Newbie to Cutting Business Cards - HELP!

[lfelton]

Shaz, regarding the minimum cutting depth. I don't know if this will help or not: we've got two guillotines, a Polar 78 and an EBA 551LT. I don't know about the Polar, but the little baby guillotine has a "clamp cover" and you have to remove that if you want to cut very small sizes. It just pushes on and off. Maybe your guillotine has something similar?

 

[unoprint1]

We run 10 up on letter size. Sometimes running landscape helps.

 

[shaz]

Hi

Part of my problem was that the cutter was not cutting to the measurement it was showing on screen!!! So I was working by eye which was naturally the wrong way to cut something like business cards.

Now the cutter is fixed, I am going to run off a sheet of 10 up and see how I get on!

Thanks

 

[kristianeyman]

hello, hopefully this message will reach some of the original people. does anyone have a template for a 10up business cards? i have heard that many digital copiers hold the front to back registration better on a 8.5X11 sheet? should i use gutters or print side by side? thanks for the help, i am laminating business cards then cutting them on a challenge model 20.

 

[Sherbert]

We normally impose our cards 4 across and 5 down with 4mm Gutters. 20 up Centred on an SRA3

First 2 cuts are by eye. Then just use maths.

85mm x 4 + 3 x 4mm = 352mm
55mm x 5 + 4 x 4mm = 291mm

Would then trim into strips:
Start with 352mm then Minus 89 everytime, then cut them at 85mm (except the last one which would have already been cut.)

Then trim the strips:
Start with 291mm then Minus 59 everytime, then cut them at 55mm (except the last one which would have already been cut.)

Job done, you'll soon get into the swing of it.

Takes around 3-5 minutes to cut them using backcuts.

I would never bother with deadcuts either, too much chance of burring or scuffing.

 

[kristianeyman]

sherbert,
thanks for the information! its going to take a bit for this to sink in as i am cutomed to use imches. either way do you find using a larger sheet vs a letter size for front to back registration has any effect? i am running a xerox 7655, and trying to get it to register is somewhat frustrating/ do you have a photo or diagram that you might be able to send me to get a visual? thanks, kristian!

 

[Muddy]

Hi Guys

As graphic designers, we thought it would be practical to get a small digital printing machine to provide short run print to our clients.. it's printing great.. the problem I am having is the cutting!!

Today I printed some business cards on SRA3 sheets, I think it was 18 up per sheet...

Went to the cutter and spent over an hour trying all sorts of cutting angles only to end up with a batch of all oddly cut cards.. i.e the design had moved around alot as I had cut in differently into the bleeds with most of the cards.

Is there some system to cutting these? Is there a video available somewhere - been searching everywhere..

Also I put my hands up to buying a very inexpensive SRA3 electronic guillotine.. it doesnt come into the cutting area more than 50mm ... i.e. if I want to cut 20mm into a design it wont let me do it unless I position it well away from its wall (the back part) .. and when it does cut it leaves a horrible clamp mark all across in a long line -- is this normal? I only received it today...

Your help would be grreatly appreciated

Thanks

I have to say..........................

I'm a printer but how hard can it be to be a Graphic Designer. I have a Mac. We have tried to do some graphic design for our customers because how hard can it be if we have a computer machine to do the design? But it always looks awful because, let's face it, we just don't have the skill, experience or mindset to do graphic design. Can all you people who do have these attributes please teach me (in a forum and in 5 minutes) how to do good and proper graphic design job so I can take away a portion of your business?

I can't decide which emoticon to use. This one:


or maybe this one:


Let's just leave it at:

 

[kristianeyman]

sorry to put a gun to your head and make you read this post as you obviously had better things to do with your time than to search a help forum and rant on someone that asked for help in the very place where its actually promoted!?? rest assured im sure that you have all the questions and never asked anyone for help because you were programmed to be perfect? sorry if this touches a nerve, maybe you will take a minute and think of the definition of irony or hypocrisy?

 

[Muddy]

I'm not sure how I'm being ironic or hypocritical. Please explain.

I just simply stated you are asking a group of people to help you so you can take work away from them. I used the graphic design analogy because it is your core business. I suspect you are offended when someone goes out, buys a computer and calls themselves a Graphic Designer and begins to take work away from you because they think if you have a machine that makes you a Graphic Designer. It's exactly the same thing. We are professional business people who invest in our companies, employees, clients and communities only to be insulted by people of your mindset who continue to devalue the printed products we produce by thinking you are a printer because you can push "print".

You should stay out of the print business and stick to the Graphic Design business. I'm sure you are very good at design

Oh and by the way, nobody puts a gun to my head to read any posts. I read them many times a day to see if I can be helpful to others or where I can learn. It just frustrates the hell out of me to see this "how hard can it be mentality"

 

[MrKarter77]

Shaz, regarding the minimum cutting depth. I don't know if this will help or not: we've got two guillotines, a Polar 78 and an EBA 551LT. I don't know about the Polar, but the little baby guillotine has a "clamp cover" and you have to remove that if you want to cut very small sizes. It just pushes on and off. Maybe your guillotine has something similar?

For bcards, to make it quicker and still use the clamp to stop killing as many cards, you can use a flat blade and just pop the right side slightly, then set it at 55mm then press clamp down to push plate back in... (on;ly for 55, no smaller)

This will vary slightly for other places but i run mine 21 up on sra3. 5mm gutters 55 X 90mm

to cut on my EBA551LT i cut as follows (this works with the setup on our 5000ap) and the settings i have for alignment etc

43.3mm cut
30.2mm or 29.8mm depending on edge

then it goes to 24.1 /24 depending on temps / paper stretch
restack on top and cut in half again

12.05 or 12

then 6
then 5.5 restacking once or twice depending on lots of 250 or 500

then cut at 9.5 then 9 then 9.5 then 9 and a last cut of 9.

