[Rodney Gold]

The small graphics need to be done photographically , take the plate to the local PC board makers and ask them to laminate , expose and wash out the image – the image need to be sent to them in black and white – they use VERY high DPI plots – like 2400 or better and basically use the same type of technology as screening when you make screens.

The alternative is to find someone with a laser near you and use a polyester vinyl over the engraved areas (Laser guys don’t want to laser engrave ordinary vinyl – they dont mind cutting it , but vaporising large areas realease toxic vapors and chlorine into a laser and the chlorine combines with vapour to form hydrochloric acid which in the long term attacks laser parts) and send them the image to laser.
Settings for a 25-30 watt laser (most common power) are about 100% power and 50% speed.
the only hassle with this is the slight glue residue the laser leaves behind , but a few seconds in a fine grit blaster clears this.

If you want your business to soar – buy a laser , especially if there is no one in your area with one curently , there is a huge amount you can do with them to offer your customer what was previously impossible.
I can write a short sort of “what a sign guy can do with a laser ” type thing if any one is interested.
Lasers are VERY pricey , but IMHO a licence to print money. The new Generatation lasers are marvellous , the new Gcc Laserpro Explorer is a wonderful machine with a bed size of 1m x 500mm (1m x unlimited with pass thru) and tru production engraving speed.

[Rodney Gold]

Hi Allan
I live in Cape Town and married a Ballaet dancer from Capab – small world – lol
CT is now a major tourist destination and has changed in the last few years , to the good – Ah yep Braaivleis and Potjekos and a few 6 packs – SA’s staple diet 🙂

[Rodney Gold]

Heres a definitive reply , considering Im in the same industry

There is only ONE reason to use a thermal printer in your case and that is the ability to print gold and silver – Its a huge advantage in the domed decal business to be able to “foil”
I have 2 Roland thermals and they , to be frank , suck , I have the PC60 and the PNC 5000 and have had a 600 and a pc 12 on demo – they need to be used in a clean room environment , are not good for large graphics , are alittle flaky ,
They will not print full colour well for the kind of detail you need want to get bye on “spots” , dither is noticeable if you are perfectionist and continous tones or fades dont reproduce nearly as well as on a inkjet running high dpi
Running costs are high and you cant use wax ribbons when doming as the waxes run into the resin and smear so any savings or DPI advantages must be ignored if in wax ribbon mode
I kown I’m moaning , but have used the Rolands VERY succesfully in manufacturing badges , inserts , domed decals etc
The Edge , tho I havent owned one , is better – according to my pals that do own them in terms of running cost and reliability ?? I dunno
Even with all their need for tlc , the rolands are the cheapest way to get into small decal doming with the least initial cost , but should you wish to grow and get busier , you will soon learn that thermal resin printing is not ideal.
You state you do 1000’s at a time , at that level you should have a production machine , any solvent type inkjet and cut combo will do , we have gone from our PC based solution to a Roland Soljet 540 pro II and it dramatically increases production , like 1600 decals an hour at 1440 dpi
One of the advantages the roland PC thermals has is to print on various colours quite well , inkjets cant really print onto dark and a gold printed black background domed decal looks fabulous , deep piano gloss and shimmer

Inkkjet prinitng “a la” desktop stuff is also not ideal for doming , tho works , the inks have moisture which affects the doming process leading to bloom and aline migration and they can run in the resin but something like a Epson 3000 that does a2 and a flatbed cutting system is an option and using care when doming is an option
Still thats not a true production system.

