How To Weed Vinyl
Our Vinyl Weeding Tips Will Make sure Your Signs Come Out Crisp. Are you new to sign making with vinyl cut with a vinyl cutter or plotter machine? Perhaps you’re looking at your first sheet of cut vinyl and are wondering how to weed vinyl? Or maybe you'rer a vet and know how to weed vinyl, but want to get better? Well, you’re in luck! Weeding, or the process by which unnecessary vinyl is removed from a design, can be tricky, especially when working with small letters or intricate designs. Tiny designs and letters are extremely difficult to cut out, and problems like vinyl lifting off the backing and paper tearing are common. The good news is that there are a few things you can do to make the process a bit easier. Keep reading to check out a few simple tips for weeding vinyl.
How To Weed Vinyl
Lay your unweeded vinyl out on the table in a right-reading direction. Begin weeding from the upper right corner and work toward the lower left corner.
When working with designs that are ½” or smaller, tape out the entire cut? The designs you need should come up with the vinyl in one piece. Lay this on your weeding area sticky side up and hold the vinyl in place using spring clamps. This will allow you to weed away the excess vinyl without causing any misalignment.
Only cut a weeding border and no weeding lines, except the ones needed to separate groupings. Carefully weed out openings, such as the holes in the letters A, e and O. Cover the design in transfer tape like normal, carefully remove the backing paper and apply the design as usual. You should be able to remove the transfer tape and excess vinyl without the risk of damaging your design.
Put the vinyl in the freezer for about an hour after cutting. This will cause the vinyl to shrink and make the weeding process easier.
Weeding vinyl cut from a vinyl plotter software is undoubtedly a challenge when working with lettering and intricate designs. With these tips in mind, the mystery of how to weed vinyl should be solved and you can make the process much simpler. Following the advice listed above will also save time and allow you to complete projects faster.
