Gerber EDGE Owner's Manual

GERBER EDGE

by Gerber

Owner’s Guide

COPYRIGHT

COPYRIGHT © 2002 Gerber Scientific Products, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This document may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without written
permission of the copyright owner.

This document is furnished to support the GERBER EDGE. In consideration of the furnishing of
the information contained in this document, the party to whom it is given assumes its custody and
control and agrees to the following:

1. The information herein contained is given in confidence, and any part thereof shall not be
copied or reproduced without written consent of Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.

2. This document or the contents herein under no circumstances shall be used in the manufacture
or reproduction of the article shown and the delivery of this document shall not constitute any
right or license to do so.

PRINTED IN USA

GSP, GRAPHIX ADVANTAGE, GERBER EDGE, EDGE, and Signmaker are regis tered trademarks of
Gerber Scientific Products, Inc. OMEGA, Support First, Abrasion Guard, GerberColor, EDGE READY, GS
15, HS 15, GSP SPRINT, and SuperSprint are trademarks of Gerber Scientific Products, Inc. Chemtronics
and Ultrajet are registered trademarks of Chemtronics Inc.

FCC NOTICE

Warning: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible
for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial
environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe A est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

Table of Contents

Introduction................................................................................................................................... 1

In this manual................................................................................................................................1

Customer support.......................................................................................................................... 2

Conventions.................................................................................................................................. 2

Safety............................................................................................................................................ 2

Unpacking and Setting Up .........................................................................................................3

Unpacking or repacking the EDGE...............................................................................................3

Setting up the EDGE.....................................................................................................................4

Getting Started..............................................................................................................................7

Overview of the printing process.................................................................................................. 7

Printing a sample job....................................................................................................................8

Printing another sample job........................................................................................................ 14

Using the GERBER EDGE ...........................................................................................................19

Setting up the job........................................................................................................................ 19

Loading the material................................................................................................................... 20

Loading the color cartridge......................................................................................................... 21

Printing the job ........................................................................................................................... 23

Cutting the printed job on the plotter..........................................................................................24

Maintaining Print Quality.........................................................................................................26

Cleaning...................................................................................................................................... 26

Correcting printing problems...................................................................................................... 29

Mechanical Description ............................................................................................................31

Parts and their functions..............................................................................................................31

Using the keypad and display ..................................................................................................... 35

Firmware overview.....................................................................................................................36

Troubleshooting..........................................................................................................................43

Keypad display messages............................................................................................................43

Fuse replacement........................................................................................................................45

Index........................................................................................................................................... 46

Introduction

1

Congratulations on your purchase of the revolutionary

EDGE

the
vinyl and other materi als. The















Because a job can incorporate characters, shapes, scanned images, and clip art to
create a design, the
customers and your business.

In this manual

This manual contains procedures for oper ating, maintaining, and trouble­shooting the





GERBER EDGE

. With

®, you now have the ability to print computer-generated images on

EDGE

prints jobs containing:
infinite colors
airbrush fades
halftones
small text
intricate graphics
repeats
enhanced fonts

EDGE

opens up a wide array of possibilities for your

EDGE

. It is divided into the following sections:

Introduction presents safety guidelines, and customer support information.
Unpacking and Setting Up includes a list of equipment and accessories,

unpacking, and installation instructions.



Getting Started provides an overview of the printing process and
instructions for printing sample jobs.



Using the

for using the



Maintaining Print Quality offers tips for keeping print quality high and

GERBER EDGE

EDGE

.

presents background information and procedures

material loss low.



Mechanical Description describes the



Troubleshooting contains a list of keypad display messages and your

EDGE

parts and their functions.

responses. Also included is the procedure for changing a fuse.

2 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Customer support

If you require assistance, please contact your Gerber distributor or contact the
Gerber Field Service Department at:

800-828-5406 (USA and Canada)



860-43-1515 (International)
860-648-8376 (fax)

If you are a Support First member, use your toll-free assistance number (for
more information on Support First, call 860-528-1028).

Gerber FastFacts (answers to technical and service questions) telephone
number is 800-222-7446. FastFacts are also available on the web site.

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this manual:

Note: A note contains important information that could affect successful
completion of a task.

CAUTION: A caution statement contains information which, if not
observed, could result in damage to the equipment.

WARNING: A warning statement contains information which, if not
observed, could result in personal injury.



e-mail: [e-mail]

www.gspinc.com

Safety

WARNING: Unplug the power cord before performing any maintenance.
Voltage is present inside the system even after the power switch is turned
off. All voltage is removed only when the power cord is unplugged.

CAUTION: Static electricity may damage electronic components. Ground

EDGE

yourself by touching any bare metal inside the
handling electronic components.

chassis prior to

Unpacking and Setting Up

Unpacking or repacking the EDGE

EDGE

The
these packaging materials for future use in case you need to ship the
Provided separately with the
Prevent Damage. Please refer to this bulletin for complete instructions on either
unpacking your

CAUTION: Failure to repackage the printer with the specified packaging
materials may result in damage to the unit during shipping. Always repack
the printer as described in the bulletin Unpacking and Repacking to Prevent
Damage. Gerber is not liable for shipping damage due to improperly
packed units. If you do not have the proper packaging materials, call the
Gerber Field Service Department at 800-828-5406.

is shipped from the factory in reusable packaging materials. Save

EDGE

is the bulletin Unpacking and Repacking to

EDGE

or repacking it for shipment.

EDGE

3

.

Contents of the shipping boxes

GERBER EDGE

The
components box.

EDGE

The

EDGE









box contains cushioning material and an inner box. The

thermal printer is packaged in the inner box along with the following:

EDGE

An

EDGE

An
Thermal printhead cleaning kit

EDGE

An



Two 10 amp fuses



GERBER EDGE



Lint-free cloth



Cutter registration mark eyepiece



Pen printhead cleaner



Two power cable clips



Shipping wrench

is shipped in two boxes: an

power cable
printer cable

accessory package consisting of:

Owner's Guide

EDGE

box and a system

GERBER

4 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

The system components box contains:



Tensioner and roll-holder assembly



A roll of EDGE READY vinyl



A GerberColor cartridge



A spare foil squeegee

Setting up the EDGE

Follow these guidelines when setting up the



Use the



Press the cable connectors firmly into place, and then tighten each

GSP

-approved printer cable provided with the

EDGE

:

EDGE

.

thumbscrew one turn at a time until the connectors are completely seated.



Connect the printer cable from computer printer port

EDGE

. Do not connect the



Do not connect any other printer, device, or switch box to the printer port
you select. The

EDGE

EDGE

to

LPT1

through the securi ty block.

may not print or the print quality may be unacceptable

LPT2

or LPT3 to the

if you do.



Ensure that the checksum of the

EDGE

matches the release level of the
Gerber software. For additional information, refer to the “Setup menu”
paragraph on page 39.

The power switch and power cord receptacle are located on the right side of the

EDGE

. The parallel printer connector is located on the back of the

EDGE

.

To connect the EDGE to the computer

1. Use the printer cable to connect the

LPT3

.

EDGE

to computer printer port

LPT2 or

2. Plug the power cord into the power cord receptacle.

3. Plug in and turn on the

EDGE

first, then the computer.

