MIMAKI fine Cut 3 User manual

MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
http://www.mimaki.co.jp/
E-mail:[email protected]
OPERATION MANUAL
D200674

About FineCut for CorelDRAW
Thank you very much for purchasing a product of Mimaki.
FineCut, direct a cutting software for CorelDRAW®, offers stable cutting environment which
have never been realized by other cutting software. A built in sorting function dramatically
decreases cutting time.
System Requirements
The following conditions are required to use FineCut.
• IBM PC or compatible mounting Pentium processor or compatible CPU
•Microsoft®Windows®98, Windows®ME,
Windows®NT4.0 (service pack 3 to 6), Windows®2000, Windows®XP
* Supported OS are same as corresponding version of CorelDRAW.
*When connected to a plotter by USB, Windows2000 Service-Pack3, WindowsXP Service-Pack1, or later
version is required.
• CorelDRAW®9, 10 (service pack 1 or later), 11, 12
•Visual Basic for Applications®
•MIMAKI CG series, MIMAKI CF series
Install the Visual Basic for Applications, or the FineCut may not run normally.
When installing the CorelDRAW, be sure to install the Visual Basic for Applica-
tions by selecting the custom install in the CorelDRAW installer. For the de-
tails, refer to the attached installer procedures. CorelDRAW 11 performs the
standard.
Notes:
•Do not copy this manual in whole or parts in any form without prior approval from Mimaki.
•Do not copy this software to any other disk for the purpose of other than making a backup
disk or load it in memory for the purpose of other than execution.
•Except for the damages prescribed in Warranty Notes of Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd.,
Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. assumes no responsibility for effects (including loss of in-
come, indirect damages, special damages, or other financial damages) resulting from the use
or non-use of the product. This also applies to the case when Mimaki Engineering is notified
of the possibility of damages. For example, Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. assumes no re-
sponsibility for damages of media (work) caused by using this product and indirect damages
caused by a product created using the media.
CorelDRAW is a trademark of Corel Corporation.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation of the U.S.A.
Each of the company and product names is a trademark or a registered trademark of each individual company.

Table of contents
About This Manual ............................................................................. 2
FineCut Menu ..................................................................................... 3
Quick Start.......................................................................................... 4
Advanced Operations........................................................................ 8
Enlarge and Reduce an Object ............................................................ 8
Cut an Object Multiple Times (Copy) ................................................. 10
Cut an Object by Layer ....................................................................... 12
Cut an Object by Color ....................................................................... 13
Identify the stroke width and overlap ................................................. 14
Set Cut Conditions for Each Media..................................................... 15
Set Head Position and Origin Automatically after Plot ........................ 17
Make a Seal ...................................................................................... 19
Attach a Contour ................................................................................. 19
Create a Registration Mark ................................................................. 21
Recognize and cut Registration Mark (in use of CG-EX series) ......... 23
Recognize and cut Registration Mark (in use of CG-FX series) ......... 25
Fill and Outline of an Object ........................................................... 32
Plotter/User Setup ........................................................................... 33
Plot Dialog ........................................................................................ 35
Troubleshooting ............................................................................... 41

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About This Manual
FineCut Operating Manual describes the FineCut functions.
Notations
Menu items are enclosed in square brackets like [File] menu. Buttons displayed in a
dialog are framed like Plot .
Symbols
Indicates a caution you must observe when operating the product.
Indicates a procedure you must perform.
Describes a useful procedure.

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FineCut Menu
FineCut consists of 6 items. After installing the FineCut, activate CorelDRAW to dis-
play the 6 icons of the FineCut on the CorelDRAW screen.
[Plot] : Displays the cutting area to set the object layout
and various options. It also sends an object to the
plotter for object cutting. (see page 35)
[Plot Selected Only] : Plots only the selected object.
[Setting] : Sets the communication conditions for connecting
with the plotter used. (see page 33)
[Recognize Outline And Overlap] : Recognizes the outline width and overlap of the
selected object. (see page 14)
[Extract Contour] : Creates a contour for the selected object.
(see page 19)
[Create Registration Mark] : Creates a registration mark to be recognized by the
plotter. (see page 21)

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Quick Start
The following process shows how to cut out ABC at the bottom right of the A3 size
sheet using Mimaki CG cutting series.
Additionally, make a frame around the ABC, and cut it 5 mm away from the characters.
1Load a A3 size sheet into a plotter as shown below.
2Set the plotter to REMOTE mode.
Be sure to set the plotter to REMOTE mode. In case the LOCAL mode, FineCut
cannot load the sheet length.
A3 size sheet
Frame

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3Activate CorelDRAW.
No need to set the paper size to A3 size.
4Enter “ABC”.
5Click [Setting] button.
Set the communication conditions to enable communication between FineCut and the
plotter. (see page 33)
Click Set .

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The effective cutting area
(Mimaki CF series set the origin point to the bottom left of a sheet.
Therefore, ABC characters are displayed at the bottom left.)
6Click [Plot] button.
Plot dialog appears.
If the mark is displayed on the left of Load Sheet Size button, the plotter
sheet size cannot be loaded. Set the plotter to REMOTE mode, and then click
Load Sheet Size button to load the sheet size .

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7Set a frame.
Set a frame at 5 mm around the object. Check [Frame] check box and enter value 5 as
the frame space.
8Click Plot button to start plotting.
The origin point is set to the bottom right of the sheet. Therefore, the object cutting is
performed from the bottom right. (bottom left with Mimaki CF series)
9Click End button.
Plot dialog closes.

