits in your projects you always can sell it and buy a better one if needed.

If you want some more info or sites in the Netherlands who sell plotters:

Welkom bij SignSeen, De professional voor Snijplotters, Lasergraveer machines, Groot formaat printen, Sublimatie technologie en artiekelen, snij en digitale print media
Airbrush & Pinstripe shop
Snijplotters - DDS Druma B.V. nl

 

[jesse888]

THanks for this usefull list of companies.

I thought I had it figured out:
Buying a 70cm plotter, with an A+ mat of 200*100cm, and then cutting the mat to 200*70cm, done!
But sadly the A+ cutting mat is meant for handcutting, not with a plotter.

I am now thinking of melting or pasting smaller plotter mats into one big one.
Would a cutterplotter have a problem wih the seam of the mats beeing harder or softer than the rest of the mat?
I'd like to make a mat of 70cm*200cm out of 60*30 mats...
Are there reasons why making my own big mat is a bad idea?

 

[patricks]

A cutting mat is a sticky piece of thin plastic.

You need it because when you cut paper or mylar the cut out pieces will get loose and between your stencil and the knife.
so if you have some kind of plastic or mylar, put some spray glue on it to get it sticky and put you stencil material on top.

So in example uses a double layer of mylar. Just make sure the knife only cuts through the top layer.

example glue http://www.manutan.nl/p-MIG291105/L...-8BjWkDdInjdr0HPa4-g7Zn0wbxybiywSro05REbw_wcB

 

[jesse888]

OKej, thanks a lot!
That solution is a lot cheaper than having a custom mat made,
or trying to glue a big one out of smaller mats.

Will try this for sure!

 

[jesse888]

I am still in doubt if I will buy a 72cm plotter or a 142cm plotter.
I wonder, is there Mylar of +- 140cm wide out there for sale?
I only found 62 wide so far...