You must add the GERBER EDGE to the GRAPHIX ADVANTAGE GA Plot program or the
OMEGA™ GSPPlot program before you can send a job to it.

Unpacking and Setting Up 5

To add the EDGE for use by the GA Plot program

GSP

Use the

Setup program to add the

ADVANTAGE

1. Open the

®

Plot program.

GSP

Setup program.

EDGE

and plotter to the GRAPHIX

2. Click on Setup in the menu bar.

3. Click on Vinyl Printer. The Add or
Delete Vinyl Printer(s) dialog box
appears.

4. In the Vinyl Printers list box, click

GERBER EDGE

on

5. In the Ports list box, click on

6. Click on Add. The

.

LPT2

.

EDGE

is added to the Installed Vinyl Printers list box.

7. In the Installed Vinyl Printers list box, click on
click on Preference. The Set Preference dialog box opens.

8. Click on OK. The

9. Click on Continue. The

EDGE

is shown as the default vinyl printer.

EDGE

is added to the system as the default printer.

To add a plotter for use by the GA Plot program

GSP

1. Click on Setup in the

program

menu bar.

GERBER EDGE

, and then

2. Click on Plotter. The Add or Delete
Plotter/Router(s) dialog box
appears.

3. In the Devices list box, click on the
name of the plotter you will use to
cut the printed job.

4. In the Ports list box, click on

COM1, COM2, COM3

, or

COM4

to choose the

port the plotter is connected to.

5. Click on Add. The plotter is added to the Ready for Plotting list box.

6. Click on Continue. The plotter is added to the system.

7. Exit the

GSP

Setup program.

Note: If the Plot Spooler is an icon on the Windows desktop, close out the icon
so that when it is reopened, the new vinyl printer and plotter will be available.

6 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

To add the EDGE for use by OMEGA's GSPPlot program

1. Right-click the GSPTray icon to open
the Gerber Tray menu.

2 Click Install Vinyl Printer to open the

Local tab of the Add or Delete Gerber
Vinyl Printer(s) dialog box.

3 Click the appropriate printer from the

Available Vinyl Printers on local
system list.

4 Choose either LPT2 or LPT3 from the Local Port group box.
5 Click Add to open the Add – Name Device dialog box.
6 Either accept the name of the printer in the Device Name box or enter

another.

7 Click OK. The name of the newly installed printer appears in the Installed

Vinyl Printers section of the Add or Delete Vinyl Printer(s) dialog box.

8 Click Close.

To add a plotter for use by OMEGA's GSPPlot program

1. Right-click the GSPTray icon to open
the Gerber Tray menu.

2. Click Install Plotter/Router to open the
Local tab of the Add or Delete
Plotter/Router(s) dialog box.

3. Highlight the appropriate plotter or
router from the Available
Plotter/Router(s) on local system list.

4. Choose COM2, COM3, or COM4 from the Local Port group box.

5. Click Add to open the Add – Name Device dialog box.

6. Either accept the name of the plotter or router in the Device Name box or
enter another.

7. Click OK. The name of the newly installed plotter or router appears in the
Installed Plotter/Router(s) section of the Add or Delete Plotter/Router(s)
dialog box.

8. Click Close.

Getting Started

Overview of the printing process

7

GERBER EDGE

The
(GAPlot) program or the OMEGA GSPPlot program. For ease of using this
document, both programs are referred to as the Plot Program.

Your design program provides the capability of assigning fill colors to shapes.
These fill colors correspond to the GerberColor cartridges used by the
Your design program may also allow you to select the percent of tint, the size of
halftone dots, and the color of vinyl. This information is stored in the job file and
sent to the

Using the Plot program, open the job file and make your normal plot selections.
These selections are for both the
EDGE for printing.

Note: Be certain that you select the plotter you plan to cut on prior to printing.
If you change plotter selection after printing, cutting registration may be
degraded.

During printing, prompts appear on the
the material and change the color cartridge. If more than one color is used in a
job, the display prompts you to load each new color until the job is complete.

After a job is printed, it may be cut on a plotter. The only difference between
cutting a printed job and cutting a vinyl job is that you must register the plotter
knife exactly with the cutter registration mark printed on the material by the

EDGE

knife with the registration mark.

EDGE

. Use the eyepiece provided in the

prints jobs output by the

through the Plot program.

EDGE

GRAPHI X ADVANTAGE

and the plotter. Send the job to the

EDGE

display telling you when to load

EDGE

accessory package to align the

 Plot

EDGE

.

Note: A Slow Slew mode is a feature of some Gerber plotters. Slow Slew helps



you align the knife with the print reg istration mark. GS 15
plotters and the SignmakerIVB, the GSP SPRINTII series, and the



SuperSprint
distributor for details.

series require a firmware upgrade. Please contact your Gerber

and HS 15



8 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Printing a sample job

Why not explore some of the capabilities of your

EDGE

now? In the following
sequence you will print a black job on white vinyl. Your EDGE may include an
alternate GerberColor foil cartridge. You may use this foil instead of the black
foil to print the sample job. The plot (.PLT) file is already loaded on your system
as part of the Plot program. Follow the instructions to print your first

EDGE

There are five operations to perform when using the



Setting up the job



Loading the material



Loading the color cartridge



Printing the job



Cutting the printed job on the plotter

:

EDGE

job.

To set up the job

EDGE

1. Plug in and turn on the

first, then the computer and plotter.

Note: See “Using the keypad and display” paragraph on page 35 for more
information.

EDGE

2. The

display reads:

OFFLINE

3. Press ONLINE on the keypad. The display reads:

ONLINE

4. Press the HOME key once to rotate the drive sprockets to the home position.

(The three closely spaced teeth face up.) You must press HOME before
sending the job to the EDGE.

5. Open the Plot program. The Open dialog box appears.

6. In GA, navigate to the Jobs/Samples folder. In OMEGA navigate to the

Gsp/Library/Sampler folder.

7. In the File Name list box, double-click on EDGEOL.PLT. The job is

displayed in the working area.

8. Press F7 for the Plotter Select dialog box.

9. If necessary, click on the 15-inch plotter you plan to use for cutting the job

to highlight and select it. Click on any other plotters to deselect them.

Getting Started 9

10. Click on

GERBER EDGE

to highlight and select it.

11. Click on OK.

12. Press F10 to send the job to the

EDGE

.

To load the material

1. The display shows the material loading prompt:

Vinyl: WHITE

2. Push in the cover latch and raise the cover.

3. Push the bail arm latch toward the rear of the

the raised position.

EDGE

and lift the bail arm to

Loading material into the EDGE.

4. Clean the bail arm squeegees and platen using a clean, lint-free pad

moistened with isopropyl alcohol. Allow to air dry before loading material.

10 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

5. Position the tensioner assembly next to the right (on/off switch) side of the

EDGE

as shown in the illustration.

6. Slide the roll of material onto the

roll holder. Pull the end of the
material away from the
then under and over the tension
arm roller back toward the

7. Seat the three-hole pattern in the

vinyl over the three closely spaced
teeth in each sprocket. Lower the
bail arm and push the bail arm
latch toward the rear of the
so that the latch locks the bail arm
down.

9. Slew the vinyl back and forth so that the squeegees clean the area to be

printed. Leave a leader of at least 2" (5 cm) beyond the left squeegee.

