Vinyl Cutter

Using MH-721 MK 2 Vinyl Cutter, a PC computer, and Easy Cut Studio

Table of Contents:

Great Videos

• Using Sure Cuts A Lot Software
• Loading Vinyl
• Applying Vinyl to a Wall

Settings

For vinyl: Speed 500mm/s; Press 100g

Using Cutter Software Only (good for just text)

1. Open Easy Cut Pro 3 Pro on PC
2. Set the mat size (this is the vinyl size) by going to Cutter > Mat Size > Add Custom
3. Make sure the mat size fits your objects. Make it about 0.5 inches smaller than your vinyl width, and whatever "height" you need to print.  You can change the height after you have added things.
4. You can add text using the Tools bar (pops up in top Left of screen)
5. Add text or basic shapes included in the software to your mat. You can put them fairly close together as you can cut them after you have printed them out. You can change the font etc. using the menu on the right. Make sure that the Cut line type in the Appearance menu is set to "CUT" as per below. 
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6. Save your file.
7. When you are ready, load the vinyl in the cutter. Put it between the two pieces of tape, Or, if its bigger than 13", line up the side closest to the cutter head.
8. Load the vinyl in the cutter. You load it from the side with the levers. Put it through until it touches the ruler on the other side. Be careful, the blade is sharp!
9. Push down the roller levers. This holds it in place. The best I have found is putting one about 1" from each side, and one in the middle.
10. Turn on the machine using the on button (furthest from the cutting head) and make sure the USB is connected.
11. When you are ready to cut, go to Cutter > Cut with USCutter
12. Make sure the settings are as below (double click image to enlarge)
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13. please pre-cut the vinyl to size before printing, giving about 5 inches of space. You can put a small piece of masking tape on the leading edge of the vinyl to stop it from slipping out. Alternately, you can feed the vinyl through. Make sure to put it ON TOP of the rollers, like this:
    1.  
14. When you are ready, press CUT.
15. Do not leave the room while the cutter is going. 
16. If anything funky happens when you are cutting, you can press the Offline / Pause button on the cutter itself to pause. You can realign the vinyl, etc if needed. When you unpause, it will start back where it left off
    
    
    
    

Using Illustrator (great for icons + non-text elements)

1. Make your file in illustrator. It doesn't make a huge difference how big it is in illustrator.

2. Save a copy because we will do destructive editing. File > Save As > ....

3. If you have text, select everything and do Type > Create Outlines, or Ctrl+Shift+O (Windows) or cmd+Shift+O (Mac)
4. Now we need to save it as an EPS. Go to File > Save A Copy > ... and select Illustrator EPS as your file type. Save your EPS file to a USB, to the UT Box Folder or upload to a cloud service.
5. Open Sure Cuts A Lot 3 Pro on PC. 
6. Place your EPS file into Sure Cuts Alot by going to File > Import
7. Set the mat size (this is the vinyl size) by going to Cutter > Mat Size > Add Custom
   1. Make sure the mat size fits your objects. Make it about 0.5 inches smaller than your vinyl width, and whatever "height" you need to print.  You can change the height after you have added things. 
8. Because your file is an EPS, you can resize as much as you want using the bounding box or the Properties box on the side. Select your element, and then you can change the size using the W and H fields.
   1. 
9. Load the vinyl in the cutter. You load it from the side with the levers. Put it through until it touches the ruler on the other side. Be careful, the blade is sharp!
10. Push down the roller levers. This holds the vinyl in place. The best placement seems to be about 1" from each side, and one in the middle.
11. Turn on the machine using the on button (furthest from the cutting head) and make sure the USB is connected.
12. When you are ready to cut, go to Cutter > Cut with USCutter
13. Make sure the settings are as below (double click image to enlarge)
    1. 
    2. please pre-cut the vinyl to size before printing, giving about 5 inches of space. You can put a small piece of masking tape on the leading edge of the vinyl to stop it from slipping out. Alternately, you can feed the vinyl through. Make sure to put it ON TOP of the rollers, like this:
       1.  
14. When you are ready, press CUT.
15. Do not leave the room while the cutter is going. 
16. If anything funky happens when you are cutting, you can press the Offline / Pause button on the cutter itself to pause. You can realign the vinyl, etc if needed. When you unpause, it will start back where it left off.