How to Use the Graphtec CE6000-40 Vinyl Cutter
Ben Pepper
Using the Graphtec Studio Program
Projects must be made in the Graphtec Studio computer program prior to printing them out. Graphtec Studio includes lots of tools which can allow the user to customize their sticker. Some of these tools include:
- Draw a line, draw a rectangle, draw a round rectangle, and draw an ellipse, which allow users to draw the shape in the name of the tool.
- The draw a polygon tool makes it easy to draw lots of lines and connect them together to make a polygon. This polygon can be changed by double-tapping the shape, which allows the dots of the polygon to be changed.
- The draw a curve shape does what the draw a polygon tool does, but with curves instead of lines.
- The draw freehand tool does what the name implies. This tool can be useful in tracing a picture to making it into a sticker.
- The draw an arc tool allows the user to draw an arc with the ability to choose the radius of an arc and how many degrees it is.
- The draw a regular polygon tool can be used to draw a regular polygon with up to 60 sides.
- The text tool allows the user to write text, with the ability to change the font and size of the text. This text can be placed in a sticker.
- The knife tool is used to cut a shape into two separate pieces.
- The fill color and line color tools allow lines and the shapes to be colored, so that a difference can be seen between them.
- The trace tool allows a highlighted space to be copied.
- The design page tab modifies the size of the design page.
Cutting the Sticker
To cut out a sticker made in Graphtec Studio, the cutters window needs to be opened. A message will pop up on the right of the screen which says "Could not connect to the CE6000-40." This problem can be solved by turning on the power button, which is on the left side of the vinyl cutter. Both the Graphtec Studio program and vinyl cutter will tell the user to "Load Media." This means that the sticker paper must be loaded into the Graphtec CE6000-40. The sticker paper roll should be placed behind the machine. There is two places with wheels where the roll needs to be placed.The sticker paper needs be placed through the vinyl cutter and under both sets of wheels. To do this, the rollers on which the sticker paper is placed might have to be moved. Once this is done, the lever in the back which is down should be pulled up to secure the sticker paper. Now, 3 options come up on the vinyl cutter screen. Option one (Roll-1 Front Edge) should be chosen, as excess sticker paper will return back to the original roll of sticker paper which will prevent any extra sticker paper from being used. The cutter is now ready to cut and the hitting the button "send to cutter" allows the program on the computer to transform into a sticker.
Taking the Sticker Out of the Paper
To take the sticker out of the paper, the switchblade should be used. The lever in the back of the vinyl cutter can be pushed back down to release the paper. There is a crevice on the machine that allows the sticker paper to easily be cut in a straight line. But, before doing this, make sure to check where the sticker ends so that when the sticker paper is cut, there is no part of the sticker still attached to the roll of sticker paper. It can now be pulled off of the sticker paper and attached to any surface. To cut out any small letters the metal hook can be used. This will destroy the sticker letters but still allow the letters to show up as the color of whatever surface the sticker is attached to.
The Possibilities of the Vinyl Cutter
So much can be done with the vinyl cutter. Using all of the tools that Graphtec Studio offers, I have been able to make such creations as a sun and a wreath with lots of different colors. It can be used to print out a sticker of anything, such as a whale, a name, and even a smiley face. There is so much that this vinyl cutter can do. Now, with background knowledge on the vinyl cutter, lots of stickers can be made.
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