To load the color cartridge

1. Press ONLINE on the keypad. The

display shows the color foil to load.

EDGE

EDGE

EDGE

,

.

Foil: Black

Note: Your EDGE may include an
alternate GerberColor foil cartridge.
You may use this sample foil instead of
black foil.

2. Clean the printhead with the pen

printhead cleaner or use a pad
moistened with 98% or higher
isopropyl alcohol. Do not soak the
pad with alcohol or you may
damage the printhead. Gently rub
the entire length and width of the
printhead and the surrounding
metal. Dry with a clean, lint-free
pad.

3. Clean both sides of the foil squeegee using a pad

moistened with isopropyl alcohol. Allow to air dry.

4. Remove and discard the foam core locks from the

color cartridge.

5. Hold the color cartridge vertically with the label

facing toward the inside of the cover. Orient the
cartridge so that the glossy side of the foil faces
toward the right as shown in the illustration.

6. Insert the color cartridge

toward the rear of the cover
until it touches, then rides up
on, the ramp.

7. Rotate the cartridge to the right

until it covers the cartridge pin
plate and the left side of the
cartridge is behind the curve of
the support bracket.

8. Release the three cartridge pins

under the cartridge pin plate so
that they secure the color
cartridge in the head support.

Getting Started 11

9. Press the FOIL SLEW key

until the cartridge pins snap
into place and the foil moves.

10. Close the cover.

To print the job

Note: There may be a pause after you press ONLINE before the printing starts.

1. Press ONLINE on the keypad.

2. The

EDGE

may go through a brief warm-up cycle. If so, the

EDGE

display

reads:

WARMING UP

12 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

3. After the

EDGE

is warmed up, printing starts. When printing is complete,

press RESET on the keypad. The display shows:

OFFLINE

4. Slew the material out of the side of the machine toward the roll. Wind the

job on the roll. Take the roll to the plotter.

To cut the printed job on a 15" sprocketed plotter

1. Remove the tool from the plotter tool carriage.

2. Open the bail arm by lifting it up from the drum.

3. Use the keypad slew keys to slew the plotter drive sprockets so that the three

closely spaced teeth are facing up.

4. Seat the three-hole pattern in the vinyl over the three closely spaced teeth in

each sprocket and close the bail arm.

5. Slew the tool carriage and vinyl so that the registration mark is visible

through the barrel of the too l carriage.

6. Activate slow slew by pressing the SLOW key.

Note: The plotter beeps once when you enter the Slow Slew mode and beeps
twice when you exit the Slow Slew mode.

7. Insert the eyepiece into the tool carriage as shown. Align the groove in the

eyepiece with the key in the tool carriage so that the eyepiece seats all the
way down (touching the vinyl) in the carriage.

The eyepiece installed in the tool carriage.

Getting Started 13

8. Sight through the eyepiece and slow slew the material

so that the registration mark is exactly centered in the
eyepiece as shown. You can slow slew one step at a
time by tapping the SLEW key or continuously slow
slew by pressing the SLEW key.

9. Remove the eyepiece from the tool carriage.

10. Put the knife in the tool carriage.

11. Press F8 on the keyboard to cut the job.

12. Press the plotter RUN SINGLE key when the plotter indicator light blinks.

13. When the job is cut, slew the vinyl out of the machine and weed the job.

14 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Printing another sample job

In the following sequence you will print a red and black job on white vinyl. The
plot (.PLT) file is already loaded on your system as part of the GA or OMEGA.

Note: You may substitute other foil colors for Ruby Red and Black when
printing this sample job.

To set up the job

1. If necessary, plug in and turn on the

plotter.

Note: See “Using the keypad and display” paragraph on page 35 for more
information.

EDGE

first, then the computer and the

2. The

3. Press ONLINE on the keypad. The display reads:

4. Open the Plot program. If the previous job is still displayed in the Plot

5. In GA navigate to the Jobs/Samples folder. In OMEGA navigate to the

6. In the File Name list box, double-click on JAKES.PLT. The job is displayed

7. Press F7 for the Plotter Select dialog box.

8. If necessary, click on the 15-inch plotter you plan to use for cutting the job

9. Click on

10. Click on OK.

EDGE

display reads:

OFFLINE

ONLINE

program working area, click on Open in the File menu. In either case, the
Open dialog box appears.

Gsp/Library/Sampler folder.

in the working area.

to highlight and select it. Click on any other plotters to deselect them.

EDGE

to highlight and select it.

11. Press F10 to send the job to the

EDGE

.

To load the material

1. The display shows the material loading prompt:

Vinyl: WHITE

2. Push in the cover latch and raise the cover.

Getting Started 15

3. Push the bail arm latch toward the rear of the

EDGE

and lift the bail arm to

the raised position.

4. Clean the bail arm squeegees and platen using a clean, lint-free pad

moistened with isopropyl alcohol. Allow to air dry before loading material.

5. Press the HOME key once to rotate the drive sprockets to the home position.

(The three closely spaced teeth face up.)

6. Position the tensioner assembly next to the right (on/off switch) side of the

EDGE

and slide the roll of white vinyl material onto the roll holder. Pull the
end of the material away from the
arm roller toward the side of the

EDGE

EDGE

, then under and over the tension

.

7. Seat the three-hole pattern in the vinyl over the three closely spaced teeth in
each sprocket. Lower the bail arm and push the bail arm latch toward the
rear of the

EDGE

so that the latch locks the bail arm down.

8. Slew the vinyl back and forth so that the squeegees clean the area to be
printed. Leave a leader of at least 2" (5 cm) beyond the left squeegee.

To load the color cartridge

1. Press ONLINE on the keypad. The display shows:

Foil: RUBY RED

2. If necessary, remove an installed color cartridge by pushing down and
rotating the three cartridge pins under the cartridge plate. Rotate the color
cartridge to the left from behind the curve of the support bracket and remove
the color cartridge.

3. Clean the printhead with the pen printhead cleaner or use a pad moistened
with 98% or higher isopropyl alcohol. Do not soak the pad with alcohol or
you may damage the printhead. Gently rub the entire length and width of the
printhead and the surrounding metal. Dry with a clean, lint-free cloth.

4. Clean both sides of the foil squeegee using a pad moistened with isopropyl
alcohol. Allow to air dry.

5. Remove and discard the foam core locks from the color cartridge.

16 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

6. Hold the color cartridge vertically with the label facing toward the inside of
the cover. Orient the cartridge so that the glossy side of the foil faces toward
the right.

7. Insert the color cartridge toward the rear of the cover until it touches, then
rides up on, the ramp.

8. Rotate the cartridge to the right until it covers the cartridge pin plate and the
left side of the cartridge is behind the curve of the support bracket.

9. Release the three cartridge pins under the cartridge pin plate so that they
secure the color cartridge in the head support.

10. Press the FOIL SLEW key until the color cartridge snaps into place and the
foil moves.

11. Close the cover.

To print the job

Note: There may be a pause after you press ONLINE before the printing starts.

1. Press ONLINE on the keypad.

2. The

EDGE

may go through a brief warm-up cycle. If so, the

EDGE

display

reads:

WARMING UP

3. After the

EDGE

is warmed up, printing starts. After the

EDGE

prints the first

color, it rewinds the vinyl and the display shows:

Foil: BLACK

To change the color cartridge

1. Raise the cover.

2. Remove the ruby red color cartridge by pushing down and rotating the three
cartridge pins under the cartridge plate. Rotate the color cartridge to the left
from behind the curve of the support bracket and remove the color cartridge.