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Advanced Operations
Enlarge and Reduce an Object
Enlarge or reduce an object. Move the mouse cursor to a corner of the object and then
drag it.
1. Enlarge or reduce an object with a fixed aspect ratio.
Click [Ratio Unlock] on the Option menu. Enlarge or reduce the object as dragging a corner of
the object.
2. Enlarge or reduce an object only along horizontal or vertical direction.
Click [Ratio Unlock] on the Option menu. Enlarge or reduce the object as dragging any one
side of the object.
It indicates the ratio is fixed.
(see page 37)

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•Drag the mouse as holding down the Shift key of the keyboard to enlarge
or reduce the object with the aspect ratio retained.
•Change the horizontal and vertical sizes separately before invalidating Ra-
tio Unlock to enlarge or reduce the object with the new aspect ratio re-
tained.
Enter the values of the Size and Scale on the Object menu to enlarge or reduce the object
more precisely.

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Cut an Object Multiple Times (Copy)
Use the copy function to cut an object multiple times vertically and horizontally, use
the copy function.
The following example shows how to cut ABC on the A3 size sheet.
Enter value 3 for horizontal and value 4 for vertical on [Copy].
Set the margin between objects (horizontally and vertically) to 10 mm.
The total length indicates the size including all margins of the object.

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Check [Frame] check box and input 10 mm in Frame to set 10 mm space around the
object.
The total length indicates the size including the frame size.
When setting a frame, it is set for each object. Cannot enclose all the copied
objects with a single frame.

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Cut an Object by Layer
If the multiple layers exists with objects on CorelDRAW, you can cut out the specified
layer.
The following example shows how to cut out ABC on layer 1.
Change the Plot dialog to the layer list.
Uncheck the Layer 2 check box.
Object DEF on the layer 2 disappears from the cutting area.
Click [Origin Lock] check box to cut out the object (ABC) retaining the layout position.
When uncheck the check box, the object is cut at the bottom right of the sheet (bottom
left with Mimaki CF series) base on the origin.
Origin Lock setting Cut result
Layer1
Layer2

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Cut an Object by Color
If an object consists of multiple colors on CorelDRAW, you can cut out the specified
color object.
The following example shows how to cut out the Cyan (C=50%) colored ABC.
The color list of the Plot dialog indicates the color configuration of the object.
Uncheck the check box of the color set of object DEF. Object DEF disappears from the
cutting area.
Check [Origin Lock] check box to cut out the object with the position of ABC retained.
(see page 12)
Color List
The color list displays all the colors (including PANTONE and other characteristics) used for
the object. It also displays the color of fill and outline colors of the object.
C=50%
PANTONE 185 CVC
Outline color : Display the information on the outline color.
: Check all lists
: Uncheck all lists
Fill color : Display the information on the fill color.
On the CorelDRAW9, palette names are not displayed but the numbers
are displayed like “C=50, M=0, Y=0, K=0”.

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Identify the stroke width and overlap
Identify the outline width and overlap of objects to cut it as a figure as displayed on the
monitor.
1Select the object to be identified.
2Click [Recognize Outline And Overlap] button.
3The outline width and overlap are identified.

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Set Cut Conditions for Each Media
This function is effective only for the MGL-IIc commands.
FineCut enables to register the plotter cut conditions.
Before plotting, change the cut conditions depending on the media type.
1Click Media Setup button (see page 33) on the [Plotter/
User Setup] menu to display the Media/Tool Setup dialog
appears.
(Alternatively, click Edit button (see page 39) in the Plot dialog.)
Edit the media setting.

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2Click Add button to add a media on the Edit Media/Tool
dialog.
Click OK button to add the media to the list.
Double-click on the target condition to change the setting.
Alternatively, click Edit button.
3Click Set button to save the cut condition.
In case any setting value exceeds the limit value on the plotter, plotting is
performed based on the limit value of the plotter. For the limit values, refer to
the Operation Manual.

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Set Head Position and Origin Automatically after Plot
When checking [Head Withdrawal After Plot] check box, the plotter head move to the
specified position after plotting the data. When clicking Set button, enable to set up
the withdrawal position and Origin Update.
(On the default condition, the withdrawal position is set to the Max.plot length +1 cm
without [Sheet Feed Origin Renewal].)
Click Set button to change the head withdrawal position or set the origin to the with-
drawal position.
[Head Withdrawal Position] dialog appears.
(1)Set the head withdrawal position for the horizontal direction.
Reference position from either [Current Origin] or [Max Plot Length].
For example, the head is withdrawn to the position at 0 mm from Current Origin for
the horizontal direction in the figure above.
(1)
(2)
(3)

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(2)Set the head withdrawal position for the length direction.
Reference position from either [Current Origin] or [Max Plot Length].
For example, the head is withdrawn to the position at +100 mm from the Max Plot
Length for the length direction in the figure.
(3)Set the head withdrawal position as the origin.
(This function is effective only for the MGL-IIc commands on Mimaki CG series.)
Check this option, for the useful operations like continuous output.
When checking “Sheet Feed Origin Renewal”, [No. Copies] or [Division Cut]
function on Mimaki plotter will not perform correctly. Uncheck “Sheet Feed
Origin Renewal” before using [No. Copies] or [Division Cut] function.