UPDATE:
Challenge failed, at least as it was intended initially. It seems apparent that my usual process for sticker making the past 6 years must be scrapped.

I will continue to explore ways to make those return, but I simply can not use the old cutter. It was the our biggest bottleneck. :(

Thank you! So far, it is not looking promising.. I was able to get the cutter to react to my old software, but so far not in a way that allows me to read the barcodes printed on specific jobs, which ultimately is the goal for productivity. Very frustrating lol

That's so neat!

lol!!!

More or less, yeah! At least with this machine, I can apply white in the same pass as other colors. When applying white, however, spot-gloss is only possible with a retract and 2nd pass of printing. Still, it does a fantastic job at alignment when I have it right in the software. haha

I did that! This was because I rushed the design to further train myself and made the white later a bit bigger than it needed to be so the white retract setting wasn't enough. Retracting it too much doesn't look as good I think.

Thank you very much for the offer!!
I had a local friend come over and help me understand things a bit more. Plus, I've been watching random videos online like crazy to pick up bits and pieces and I think I finally have some grasp on everything :D Excited to see how far I can push this software!

It feels UNREAL it's so neat! Headaches left and right almost making me regret taking this path but I can see the struggles will be worth it, as long as the machine continues to run smoothly.

Complete with spot-gloss effects on the eyes, nose, claws and teeth. This UV ink should hold up better than my previous inks without even requiring laminate. In fact, I won't offer it for spot-gloss effects like this.

Art by the amazing @draw4coffee.bsky.social !!!

P.S. Check out @weaselgear.com !! I'm partnering with them this year with Wilde Prints to bring awareness and painless access to High Quality in-Fandom Screen Printing!!

www.weaselgear.com ✨

That said, the setup time for each design has went up heavily with this printer. Setup on multiple designs takes 3 times longer than before, but I plan to continue making it simple for everyone else at least!

The UV ink is incredibly durable. Resists fading and scratches without laminating, even!

Man, so much work. Making stickers has just become 3 times as resourceful as it once was. There's no way I'm going to survive this without raising my prices and reducing bulk-design savings and I was trying to avoid that at all costs.. Plus, I have no knowledge in illustrator OR photoshop ⚰️🔪

I have Illustrator CS6 and Mimaki Raster Link 7 as my tools. I'm told to make the cut lines in Illustrator as well as desired spot-gloss effects (for more control) and then import into Raster Link to assign each layer to Cut/Gloss/White etc and layout for printing. It's a huge headache so far.

Artwork by @prismpaws.bsky.social !!

Very good point!