3. Gently wipe the vinyl, vinyl squeegees, foil squeegee, and printhead with a
clean, dry, lint-free cloth.

4. Load the black color cartridge by holding it vertically with the label facing
toward the inside of the cover. Orient the cartridge so that the glossy side of
the foil faces toward the right.

Getting Started 17

5. Insert the color cartridge toward the rear of the cover until it touches, then
rides up on, the ramp.

6. Rotate the cartridge to the right until it covers the cartridge pin plate and the
left side of the cartridge is behind the curve of the support bracket.

7. Release the three cartridge pins under the cartridge pin plate so that they
secure the color cartridge in the head support.

8. Press the FOIL SLEW key until the cartridge pins snap into place and the
foil moves.

9. Close the cover and press ONLINE on the keypad.

10. When the printing of the second color is complete, press RESET on the
keypad. The disp lay shows:

OFFLINE

11. Slew the material out of the side of the machine toward the roll. Wind the
job on the roll. Take the roll to the plotter.

To cut the printed job on the 15" sprocketed plotter

1. Remove the tool from the plotter tool carriage.

2. Open the bail arm by lifting it up from the drum.

3. Use the keypad slew keys to slew the plotter drive sprockets so that the three
closely spaced teeth are facing up.

4. Seat the three-hole pattern in the vinyl over the three closely spaced teeth in
each sprocket and close the bail arm.

5. Slew the tool carriage and vinyl so that the registration mark is visible
through the barrel of the too l carriage.

6. Activate slow slew by pressing the SLOW key.

Note: The plotter beeps once when you enter the Slow Slew mode and beeps
twice when you exit the Slow Slew mode.

7. Insert the eyepiece into the tool carriage. Align the groove in the eyepiece
with the key in the tool carriage so that the eyepiece seats all the way down
(touching the vinyl) in the carriage.

8. Sight through the eyepiece and slow slew the material so that the registration
mark is exactly centered in the eyepiece. You can slow slew one step at a
time by tapping the SLEW key or continuous slow slew by pressing t he
SLEW key.

18 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

9. Remove the eyepiece from the tool carriage.

10. Put the knife in the tool carriage.

11. Press F8 on the keyboard to cut the job.

12. Press the plotter RUN SINGLE key when the plotter indicator light blinks.

13. When the job is done, slew the vinyl out of the machine and weed the job.

Using the GERBER EDGE

19

There are five operations to perform when using the



Setting up the job



Loading the material



Loading the color cartridge



Printing the job



Cutting the printed job on the plotter

Setting up the job

Setting up the job involves turning on the equipment, opening the print file in

GRAPHI X ADVANTAGE

Step 2 below is necessary for each new job if you have not selected a 15-inch
plotter and the
Plot. Be certain that you select the plotter you plan to use prior to printing.

If you change plotter selection after printing, cutting registration may be
degraded. If you open a file that was previously printed and cut, the past

parameters and plotter and printer selections are automatically loaded with the
file. In that case, step 2 is not necessary.

To set up the job

Note: See “Using the keypad and display” paragraph on page 35 for more
information.

EDGE

:

or OMEGA Plot, and sending the job to the

EDGE

as preferences in the Plotter/Printer Select dialog box of

EDGE

.

1. Make sure that the

EDGE

The

display shows

EDGE

is turned on first before you turn on the computer.

ONLINE

. You must be in the Plot program and

have the file open that you want to print.

2. Press F7 to open the Plotter/Printer Select dialog box and choose the plotter
you plan to use for cutting and the

EDGE

for printing. Deselect all other

plotters. Click on OK or Preference.

3. Use the Plot program to enter the parameters for printing and cutting. This
includes parameters such as axis swap and repeats.

4. Press F10 to send the job to the

EDGE

.

20 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Loading the material

Before the material is loaded it must be clean. Refer to “The material” paragraph
of the “Maintaining Print Quality” section on page 26 for more information.

To load the material

1. The

2. Push in the cover latch and raise the cover.

3. Push the bail arm latch toward the rear of the

EDGE

displays a prompt:

Vinyl: (color)

the raised position.

EDGE

and lift the bail arm to

Loading the material into the EDGE.

4. Clean the bail arm squeegees using a pad moistened with isopropyl alcohol.
Allow to air dry before loading material.

5. Press the HOME key once to rotate the drive sprockets to the home position.
(The three closely spaced teeth face up.)

6. Position the tensioner assembly
next to the right (on/off switch)
side of the

EDGE

as shown in the

illustration.

7. Slide the roll of material onto the
roll holder. Pull the end of the
material away from the
then under and over the tension
arm roller back toward the

8. Seat the three-hole pattern in the
vinyl over the three closely spaced teeth in each sprocket. Lower the bail
arm and push the bail arm latch toward the rear of the
locks the bail arm down.

9. Slew the vinyl back and forth so that the squeegees clean the area to be
printed. Leave a leader of at least 2" (5 cm) beyond the left squeegee.

Loading the color cartridge

EDGE

EDGE

Using the GERBER EDGE 21

,

.

EDGE

so that the latch

The printhead, foil squeegee, and color cartridge must be cleaned before the
color cartridge is loaded. Refer to the paragraphs on cleaning the foil (page 26)
and the printhead (page 27) in the “Maintaining Print Quality” section of this
manual for instructions.

EDGE

The
primer in the design program, the prompt is
selected Abrasion Guard in the Plot program, the prompt is

GUARD

displays a prompt to load the foil color cartridge. If you selected a

PRIMER FOIL: (COLOR)

. If you

FOIL: ABRASION

.

Be sure to remove and discard the core plugs from a new color cartridge prior to
use.

22 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

You can estimate if you have enough foil on a cartridge t o print a job by looking
through the viewing hole at the amount remaining on the cartridge spool as
shown in the illustration.

Estimate the amount of foil remaining on the cartridge.

To load the color cartridge

1. Press ONLINE on the keypad. The display shows:

Foil: (color)

2. If necessary, remove an installed color cartridge by pushing down and
rotating the three cartridge pins under the cartridge plate. Rotate the color
cartridge to the left from behind the curve of the support bracket and remove
the color cartridge.

3. Clean the printhead and foil squeegee according to the cleaning “The
printhead and foil squeegee” procedure (page 27) in the “Maintaining Print
Quality” section of this manual.

Using the GERBER EDGE 23

4. Remove and discard the foam core locks from the
color cartridge. Clean the color cartridge according
to the cleaning “The foil” procedure (page 26) in the
“Maintaining Print Quality” section of this manual.

5. Hold the color cartridge vertically with the label
facing toward the inside of the cover. Orient the
cartridge so that the glossy side of the foil faces
toward the right as shown in the illustration.

6. Insert the color cartridge
toward the rear of the cover
until it touches, then rides up
on, the ramp.

7. Rotate the cartridge to the right
until it covers the cartridge pin
plate and the left side of the
cartridge is behind the curve of
the support bracket.

8. Release the three cartridge pins
under the cartridge pin plate so
that they secure the color
cartridge in the head support.

