If you cut monument stencils on a Gerber GS-750 or GS-750 Plus, you have probably run into this one: you go to cut a 28" stone, and the plotter will not give you the whole height. The top of the stone comes up short, and you are left cutting it off or cutting the stencil in two.
Why 28 inches matters
28" is one of the most common stone heights in our industry. Uprights, slants and plenty of markers come in right around that size. But a GS-750 leaves the factory set to cut only 27.25" across. That last three-quarters of an inch is exactly the part of a 28" stone that gets lost.
Most shops work around it one of two ways:
- Cut the top off and finish the stencil by hand on the stone, or
- Cut it in two pieces and fit them back together, hoping the seam lines up.
Both cost time, and both leave room for a mistake on a stone that cannot be un-blasted.
The waste adds up
There is a second cost that is easy to miss. That extra ¾" is not just at the top of one stone — it runs the full length of every roll you put on the plotter. On a 20-yard roll of stencil, it is 540 more square inches you can actually use, about 2¾% more out of every roll. Over a year of rolls, that is real money staying in your pocket instead of going into the scrap pile.
The fix
The good news: your plotter is able to cut the full 28". It just is not set up that way out of the box. For years I have been setting customers' plotters up to use that full width, and now you can order it right from the website.
- It is done remotely — about 15 minutes, and you can watch the whole time.
- No parts and no hardware changes.
- Your original settings are saved first and can be put back any time you ask.
- You get a written record of each plotter's setting, before and after.
It works with Gerber GS-750 and GS-750 Plus plotters run from Omega or Graphix Advantage 6.21, on Windows XP, 7, 10 and 11. The price is $150 per computer, and that covers every GS-750 set up on it.
Order the Plotter Cutting Width Upgrade
Have a 15-inch plotter?
If you run a GS-15, GS-15 Plus or HS-15, give me a call at (706) 988-6642 before ordering and we will talk it through.
Cutting a 28" stone in one piece is how it should have worked all along. If you have questions, call or email — I am always glad to talk plotters.
— Brian
Gerber, Omega and Graphix Advantage are trademarks of their respective owners. The Drafting Shoppe is an independent service provider.