Figure 24 Plotting Pen Guidelines; Guidelines For Plotting Pens; Cutting Long Designs - Ioline SmarTrac I/S Series User Manual

36 Ioline SmarTrac User Guide

Guidelines for Plotting Pens

Ioline has determined guidelines for plotting with a plotter pen.
Refer to the Figure 24 for recommended settings for a variety of pen
types. Use Test Cut and gradually increase these settings until the
best value is found for the pen being used. Remember that Force
values are for starting reference only. These settings may vary due to
manufacturer, color, age, and temperature of the material.
Paper Pen
BMI ® Super HP ® -style
Layflat or ballpoint
equivalent
high-quality
bond
" BIC Round
®
Stic ballpoint
" Standford
®
Sharpie
" HP ® -style
fiber tip
— Plastic tip
— Ceramic tip
— Liquid ink /
Metal tip
Figure 24. Plotting pen guidelines.

Cutting Long Designs

When cutting long designs, it becomes increasingly important for
the material to be aligned properly and for the settings to be prop-
erly adjusted. Before cutting, verify that the SmarTrac is properly
calibrated and that the pinchwheels are correctly spaced. For best re-
sults, certain system settings should also be adjusted. Use the Ioline
Control Center to make these changes. The following suggestions
will help you produce fine quality long designs.
1. Use a stand or cradle. The use of a stand or cradle takes advan-
tage of the cutter platen design. When draped over the platen,
the material benefits from its natural tendency to curl down-
ward.
2. Build a material slide. Cut two cardboard pieces the width of
the stand and large enough to lean against the stand legs. This
prevents the material from going under the machine and get-
ting buckled with material from the other side.
3. Check the material roll. Place the roll of material to the right
of the material cradle or media rollers. Make sure the roll is
tightly wrapped and even along the sides.
Load the material straight. See the previous sections Loading the
4.
Material and Aligning the Material and Pinchwheels to properly
load the cutter.
Speed Force
(grams)
Maximum 60 – 80
Maximum 180 – 200
Maximum 70 – 100
Maximum 70 – 100
— —
— —
— —
Comments
1 5ms pen up/
1 5ms pen
down delays
Not
recommended
Not
recommended
Not
recommended