9. Press the FOIL SLEW key
until the cartridge pins snap
into place and the foil moves.

10. Close the cover.

Printing the job

Printing starts after you press ONLINE. There may be a pause before printing
starts or the keypad display may show
automatically warms to a temperature of 77° F (25° C). Depend ing upon the
room temperature, the warmup time may be instant to approximately 2 minutes.

During multiple color printing, after a color is printed the vinyl automatically
feeds back out of the

Foil: (color)

are printed. When all the colors are printed, the
be started or the job can be plotted.

WARMING UP

EDGE

to the registration mark and the display shows the

prompt for the next color. This sequence continues until all colors

. The printhead

EDGE

stops and a new job can

24 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

If you run out of foil while printing a job, the
display shows

EDGE

the
then press ONLINE. The

CHECK FOIL

. Raise the cover and load the same foil currently in

according to the “Loading the color cartridge” paragraph on page 21,

EDGE

will automatically register itself to start printing

EDGE

stops printing and the

where the original printing stopped.

Note: To ensure correct registration, the EDGE is set to overlap the old foil
with the new foil by 15 pixels. You may reset this amount to any value between 5
and 25 pixels by following the instructions in “Changing the EDGE overlap
setting” on page 42.

When printing multiple color jobs, remember to:



Wipe the material with a dry, lint-free cloth between each color.



Clean the printhead, platen, foil squeegee, and bail arm squeegees between
each job.



Clean the printhead between each color if the job is longer than 10' (3 m).

When printing multiple jobs on the same material, wait until all jobs are printed
before cutting them. This technique saves material and time.

To print the job

Note: There may be a pause after you press ONLINE before the printing starts.

1. Press ONLINE on the keypad. Printing starts. After the
color, it rewinds the vinyl and the display prompts for the next color.
Change the color cartridge when prompted.

2. When the printing of all colors is complete, press RESET on the keypad.
The display shows:

OFFLINE

3. When all jobs are done, slew the material out of the machine toward the roll.
Wind the jobs on the roll. Take the roll to the plotter.

Cutting the printed job on the plotter

When the job is designed in the Composer program, the printed shapes and cut
shapes are specified. When printing from the Plot program, the basic parameters
such as axis swap and repeat are set. Do not change these parameters after
printing and before cutting. If you change them, the printed job and the cut job
will not match. Cut the jobs in the order you printed them. Do not change the
plotter selection after printing because cutting registration may be degraded.

EDGE

prints the first

Using the GERBER EDGE 25

To cut the printed job on a 15" sprocketed plotter

1. Take the tool out of the plotter tool carriage.

2. Load the material in the plotter according to your plotter or console
instructions.

3. Slew the tool carriage and material so that the registration mark is visible
through the barrel of the too l carriage.

4. Activate slow slew by pressing the SLOW key.

Note: The plotter beeps once when you enter the Slow Slew mode and
beeps twice when you exit the Slow Slew mode.

5. Insert the eyepiece into the tool carriage as shown. Align the groove in the
eyepiece with the key in the tool carriage as shown so that the eyepiece seats
all the way down (touching the vinyl) in the carriage.

The eyepiece installed in the tool carriage.

6. Sight through the eyepiece and slow slew the material
so that the registration mark is exactly centered in the
eyepiece as shown. You can slow slew one step at a
time by tapping the SLEW key or continuously slow
slew by pressing the SLEW key.

7. Remove the eyepiece from the tool carriage.

8. Put the knife in the tool carriage.

9. Cut the job according to the Plot program and plotter or console
instructions.

Note: If the cut lines of the job do not match the print job, check that proper cut
registration was established at step 6. When properly centered, the knife cuts
precisely on the cross hairs of the registration mark before cutting the job. If the
cross hairs are not perfectly cut, the job will n ot be perfectly cut either.

26

Maintaining Print Quality

Quality printing and cutting depends on several factors:



The material and the foil must be clean.



The printhead, squeegees, platen, sprockets, and cassette pins must be clean.



The printed image must be exactly registered with the plotter knife. You
must cut the vinyl on the plotter that you selected prior to printing.

Cleaning

The material, foil, printhead, squeegees, platen, sprockets, and cassette pins must
be clean.

The material

The foil

Gerber has created a new material designation called EDGE READY™. EDGE
READY materials are processed, prepared, and qualified by the material
manufacturer for optimum image quality when printing with the
READY materials are the only materials recommended for use with the
EDGE READY material is identified by an EDGE READY symbol inside the
roll and on the outside of the box.

To remove any surface dust or dirt, gently wipe the material with a clean, dry,
lint-free cloth before printing and between foil colors.

When not using the material, store it in the plastic wrap it originally came in.
Following this advice should keep print quality high and material loss low.

Keep the color cartridge in its sleeve and store it in a clean and protected
environment when it is not installed in the
percent relative humidity in a temperature range of 40° to 90° F (4° to 32° C).
Do not store the color cartridge in direct sunlight.

EDGE

. Store the cartridge at 40 to 60

EDGE

. EDGE

EDGE

.

The foil in the color cartridge can get dirty in two ways: in storage (where dust is
attracted to it because of static charges) and during use. If the color cartridge is
not loaded in the

EDGE

, use a compressed air, ultra-filtered, non-residue dust
remover, such as Chemtronics Ultrajet 2000 or equivalent, to quickly spray
the spool ends and both sides of the foil in the color cartridge before loading the
color cartridge in the

EDGE

the dust off the foil. If the color cartridge is in the
key to advance the foil several inches so that the dirt buildup is rolled beyond the
printhead and into the color cartridge.

The printhead and foil squeegee

There are two times to clean the printhead: normal cleaning and removing
contamination buildup.

Normal cleaning refers to cleaning the printhead before each job. If a job is
longer than 10' (3m), clean the printhead before loading each color cartridge.
Use the pen printhead cleaner or a pad
moistened with 98% or higher isopropyl
alcohol to gently rub the entire length
and width of the printhead as shown in
the illustration. Do not soak the pad with
alcohol or you may damage the
printhead. Dry the printhead with a
clean, lint-free cloth.

Maintaining Print Quality 27

. Do not soak the foil − spray it just enough to blow

EDGE

, use the FOIL SLEW

Contamination buildup occasionally
occurs on the printhead element itself
(the brown strip surrounded by the gr een
mounting area in the printhead). When
this happens, printing quality is degraded
and a more thorough cleaning is
necessary. We suggest c leaning the
printhead element weekly or as required.

Use the Thermal Printhead Cleaning Kit provided with your

EDGE

. If you need
additional cleaning kits, contact your Gerber distributor or the Gerber Customer
Service Department.

Clean both sides of the foil squeegee with a lint-free cloth moistened with
isopropyl alcohol. Allow to air dry before loading a color cartridge.

Note: Isopropyl alcohol may discolor the squeegee over time. Discoloring does
not affect the operation of the squeegee.

28 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

The platen

Wipe the platen with a clean, lint-free pad moistened with isopropyl alcohol to
remove any debris. Allow to air dry before loading vinyl. Refer to the illustration
to locate the areas to clean.

Cleaning the platen, bail arm, squeegees, sprockets, and cassette pins.

