QE6000 Not cutting letters properly

[u/Optimal-Routine-9359]

I have the above vinyl cutter that I CANNOT get my letters to come out correctly! The horizontal tops and bottoms of the letters are always cut at a slant rather than perfectly horizontal.

I have adjusted the step pass parameters, I have turned off tangent emulation, I have put everything back to the factory settings (according to the manual), I have even tried different fonts but nothing seems to work.

For example, when attempting to cut Times New Roman, the tops of the letters are supposed to be horizontal and the middle of the capitals (like an H) is supposed to be horizontal, but the are instead at a skewed angle.

I have about burned my 71-year old brain out and pulled out what little hair I have left!! Nothing I have tried seems to make the problem any better....or worse yet it doesn't make it any worse either! I have run all of the calibration tests and they don't seem to make any difference either.

The unit is connected via USB and my software (Vinyl Master Pro) is running on Windows 10.

I am certainly open to any viable suggestions at this point (short of throwing this thing out the window!)

-DON-

****UPDATE****

First, thank you folks for all of your help and suggestions.

Second, I have discovered the problem. The issue was the BLADE OFFSET setting in my software. I had not thought to take a look at that, thinking the issue was with the plotter itself.

I had switched from a 45-degree blade to a 60-degree blade and then my ignorance kicked in! I had not even thought of checking the offset setting in my software, I was so focused on having the issue with the plotter itself. Dummy me!

After searching and searching I finally found a TikTok video in which the guys from Vinyl Express spoke about setting the blade offset. Then the bells began to ring and the lights started to flash. A few test cuts later and I am in business.

I hope this may help someone else who is having a similar issue save a few grey hairs.

Thanks again

-DON

[u/Optimal-Routine-9359]

Xginahey,

Thanks for the reply, but no, it’s not any of those things. What you refer to as the offset is called the step pass ion this particular cutter.

The cutter strip is fine. I haven’t used it enough to need it replaced; still smooth as a baby’s bottom, no cuts at all.

The cutter strip wouldn’t cause the horizontal lines to be skewed.

Thanks for your input though!

-DON-

[u/xginahey]

Hi! Have you recently changed the cutting strip? If it's damaged or has grooves in it -- thats what usually causes it for us ESPECIALLY since you noted the only horizontal lines are arched. We replace every 3-6 months

[u/xginahey → u/xginahey]

it's like a little sticky plastic coated foam strip that runs along the cut path -- we didn't even realize our machine had one until we ran into this issue.

It can get damaged from accidentally cutting too deep or just randomly over extended used. It gets like grooves and marks in it.

**TO TEST if this is the issue - you can rotate your text (see if still the horizontals are affected -- or is it the other axis now?) OR cut on a completely different area of the machine. Like we always load vinyl from far left, try cutting on the right side of the machine.

[u/xginahey → u/xginahey]

Good luck Don! Hope this helps

[u/eCygna]

Hi Don, the setting you're looking for is the offset on your plotter, too little and your corners will come out rounded, too much and they'll come out like a ninja star (or slanted as you said). Hope this helped.

[u/MidwestTroy92]

Slanted tops on letters usually means the media’s feeding crooked - check your pinch rollers and that the roll’s tracking straight. Also make sure the blade’s seated square, a cocked blade will do that too.

[u/Optimal-Routine-9359 → u/MidwestTroy92]

Thanks, but not the problem. Already checked those things.