I can upload a vid to youtube if you dont understand my method

 

[kristianeyman]

mr.karter,

a video would be very usefull and greatly appreciated! just getting into the digital print business and hopefully i can learn from my mistakes and also gain some wisdom from other along the way!

muddy,

i think that we got off on the worng foot, and for that i apologize! i am not a graphic designer, but a start up small print (digital) shop. i have learned almost everything on my own (service on machines and such) and do value and appreciate the wisdom of others. i have recently opened my shop in mexico (3 months) and have been blessed with a good cliente (customer service is king) but looking for ways to expand and offer more services to my clients thus the cutting question. i would like to offer business cards same day from a digital format, and god willing (if i can ever figuer it out) laminating on digital prints. so whilst eating my humble pie, hopefully you can help out in area where others want to pick up the torch and keep the craft and customer -client realtionship alive.

 

[MrKarter77]

mr.karter,

a video would be very usefull and greatly appreciated! just getting into the digital print business and hopefully i can learn from my mistakes and also gain some wisdom from other along the way!

muddy,

i think that we got off on the worng foot, and for that i apologize! i am not a graphic designer, but a start up small print (digital) shop. i have learned almost everything on my own (service on machines and such) and do value and appreciate the wisdom of others. i have recently opened my shop in mexico (3 months) and have been blessed with a good cliente (customer service is king) but looking for ways to expand and offer more services to my clients thus the cutting question. i would like to offer business cards same day from a digital format, and god willing (if i can ever figuer it out) laminating on digital prints. so whilst eating my humble pie, hopefully you can help out in area where others want to pick up the torch and keep the craft and customer -client realtionship alive.

Ok, So here is my technique...
YouTube - Sra3 21 up bcard technique

 

[kristianeyman]

Mr. Kraft,
WOW! Thanks for this video tutorial, looking to put it to use tomorrow!! I only have two questions for you
1. Why do many people use SRA3 size rather than 11x17?
2. You mentioned that you utilize 5mm gutters. We set up our cards 9x5cm. Are the gutters left blank, is this on full bleed cards or might you have a couple of pics of cards layed out on a SRA3 page? Thanks, Kristian

Sorry, did you build your paper tamper, or did it come with the guillotine? I just purchased a challenge model 20, and it does not have one?

 

[MrKarter77]

1. Why do many people use SRA3 size rather than 11x17?Im in aus, so metric is alot easier to use. 11 X 17 is just painful for me
2. You mentioned that you utilize 5mm gutters. We set up our cards 9x5cm. Are the gutters left blank, is this on full bleed cards or might you have a couple of pics of cards layed out on a SRA3 page? Think of it as having 2.5mm bleed off each card, i will get a pic of the next set i do and upload


Sorry, did you build your paper tamper, or did it come with the guillotine? I just purchased a challenge model 20, and it does not have one? This came with our machine, simple enough in design though, 2 pieces of wood at a right angle, with a third for a handle, i will get some pics of this as well

Also even if its all a solid colour right around the borders, i would not recommend using 0mm gutters as stretch/shrinkage can be a bastard

 

[kristianeyman]

MrKarter so i applied your method via youtube to a 11x17 24 up bcard job. it worked well...not perfect but passable. i would like for you to look at my comprehesion of a SRA3 21 up with gutters and let me know if this is how you would or do set up the job. i want to understand how you set up the gutters 1.75 bleed around the card, 3.5 between cards? thanks, kristian!

 

[MrKarter77]

MrKarter so i applied your method via youtube to a 11x17 24 up bcard job. it worked well...not perfect but passable. i would like for you to look at my comprehesion of a SRA3 21 up with gutters and let me know if this is how you would or do set up the job. i want to understand how you set up the gutters 1.75 bleed around the card, 3.5 between cards? thanks, kristian!

Not sure where you get the 1.75 and 3.5 from but here is an example of my layout

 

[kristianeyman]

do you have any problems wih variance when doing cards F&B? i have a bit of play in my xerox 240, but when i go to cut i always have problems getting the front and back straight, and have to start from scratch? maybe i should just do front sided business cards, but i would like to fiqure out a way to get this remedied so that i can have constant output!? thanks!

 

[MrKarter77]

No we get at Mac a variance of .5 mm unless there is a fault in the machine which majority of the time it's very minor... We can also adjust skew perpendicularity side edge and lead edge rego to 0.1mm increments... I find it to get better if I manually duplex

 

[kristianeyman]

karter,

we also get the varience of .5mm and also manually duplex using a 12pt stock coated on 1 side (going to move to the 2 sided coated stock) but had problems adapting your method to a 11x17!? Soooo i think i am going back to your reccomended method of SRA3 paper and some more practice to get this refined. i bought a challenge guillotine model 20, but i think it only displays in inches but i am going to see if i can make all this work. if not maybe buy a polar 52cm, or any suggestions? i am trying to break into the business card market, but want my technique to be refined before offering to the market. thanks for any and all advice! merry christmas!

 

[MrKarter77]

I use a 551lt it's no polar but it works. Castcoated will always get you in trouble... We cut sheets in half and use that... It never works well not being digital... Have a merry Xmas