The bail arm, squeegees, sprockets, and cassette pins

Wipe the bail arm squeegees and bail arm with a clean, lint-free cloth moistened
with isopropyl alcohol. Use a small brush, such as a toothbrush, dipped in
isopropyl alcohol to clean the sprockets and cassette pins. Do not soak the brush
in alcohol so that excess alcohol drips into the
pins to air-dry before loading vinyl. Refer to the illustration to locate the areas to
clean.

Note: Isopropyl alcohol may discolor the squeegees over time. Discoloring
does not affect the operation of the squeegees.

EDGE

. Allow the sprockets and

Correcting printing problems

Occasionally a job may not print perfectly. The following information tells you
how to correct some printing problems.



A line through the length of a job. Clean the printhead and foils. If this
problem persists contact Gerber Field Service.



Imperfections in the printing, such as voids, hair lines, or small
unprinted areas. Wipe the vinyl with a clean, lint-free cloth. If

imperfections are present in the entire job, the printhead is dirty. Clean the
printhead as described in “Cleaning the printhead and foil squeegee” on
page 27.



Lines in the job that are not on the X or Y axis (wrinkling). Usually this
appearance is accompanied by a pulling or crinkling sound while printing.
The foil is wrinkled. Make sure the dancer bars are free. Check to see that
the C clips at each end of the dancer bar are not jammed in the slot of the
dancer bar frame. (Refer to “The printhead assembly” paragraph on page 34
for the location of the dancer bars.)



Opacity problems, such as a light color (like yellow) not covering a
dark color (like purple). Print a white or gray undercoat on the vinyl

before printing the other colors in the job. To apply the undercoat, use the
Primer feature in Composer as described in the
Reference Manual or the OMEGA Help system.

Maintaining Print Quality 29

GRAPHIX ADVANTAGE



The top or bottom of a job consistently darker than the other. This may
be a printhead pressure problem. Please call your distributor or the Gerber
Field Service Department.



Light spots in a repeating pattern in the job. Clean the platen. If the
problem persists, please call your distributor or the Gerber Field Service
Department.



Poor print registration. Do not butt colors in a job. Use traps, bleed s,
chokes, and spreads to improve registration as you prepare the job in your
design program. Ensure that the vinyl has equalized to the ambient
temperature and humidity before printing.



Stretched sprocket holes in the vinyl. Use materials that are Gerber­approved for the

EDGE

. Ensure that the vinyl has equalized to the ambient
temperature and humidity before printing. If the problem persists, please call
your distributor or the Gerber Field Service Department.

30 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide



Lifting printed images from the material or lifting material from the
liner. A job printed on vinyl, film, or sheeting can be sensitive to transfer

tape pressure. Wait at least 15 minutes before applying transfer tape to the
printed vinyl, film, or sheeting. Use only Gerber Standard Tack Application
Tape. Do not stack printed materials print-side to print-side. Stack the
printed side contacting the liner side of another piece of material or use a
paper interleaf between the layers.

Mechanical Description

Parts and their functions

31

The chassis

The major parts of the
printhead assembly.

EDGE

are the chassis, the platen assembly, and the

The chassis.

32 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

The chassis consists of the following parts:



The keypad and display. The keypad and display are used to enter operator
responses and to display instructions for the operator. For use of the keypad
and display, refer to the “Using the keypad and display” on page 35.



Power switch, power cord receptacle, and parallel printer connector.

The power switch and power cord receptacle are located on the right side.
The power cord is inserted in the power cord receptacle. The printer
connector is located on the back and is used to connect the
computer.



The power supply. The power supply is a universal, auto-ranging power
supply capable of operating from 60 to 132 volts, or 180 to 264 volts, on 50
to 60 Hz.

EDGE

to the



The cover interlock sensor. The cover interlock sensor prevents
operation if the cover is not completely closed. It is located on the top front
of the chassis.



The printhead down/head home sensor. The printhead down/head home
sensor reads when the printhead is contacting the platen. If this sensor is not
activated, the

EDGE

will not operate.

EDGE

The platen assembly

Mechanical Description 33

The platen assembly.

The platen assembly consists of the following parts:



The platen. The platen is the rubber roller that presses the material and foil
tightly between itself and the printhead.



The sprockets. The teeth in the drive sprockets use the holes in the material
to transport the material thro ugh t he



The bail arm. The bail arm holds the material in contact with the drive

EDGE

.

sprockets. The bail arm squeegees clean the area to be printed.



The out-of-vinyl sensors. The

EDGE

will not operate if vinyl is not loaded

or if it runs out of vinyl during a job.

34 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

The printhead assembly

The printhead assembly.

The printhead assembly consists of the following:



The printhead. The thermal printhead heats the foil and presses it tightly
against the platen.



The foil squeegee. The foil squeegee cleans the back of the foil in the color
cartridge.



The color cartridge. The color cartridge holds the roll of foil. The color
cartridge is held in the printhead assembly by three cartridge pins on the
cartridge pin support plate at the bottom.



The dancer bars. These bars are free moving. They help provide tension
and prevent wrinkling the foil.



The out-of-foil sensor. When all the foil in the color cartridge is used, the

EDGE

displays a check foil message alerting you to replace the color

cartridge.

Using the keypad and display

Mechanical Description 35

Message Display Area

The keypad and display, shown above, are used to change operation modes, to
enter operator responses and commands, and to display instructions for the
operator. There are eight keys on the keypad:

The ONLINE key sets the
printing. It is also used to interrupt printing and enter the Paused mode, and to
restart printing from the Paused mode.

The HOME key rotates the drive sprockets to the home position (with the three
closely spaced teeth facing up). Press it to home the drive sprockets.

The two VINYL SLEW keys move the material forward and backward. Vinyl
slewing stops when the key is released. The VINYL SLEW keys work when the

EDGE

cartridge. The keys are also used to make selections in the Setup menu.

The FOIL SLEW key advances the foil in the color cartridge. The FOIL SLEW
key works when t he
a new color cartridge. Foil slewing stops when the key is released.

ONLINE HOME

SLEW

SETUP RESET

PT*

EDGE

online, acknowledges prompts, and starts

is offline, or when online but waiting for you to load a new color

EDGE

is offline, or when online but waiting for you to load

PT*

The PRINT TEST is a hidden key located between the FOIL SLEW key and
the SETUP key. (A hidden key is an unlabeled area of the keypad. In the keypad
illustration above, the hidden key is indicated by a dotted line.) Pressing the
PRINT TEST key once continuously prints the test pattern selected in the Setup
menu. Pressing the RESET key stops printing.

The SETUP key opens the Setup menu, which allows you to change the print
test pattern, the checksum, or the overlap setting. Pressing the RESET key
returns the

The RESET key stops a job and sets the

EDGE

to Offline.

EDGE

offline. The RESET key is also
used to return to Offline from the Setup menu and Print Test. When a job is
interrupted with the RESET key, the display will read

CONFIRM RESET.

To

restart the job, press ONLINE. To terminate it, press RESET again.

36 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

The message display area shows the mode (Offline, Online, or Paused) and the
Setup menu status. It also shows operator prompts and error messages. Refer to
the “Troubleshooting” section on page 43 for the response to operator prompts
and error messages.

Note: If a message appears in the display which is not expected either in a
procedure or in the Troubleshooting section, please contact your distributor or
the Gerber Field Service Department for assistance.

