What are the PTFinish Advanced Tab Settings used for? (FX1200) 

Advanced Offsets Tab

CtrlByte - Controls error reporting within PTfinish.  Default value is 16, which means that error reporting is turned on.  A value of 0 or 255 will turn off error reporting.  If CtrlByte is turned off you will not be prompted when the FX1200 is in an error state.  Example: if the FX1200 experiences a web brake the user will not be notified and will be allowed to continue running the unit.  This setting should always be set to 16.

Ramp Start Speed - Speed at which the cutter ramps up to start the initial paper feed into the cutter.

Max Y - The max page height of the cut file that PTFinish will allow.  The default value is 17 inches since that is the default max page height in PTPrint.  If the page height of the cut file is higher than the value specified under Max Y, PTFinish will display an Invalid HPGL error.

Out Speed - Speed at which the material exits the cutter module.

In Speed - Speed at which the material enters the cutter module.

Horizontal Target Offset - This is the point where the sensor starts looking for the target.  The default value is 2.25 inches.  The smaller the value, the closer towards the front of the cutter module the sensor will look for the target mark.  The higher the value the closer towards the middle of the page the sensor will look for the target.  To find the correct value for your labels, measure from the front edge of the inside of the cutter to the front edge of the target mark.

Objects Within Objects Cut Mode - This feature is intended for cuts that have multiple cuts within a label.  Enabling this mode slows down the rate at which material is advanced through the FX1200.  The FX1200’s paper path will not advance until after the page has cut.  The default value is 0 which means that the feature is turned off.  Changing the value to a 1 will turn it on.  Turning on Objects Within Objects Cut Mode will slow down the overall time it takes to finish labels.  Since this feature slows down the cutting, it can also be used for labels that are larger than 14 inches or smaller than 1 inch.

Loop Test - This will force the FX1200 to advance material back and forth to verify that the dancer arms and dancer arm boards are functioning properly.  This is a good test to run if the dancer arms are constantly topping out.

Restore Factory Defaults - Restores all advanced settings to the unit’s original settings when it left the factory. 

The Advanced Knife Settings Tab

These settings control cut compensation.  Adjust these settings along with Cutter Pressure if you are noticing uneven cutting depths. 

Front Edge Force - Controls how much pressure is applied to the front edge of a cut.  Front edge of cut is relative to the front of the FX1200.  A negative value will increase the amount of pressure that is applied to the front edge of the label.  A positive value will decrease the amount of pressure on the front edge.  Example: if knives are cutting through the liner, you would want to increase the Front Edge Force to decrease the amount of pressure that is applied to the knives. 

Back Edge Force - Controls how much pressure is applied to the back edge of a cut.  Back edge of cut is relative to the back of the FX1200. 

Speed Compensation Factor - The amount of pressure that is applied during a radius cut.  Default value is 32.  There should not be a time where this needs to be changed.  Adjusting this value can produce inconsistent radius cuts.

Acceleration Profile - Controls knife speed.  It is recommended to keep this on the Normal setting.

Perforation Tab

Allow Perforation - Checking the Allow Perforation check box will allow the FX1200 to cut perforation cuts.  Checking this box will enable multiple blades.  This does NOT increase cut pressure.  This setting is to be used for label perforations not liner perforations.  It does not puncture the liner.  This is typically used for chap stick labels.

Max perforation Object Size – This should be set to a value that is larger than one individual perforation cut while not exceeding the perimeter cut of the label.