Data preparation for optical plotter
DATA PREPARATION FOR OPTICAL PLOTTER
The optical plotter is used for cutting printed stickers - the sticker remains on the original sheet and only the waste material of the sticker itself is removed, the backing paper remains whole. This makes it easier to peel off the sticker before applying it to the intended location. For production, it is necessary to properly prepare the individual object and prepare their mounting on the sheet. The customer can prepare the assembly of the objects for production himself or order this service for production at the hourly rate of DTP works. If the assembly is not prepared according to the parameters below, the client will be notified by the production. It is not possible to start production without correctly mounted data.
Preparation of an individual object:
Leave a minimum 3mm bleed on all trimmed objects, except for trimming motifs. CMYK colour space, no PANTONE or DIRECT colours are allowed, these will be converted to CMYK with no guarantee of colour consistency.
Preparation of assembly on arch:
The maximum normal sheet width is 1300mm. The maximum normal height is 2000mm. For small objects (under 100x100mm) we recommend a maximum size of 600x500mm. Other dimensions by agreement with the production manager.
All objects must be inside the imaginary bounding rectangle. The size of the fitting marks varies depending on the size of the whole document. Trimming path and fit marks 1pt thick in black - 100% K. The passage point does not need to be if the rotation of the objects is clear.
BEWARE of multiple lines in the same place (the machine would unnecessarily cut multiple times in the same place) - so, for example, do not prepare the rectangles to be cut as separate rectangles, but make lines (cuts between rectangles) for the entire sheet size.
The result of the preparation are two files:
- FILE No. 1 - printable: PDF v.1.3 PDF/X-1a contains custom sticker graphics + pass mark + pass point
- FILE No. 2 - trimming: AI or EPS max. v.10 includes sticker path + fitting marks + fitting point
Example of installation on arch.