Firmware overview

EDGE

The
block diagram outlines firmware functions by showing the relationships among
modes and keys. The block diagram is explained in the following paragraphs.
The text in the paragraphs uses the key code abbreviations given in the b lock
diagram. In the block diagram, the hidden PRINT TEST key is shown as PT*,
but is not actually labeled on the keypad.

is controlled by an internal program called firmware. The following

Offline mode

Mechanical Description 37

When the
While off line, you can press keys to slew the vinyl (VS) or the foil (FS), or set
Home (XH). Slewing stops when the key is released. Check the printing ability
and printhead cleanliness by pressing the PRINT TEST (PT*) key. To stop the
print test, press the RESET (RS) key. To change the
setting, and print test pattern, press the SETUP (SU) key to enter the Setup
menu. After making changes, press the RESET key to return to the Offline mode.
For additional information about the Setup menu, refer to the “Setup Menu”
paragraph on page 39.

Online Idle mode

While off line, pressing the ONLINE (ON) key puts the
mode and the
the Offline mode. When the Plot program sends a job for printing, the
enters the Online Print mode.

Online Print mode

EDGE

The



Printing is complete and the



You press the RESET (RS) key. The job pauses and the display asks you to

CONFIRM RESET

EDGE

is turned on (Power On), the

EDGE

is ready to print. Pressing the RESET (RS) key returns to

EDGE

is in the Offline mode.

EDGE

checksum, overlap

EDGE

in the Online Idle

EDGE

stays in the Online Print mode until one of four things happens:

EDGE

returns to the Online Idle mode.

.



You press the ONLINE (ON) key and enter the Online Paused mode.



An error occurs, an error message is displayed in the message display area,
and the

EDGE

enters the Online Error mode.

38 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Online Paused mode

Pressing the ONLINE (ON) key or the RESET (RS) key while printing puts the

EDGE

in the Online Paused mode. The job stops printing and you can:



look at the job while it is still in the



slew the foil (FS)

To restart printing at the same location where printing was interrupted, press the
ONLINE (ON) key. To abort the job, press the RESET (RS) key. The display
will ask you to
and the printer returns to the Offline mode. If you press ONLINE (ON), the job
resumes.

Note: To ensure corre c t re gistration when printing is resumed, the EDGE is set
to overlap the foil (by 15 pixels) at the position where it was interrupted. You
may reset this amount to any value between 5 and 25 pixels by following the
instructions in “Changing the EDGE overlap settings” on page 42.

Online Error mode

If an error occurs while printing, printing stops, an error message displays in the
message display area, and the
possible messages and your response to each is in the “Troubleshooting” section
of this manual (page 43).

After taking corrective action, press the ONLINE (ON) key to restart printing. If
the error is non-recoverable, you must press the RESET (RS) key. The
returns to the Offline mode and you must resend the job from the Plot program.

CONFIRM RESET

EDGE

and before printing is complete

. If you press RESET (RS) again, the job aborts

EDGE

enters the Online Error mode. A list of

EDGE

Note: If the display message is

Thermistor Error

, no immediate action is
required. A time delay allows the printhead to cool down. When the printhead is
sufficiently cool, the

Paused

message displays on the keypad. Press the ONLINE

(ON) key to restart printing.

Before pressing the ONLINE key to restart printing, you can:



look at the job while it is still in the



slew the foil (FS)

EDGE

and before printing is complete

Resetting to factory parameters

EDGE

The
or if an incorrect checksum alters the settings, the
properly. If you suspect a problem, reset the
your job again. If you still have a problem, contact the Gerber Field Service
Department.

is set to certain parameters at the factory. If you change these settings,

Mechanical Description 39

EDGE

may not operate

EDGE

to factory parameters and try

Setup menu

To reset the

1. Turn off the

EDGE

EDGE

factory parameters

.

2. Press and hold the RESET key.

.

EDGE

and keep the RESET key pressed until the display reads

EDGE

is reset to factory parameters.

EDGE

enters

3. Turn on the

OFFLINE

4. Release the RESET key. The

When you press the SETUP (SU) key from the Offline mode, the
the Setup menu. The Setup menu allows you to change the print test pattern, the

EDGE

checksum, or the amount of overlap when restarting a job after a pause.
To change the print test pattern, repeatedly press the Setup key until the keypad
display reads

TEST PATTERN

followed by the test pattern number. Press either
VINYL SLEW key to step through the test patt ern choices, then press the
RESET (RS) key to return to the Offline mode.

Note: There are additional selections in the Setup menu that are used for
Gerber diagnostic purposes only. If you go beyond the menu selection you want,
repeatedly press the SETUP key until that selection appears again in the
display. Do not change any settings except for checksum, test pattern, or
overlap without first consulting the Gerber Field Service Department.

There are special reasons for using the SETUP key regarding the checksum
setting:



The checksum setting of the

EDGE

must be the same as the checksum setting

of the Gerber software release.



The checksum setting of the

EDGE

must be the same as the checksum setting

embedded in the spool file being printed.

40 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Matching the checksum of the EDGE to the Gerber software

If the Gerber software release
installed on your computer is:

GA 4.3, GA 6.0 or higher, or

OMEGA

Then the EDGE checksum must
be set to:

OFF (This is the factory setting. You

do not have to change the setting.)

4.1 ON (You must change the set t i ng.)

EDGE

If the

EDGE

checksum is not set correctly, you will not be able to print on the

and you will get a

DATA ERROR

message on the keypad display every

time you send a job.

Matching the checksum of the EDGE to the Spool File

If the spool file you are printing
was saved in Gerber software
release:

GA 4.3, GA 6.0 or higher, or

OMEGA

4.1 ON (You must change the set t i ng.)

If the checksum settings of the saved spool file and the
you will get a

DATA ERROR

message on the keypad display every time you send

one of these files for printing. You have two choices:

Then the EDGE checksum must
be set to:

OFF (This is the factory setting. You

do not have to change the setting.)

EDGE

are not the same,



Rerender GA 4.1 spool files in GA 4.3 so that they are now GA 4.3 files.
Refer to the Gerber software reference manual for information on creating
spool files.



Set the

EDGE

checksum to ON when printing GA 4.1 spool files.

Note: This situation applies only to spool files. Files originally created in GA

4.1 will print as GA 4.3 files if they were not saved as spool files.

Mechanical Description 41

Changing the EDGE checksum setting for GA 4.1

Changing the
setting the checksum to OFF or ON, and turning the

EDGE

checksum setting consists of opening the Setup menu,

EDGE

off and on to
complete the checksum change. The checksum is toggled OFF or ON by
pressing either Vi nyl Slew key.

To change the EDGE checksum setting

EDGE

1. Plug in and turn on the

2. The

EDGE

display reads

3. Repeatedly press the Setup key until the display reads

ON

or

OFF

.

by

first, then the computer.

OFFLINE

.

CHECKSUM

followed

Note: There are additional selections in the Setup menu that are used for
Gerber diagnostic purposes only. If you go beyond the menu selection you want,
repeatedly press the SETUP key until that selection appears again in the
display. Do not change any settings except for checksum, test pattern, or
overlap without first consulting the Gerber Field Service Department.

4. Press either VINYL SLEW key so that the display reads

CHECKSUM OFF

5. Press the RESET key. The display reads

6. Turn the

7. Press the ONLINE key. The display reads

.

