Tips for Cutting Flock Heat Transfer Vinyl

By Jim Hingst

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 SEF’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 plotter 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 SEF’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 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.

NOTE: RTape’s Kelvin Cabrera deserves special thanks for his work in compiling these tips.

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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 485 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

© 2015 Jim Hingst