As to software , Corel ,Signlab etc , take your pick
With the Rolands you must use their RIPS and signlab has its good internal RIP and has a very nice badge/serialization routine , thus you can offer serialized or personalised items. Its not a cheap program as is Corel but is suited better to what you need , Corel is not a sign program and often there are no workarounds for what you want to do – buy a sign or dedicated program , it pays in the long run

Basically you are printing both vector and raster artwork , we often import jpegs or othewr formats into various packages and print/cut , so some decent raster package like photoshop is a must
You asked for unbiased , well here you have it , I have been there done that and got the t-shirt and paid thru my teeth for that pleasure 😉
Good luck with your endevour

[Rodney Gold]

2 types of brass available , 1/2 hard (the normal stuff) and engravers brass – most non ferrous metal merchants have engravers brass and a 1mmthick x 2 meter x 600 sheet (1.2 sq meters) is normally in the GBP 70 range . (im in SA so dont know the UK market)
Engravers brass is the way to go , it is free machining and far better quality alloy wise and working wise then normal brass which tends to clog cutters (its a lot harder and might nead annealing if bending)
With engravers brass you engrave or cut dry , at about 1/2 the speed you cut or engrave plastics. Lower powered spindles (under a kw or so) will have to take 2 or 3 passes to cut 1mm.
For the engraver , the schlep of working with normal brass is not worth it for the slightly lower cost
Tungsten carbide single flute D , v or engraving cutters are the best to use to engrave or cut , set you plunge rate a little slower if taking deep cuts , something like a CnC router with a 2.2 or 3kw motor can do 3-4 mm deep in a single pass when cutting , a 7kw can do 10 mm , dont go too slow as you tend to heat the brass and actually anneal it and make it softer and more difficult to cut. (applies to engraving too)
In engraving as the cutting edge of the tool hits the metals , 2 things happen , a shear and a chip , you can see this clearly on a guillotined metal edge , a bright bit and a dull bit – the bright part is the shear

A shear is not desireable when macining , it creates heat , a short shear and a large chip is the best. slow feed speeds are not desireable either in any metal engraving – you must use a speed and feed calculator , feed is dependant on the type of bit , type of metal , rotational speed , power of the motor etc . You can sort of guestimate and with experience you get very close , but go by the book for predictable results, most tool suppliers supply feed tables. Engravers brass is forgiving , stuff like stainless is not ands unless you stick to the tables , you may get disasterous results with it
Cutters for brass must have a large back clearance for chip removal , end mills , slot drills etc are not recomended.
Single flute cutters – single flute cutters – single flute cutters – repeat the mantra 😉
For 1/2 hard brass (the soft normal stuff) use parafin as a lubricant or , if you arent afraid of youf facilty going up in flames , methylated spirits(which is wonderful as a lubricant for aluminium)
Shell dromus or BP dihatsol water soluable cutting fluid , undiluted is also an excellent lubricant
Other tips:
If using a fill to hog areas away , use a stepover of about 1/2 radius to get a smooth floor if needed
Use a vacuum system or a chip removeable system
Dont engrave thru any coverings , remove them
If you get burring then your cutter is wrong , it has nothing to do with speeds and feeds
If cutting , those who have serious routing software and machines , use your web or bridge feature , take a large cut with a bridge and then a final to pierce and remove , especially with small parts
Brass swarf is normally needle like , be very careful with splinters and NEVER inspect the cutting without safety glasses
Most of this also applies to aluminium engraving , for aluminium try get the harder graded , 50xx or the like , soft commercial grades dont machine well

Also look at my post re engraving brass without an engraver for other methods

[Rodney Gold]

Does the PC boot up into windows or just hang and freeze?
Does the keyboard light come on ?
Is there an error message whilst booting?
There is a solution if there is a major problem with your PC , take out your drive , set the jumper to slave mode (you will see it at the back of the drive) , insert it into another PC and copy the contents over , at least your data will be ok and you might be able to runs most stuff without a reinstall
win2k pro is actually the best system to run if you HAVE to run bloze;)
Then comes XP pro
I suspect if both keyboard and mouse dont work , its something to do with the motherboard , or perhaps a loose board in the puter.
Generally problems with the motherboard will emit a series of beeps on boot and those beeps are a code as to whats wrong.

A virus is unlikely as it would generally give a more distressing message , like format c:/ 😉