Cutting plotters

► 1. General questions
► 2. Technical problems

1. General questions

What is a cutting plotter used for?

It is suitable for cutting self-adhesive roll decorative foils, primarily for advertising purposes, such as vehicle lettering, advertising lettering, company signs, etc. Cut out the inscription or emblem on the colored self-adhesive foil, peel off the excess from the backing paper, coat the cut foil with a slightly adhesive application tape. Use this applicator to peel off the inscription from the backing paper and stick it to the chosen surface. The application tape is slightly adhesive, so it can be peeled off the surface, leaving no trace and the cut colored inscription remains on the surface. The cutting plotter is also suitable for cutting cuttable heat transfer films that can be ironed onto textiles, such as T-shirts.

What's the difference between GCC, JINKA and MUTOH cutting plotters?

Jinka is the entry-level Chinese brand, which is well-known and reliable, but provides a lower quality standard than the other two brands. For example, it is slower, louder and has lower return accuracy. GCC is the mid-range, offering fast and accurate models with excellent servo drives. Mutoh represents the top quality, with a decade of history, uncompromising operation, advanced features and professional software.

What's the difference between Jinka's series JK and series GH?

The Jinka JK721 and JK1351 are cheaper entry level models for beginners with stepper motor and a speed of 800mm/s. The GH721 and GH1351 models have servo motor, which provides quieter and faster, 1200m/s cutting, and also have CCD camera contour cutting, which is suitable for contour cutting of printed stickers.

What is the difference between the Expert, Puma, Jaguar and RXII models of GCC?

Expert is the entry level stepper motor model, which is a bit louder and slower than the more precise and faster servo motor models. Puma, Jaguar and RXII are models with servo motor. Puma is the cheapest one out of the 3 with an excellent price-performance ratio. Jaguar is faster and can return accurately over several meters. RXII is GCC's top product, with industrial quality, high speed and excellent return accuracy.

What's the difference between 30°, 45° and 60° blades?

The smaller the value (e.g. 30°), the lower the angle between the foil and the blade's edge, which results in “duller” cutting. 60° is the sharpest. For cutting small inscriptions, such as 4-5mm letters, we recommend the sharper 60° knife, while for cutting larger objects, even 50-100cm letters, we recommend the blunter 30° knife. Furthermore, for cutting thick materials, we recommend the sharper 60° knife, so that the knife turns easier in the thick material. In general, the 45° knife is the general one, and this is generally suitable for most jobs.

2. Technical problems

Jinka cutting plotter can't find the port

Choose COM port instead of USB port.

The blade didn't cut the foil propery.

The pressure might be set too low, or if it's too high, the blade is pushed inward too deep in the chuck and needs to be moved out further. Always make test cuts before a job and set the pressure accordingly!

The blade cut the carrier as well.

The pressure is set too high or the tip of the blade is pushed outward in the chuck too much. Always make test cuts before a job and set the pressure accordingly!

The cutting isn't smooth.

There can be three typical reasons. Replace the knife if it has become blunt, replace the Teflon strip if it has many cut marks, or replace the chuck if it wobbles and the knife is not stable inside.

There's no connection despite of the proper comupter–cutting plotter connection. 

A USB extension cable or a non-original cable can cause connection problems. If you use the original cable, you should also test the plotter with another computer.