How I Design and Print Die Cut Stickers

This video is how I design and print die-cut stickers from start to finish on a Roland VG3-540 Printer. I will take you through the process of making die-cut stickers using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Versaworks, in this video I show you have to design, Laminate, and then cut the stickers.

[@XDCARTEL]

Hey brother, just a tip: instead of running two passes when cutting, you might be able to adjust the pressure and get the perfect cut. Reducing the speed of the cutting would also increase the cleanliness of the cut, saving time by running only one pass.

[@gruposcalybursadecv997]

awesome channel man,keep up the great work

[@ajvaldez]

thanks, I really appreciate it :)

[@miketheprintman]

If you click on the "Erase Background" button at the bottom of the image it will do that whole process a lot faster. The new AI integration in Photoshop is pretty awesome. Good video though. Thanks for sharing. That image turned out looking pretty dope.

[@ajvaldez]

Hey Thanks so much for the advice. I really appreciate it. been using these apps year and still learning :)

[@amberleigh6338]

It is really awesome, I love it, but your cut out will probably still have some sort of outline around it.. transparent, grey or white.. whatever.. so, there's still a little bit of work to be done after the cut.. depending out what youre doing with it. If I wanna do offsets on my silhouette.. it will pick up all of the extra lining.

[@coreyschlueter8046]

what are your perf cut settings? I have a bn2-20 and It jams every time(media lifts). using 6 mill vinyl, any suggestions?

[@polterbox]

is it ok to ask what settings did you use to for the cartoony look to imrove the image

[@ajvaldez]

You got discord or email? I can send you the photoshop action I made.

[@mikecasey3499]

do you plug this printer in a 240 v outlet?

[@ajvaldez]

This printer goes Into a standard outlet, like a plug you use for your PC, USA 110 or EU 240

[@briantheodore1451]

Great video and I appreciate your explanation on all of this. Do you find that you burn through cut strips and blades by cutting all the way through?

[@ajvaldez]

Yea I have burned through them. I am still trying to gage it. I think I get around 20 jobs before I got to switch out blades and Cutting Strip, I also notice that gloss vinyl will Wear it down faster too and it is harder to cut through, its crazy because sometimes I will have the setting perfect and I still get spots that don't cut clean. Ideally from what I have seen a lot of companies use a separate cutter like a Suma or a Graphtec! because they have a separate slot for the blade for pref-cut so your not cutting into a cutting strip. I have been using Roland for around 15 years and it does the kiss cut perfect but these machines seem to struggle with Perf cutting. I mean I do get perfect result but llke you said I burn through blades! I am think about buy a graphtec but 4.5k is a big investment for a 30inch cutter and at the moment I haven't been getting enough sticker orders.

[@briantheodore1451]

@@ajvaldez I feel that! I have a bn2-20 and have been making sticker sheets with kiss cut. I do that to save blades and the cut strip. It was not until recently that I could buy a replacement cut strip for that machine so I was holding on on die cutting. I would LOVE to die cut, but I so don't want to deal with replacing blades and cut strips that often. So, sticker sheets it is! I do know that the flatbed cutters are really awesome for die cutting, but like you said....its a large investment and they are heavy and fairly large. You might consider making your stickers on sticker sheets. So you have your business name and all that, with the die cut sticker on there, and then all the customer has to do it peel off the sticker and place it on whatever they want. They are gonna peel it off the backing anyway. :) Might be a bit more material and or ink, but you could save a lot on blades and cut strips. So far, that works for us.

[@ajvaldez]

@@briantheodore1451 yea I have thought about that. I have a video on here about stickers sheets but I never listed them on my page, its what I might so next, but the funny thing is I have a brand new cutting strip and blades now and no orders lol that's life sometimes!!! I was thinking about buying a laser cutting machine and was wondering how well they cut through vinyl or even Magnets but its another big investment. its so hard these day to know what will sell or what could be that one item the sells and sells, I guess I will just keep listing and see what moves! thanks so much for commenting and sharing your advice, I really Appreciate it!

[@JustAverageJeff]

Have you made your ROI on the printer yet?

[@ajvaldez]

Not even close yet lol but going to keep pressing!!!

[@joebenavides7258]

Hey broe great tutorial you make it look so easy. I have a roland bn 20 but when I laminate the cut line shifts any tips

[@ajvaldez]

It can be a couple of things. Are you doing long runs? I know it can shift if you are doing a lot at one time, I usually happened to the back left hand side, it starts to shift. If it’s not that, the second thing it can be are the rollers, make sure when you are taking the material out and putting it back in, make sure the rollers don’t move. If they move and are smaller than the original print job then it will throw your cut off. If both of these are not it we will have to look at the cut settings you have. You could have an offset.

[@joebenavides7258]

Well usually the only times that I tried to print and laminate its havent been a successful job because my cut lines move.but I do try to keep everything as it is. And when you say offset that's when you add the bleed on illustrator? What about when I feed the page back in do I have to click media with again on versaworks?

[@ajvaldez]

@@joebenavides7258 offset is kind hard to explain but there’s a setting in cut control make sure that 0.250 , also you probably are already doing this but when you print the job are you putting marks? There’s a tab for marks in versaworks make sure you click the box crop marks (print&cut Alignment) and then under cut control take select print only. So when you put the media back in it can find the alignment dots it prints. But if you need to have a talk to troubleshoot we can talk in discord if you have that. Would love to help you figure this out.

[@joebenavides7258]

No problem about the offset stuff broe. But regarding the offset in cut control in the cut settings I do have 0.250 blade offset. I just downloaded the app so we could talk that would be highly appreciated broe how can we get in contact

[@ajvaldez]

@@joebenavides7258 you can add me on discord AJvaldez and I will accept it. And we can communicate there to see what time is good for you to talk.

[@TheBasquiatjm]

Hi, are you doin solvent or eco solvent printing? How is the smell issue, can u ise that printer at home? How long does it take to dry completely? Thanks.

[@ajvaldez]

I am using eco solvent and the smell is no problem. I have printed 10 feet full color banners and it’s not a problem. I have the printer in a small room in my house. The room does have a big window but I haven’t even opened it.

[@TheBasquiatjm]

@@ajvaldez sounds great men thanks for your answer. also i was just wandering how is the drying issue. I am a printer opperator and ive always used UV and latexes, they have no issues about drying. about 10 years ago i used solvent which was a no for me, it was taking ages to dry to tuch, impossible to deliver to customer right after printing. So can you please give me about the drying issue? I am also considering buying one and it would be great to hear how it works. Can you deliver rush jobs that needs to be delivered in 2-3 hours? Have you tried printing on art paper? can you comment on those things aswell please. thanks.

[@ajvaldez]

@@TheBasquiatjmyea these Roland TrueVIS TR2 inks dry super fast, if you are laminating you a suppose to let them gas off but I have been just doing small signs and stickers and have no issues with it drying. Roland claim 6hr outgassing. I have heard others having problems and needing 24-48 hours before laminating and mounting to a sign or even cutting like in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGHCdI2lhKmpqdU but I have had no problems.

[@TheBasquiatjm]

How is the electric connection? I am based in the uk, will a standard plug in a flat works? Have you done any thing extra in your home to make it work electric vise?

[@ajvaldez]

@@TheBasquiatjmyou need nothing extra and yea these machines run off 110v -220v (kettle plug). I use to live in Ireland and had my machine at my house for awhile before I was able to get my shop front.