EDGE

off, then on. The

EDGE

display reads

OFFLINE

ONLINE

.

OFFLINE

and the

CHECKSUM ON

.

EDGE

is ready

or

for printing.

42 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Changing the EDGE overlap setting

Changing the

EDGE

overlap setting consists of opening the Setup menu, setting
the desired overlap, and pressing the RESET key (RS) to return to the Offline
mode

To change the EDGE overlap setting

EDGE

1. Plug in and turn on the

2. The

EDGE

display reads

3. Repeatedly press the SETUP key until the display reads

first, then the computer.

OFFLINE

.

OVERLAP

followed

by the number of pixels. (The factory default is 15.)

Note: There are additional selections in the Setup menu that are used for
Gerber diagnostic purposes only. If you go beyond the menu selection you want,
repeatedly press the SETUP key until that selection appears again in the
display. Do not change any settings except for checksum, test pattern, or
overlap without first consulting the Gerber Field Service Department.

4. Press the left or right VINYL SLEW key to increase or decrease the amount

of overlap.

5. Press the RESET key. The display reads

OFFLINE

.

Troubleshooting

Keypad display messages

The following is a list of messages, which may appear on the keypad display and
the required action to respond to each message. If your action does not solve the
problem, or if a message appears which is not listed here, contact your
distributor or the Gerber Field Service Department.

Message Required Action

43

CHECK FOIL

CHECK VINYL

CLOSE COVER

DATA ERROR

INITIALIZING

OFFLINE

ONLINE

PAUSED

Make sure foil is correctly loaded and press
ONLINE.

Make sure vinyl is correctly loaded and press
ONLINE.

Close cover and press ONLINE.

Check the cabling between the computer and

EDGE

the
setting is the same as the Gerber software
checksum setting (refer to the “Using the
keypad and display” section on page 35). If the
message continues, contact your distributor or
the Gerber Field Service Department.

Wait for

None.

None.

This message appears when ONLINE is
pressed while the
ONLINE again to resume printing. Press
RESET to return to OFFLINE status.

. Make sure the

OFFLINE

message.

EDGE

EDGE

checksum

is printing. Press

44 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Message Required Action

PRINTING IMAGE

PROCESSING IMAGE

THERMISTOR ERROR

WARMING UP

WARMUP ERROR

Z-AXIS HOME ERROR

None.

Wait for printing to start.

Wait for printhead to cool down. When
printhead is sufficiently cool, the

Paused

message is displayed.

Wait for machine to warm up and

OFFLINE

message to display.

If warmup takes longer than 5 minutes, this
non-recoverable error message appears. Press
the Reset key and call the Gerber Field Service
Department.

Call the Gerber Field Service Department.

Fuse replacement

Two spare 10 amp fuses are packed in the small components box. If you need to
replace a fuse, locate the fuse carrier immediately above the power switch on the
right side of the machine. It is labeled T10A 250V and has a notch at the bottom
of the plate.

To replace a fuse

1. Ensure that the power switch is off and then remove the power cord from the

EDGE

2. Insert a small flat screwdriver into the notch from below and pull out the

fuse carrier plate.

Troubleshooting 45

.

Remove the fuse carrier and fuses.

3. Remove the fuse(s) from the fuse carrier. Insert new fuse(s).

EDGE

4. Insert the fuse carrier into the

place.

5. Reconnect the power cord.

with the notch down and snap into

46

Index

A

Abrasion guard..........................................21

Adding a plotter.......................................... 5

Display

function.................................................32

messages................................................43

E

B

Bail arm ....................................................33

cleaning................................................. 28

C

Chassis, parts and functions...................... 31

Checksum

changing................................................41

matching................................................40

Cleaning

bail arms, squeegees, and sprockets......28

foil................................................... 26, 27

foil squeegee......................................... 27

importance............................................26

material................................................. 26

platen .................................................... 28

printhead............................................... 27

tips ........................................................ 26

Color cartridge

changing..........................................16, 22

estimate remaining foil.......................... 22

function................................................. 34

loading............................................15, 22

storing................................................... 26

Connector, printer..................................... 32

Cover interlock sensor.............................. 32

2

Cutting after printing.....................12, 17, 25

eyepiece................................................25

D

EDGE

adding to Plot..........................................4

checksum...............................................40

connecting...............................................4

overlap setting.......................................42

setup guidelines.......................................4

Error messages..........................................43

Eyepiece....................................................25

F

Firmware overview ...................................36

Foil slew key.............................................35

Foil squeegee ............................................34

cleaning.................................................27

Fuse replacement.......................................45

G

GRAPHIX ADVANTAGE.....................4, 6

GSP Setup...................................................5

H

Head home sensor.....................................32

Home key..................................................35

J

Jobs

cutting .............................................12, 17

printing ............................................11, 16

sample...............................................8, 14

Dancer bars............................................... 34

47

K

Keypad

display messages................................... 43

function................................................. 32

keys.......................................................35

using......................................................35

M

Material

cleaning................................................. 26

loading........................................9, 15, 20

Messages, display.....................................43

Modes

offline....................................................37

online error ........................................... 38

online idle.............................................37

online paused........................................38

online print............................................ 37

O

Offline mode............................................. 37

OMEGA..................................................4, 6

Online error mode..................................... 38

Online idle mode.......................................37

Online key.................................................35

Online paused mode..................................38

Online print mode..................................... 37

Out-of-foil sensor...................................... 34

Out-of-vinyl sensor................................... 33

Overlap,changing...................................... 42

Overview,firmware................................... 36

P

Parallel connector .....................................32

Parts and their functions

chassis...................................................31

keypad and display................................35

platen assembly..................................... 33

print head assembly...............................34

Paused mode............................................. 38

Platen

cleaning................................................. 28

parts and functions................................33

Power cord ................................................ 32

Power supply.............................................32

Power switch.............................................32

Print test key.............................................. 35

Printer connector.......................................32

Printhead

cleaning.................................................27

parts and functions................................34

Printhead down sensor ..............................32

Printing

correcting problems...............................29

cutting after........................................... 24

guidelines..............................................23

loading material.................................9, 20

loading the color cartridge ..............10, 21

overview..................................................7

problems................................................29

quality ...................................................26

sample jobs........................................8, 14

setting up a job......................................19

starting...................................................24

R

Registration

color to color...................................24, 29

cutting to print.......................................25

Repacking ...................................................3

Reset key...................................................35

Resetting to factory parameters.................39

S

Safety..........................................................2

Sample jobs...........................................8, 14

Sensor

cover interlock.......................................32

head home.............................................32

out-of-foil ..............................................34

out-of-vinyl ...........................................33

printhead down......................................32

Sensors..........................................31, 33, 34

Setting up

a job ......................................................19

adding a plotter .......................................5

adding the EDGE....................................5

connecting...............................................4

guidelines................................................4

48 GERBER EDGE Owner's Guide

Setup key .................................................. 35

Setup menu...............................................39

Shipping package........................................ 3

Slow slew.................................................... 7

Sprockets .................................................. 33

cleaning................................................. 28

Squeegees

cleaning................................................. 28

foil......................................................... 34

T

Troubleshooting........................................43

U

Unpacking...................................................3

V

Vinyl .........................................See Material

Vinyl slew keys.........................................35