Introduction

This workflow combines two of the TPZ Fab Lab’s largest machines: the Mimaki JFX UV printer and the Zünd digital cutter. These systems are built for production environments, and when they work together this pedigree shines through, yielding unmatched quality, consistency, and throughput. This tutorial will guide the reader around their first JFX-Zünd spiral, fabricating a professional-quality poster made of thick card stock, starting with file preparation and continuing through machine configuration and operation.

Prerequisites

This tutorial assumes:

• a basic working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator: using layers; drawing boxes; changing line weights and fills; resizing art boards and placed raster images; grouping and ungrouping items; and performing basic file manipulation, like saving *.pdf and *.ai documents. The reader is certainly encouraged to learn as they go, but starting with an introductory tutorial may be useful.
• guided or properly supervised access to the Mimaki JFX UV printer and the Zünd digital cutter: both machines require individual training and certification before independent use. Plan to book time with a technician; select the “JFX/Zünd” option and expect the first appointment to take at least an hour and a half.

Before Printing Day, the reader is kindly asked to make as much progress in file preparation as possible in order to use time most efficiently. Having said that, simply showing up with a nice *.jpg is certainly sufficient.

Process