If you want to provide your customers the rich look of an embroidered emblem, but the cost of embroidery is too rich for their blood, consider using RTape’s VelCut™ flock material. This velvety soft material is a great alternative at a fraction of the cost. Flock heat transfer appliques are cut in reverse (mirror image). The technique for cutting a flock film is a little different than cutting polyurethane or vinyl heat transfer films. Here are some helpful tips, when cutting VelCut™ or any other brand of flock:
- Always use a sharp 60⁰ blade when cutting VelCut™ or any other flock material. Let me emphasize that you will need a “sharp” blade.
- When setting the blade depth, the tip of the blade should be just barely exposed. Many people make the mistake of setting the blade too deep. While flock material is thicker than flex film, you do not need to cut all the way through the flock. You just need to cut through the heat activated adhesive layer.
- Cutting flock does require more downforce pressure than cutting a flex film. Cutting RTape’s VelCut™ requires a downforce pressure between 120 and 140 grams. Downforce pressure will vary depending on the sharpness of the blade, the type of plotter used and the type of flock material cut. Some brands of flock do not cut so easily as the RTape/SEF brand.
- Use a slow cutting speed. When cutting with the Roland VS540, we set our cutting speed at 8.
- Prior to production, always perform a test cut. Adjust your offset value and other settings to achieve the desired results.
