Cameo 4 - film cutter and feeder

The automatically integrated film cutter and feeder makes the Cameo 4 plotter unique compared to other such devices, for which similar accessories must be purchased separately. It is also worth mentioning that both the cutter and the feeder are integrated into the body of the plotter in such a way that they become almost invisible. In particular, the film feeder hidden in the drawer that slides out from the plotter gives us convenience of use and does not require additional space for its storage.

Film feeder

The feeder, as I mentioned, is located in a drawer built into the plotter. To use it, you need to pull it out completely. The drawer should be extended to a length of about 20 cm, only then the feeder will work properly. If the drawer is shorter, it means that it has not fully ejected. You should then pull gently to eject the rest of it.

After sliding out the drawer, it remains to unfold the elongated piece with the film opening so that it faces obliquely towards the plotter, and then align the guides on the sides for securing the roll of material vertically. You can move the element on the right to adjust the width of the feeder to the width of the film - at 23 or 30.5cm. Cutting the film with the help of the feeder allows you to feed the film evenly into the plotter and prevents the material from falling off the table during operation. After the cutting is completed, remove the film from the guides, and then assemble all moving parts. All that remains is to slide the drawer inside the plotter. Isn't it child's play?

Stubber

The second of the interesting built-in accessories I will discuss today is the cutter. It is located on the back of the device and allows you to conveniently and evenly cut the material. To use it, remember to make the appropriate settings at the stage of preparing the material for cutting.

It is important that the material is ejected from the back of the machine when finished. After sending the project for cutting, click the gear wheel in the lower right corner of the screen. After expanding the list of settings, select the "Insertion" option, and then set the desired length of the material that is ejected after the job is finished using the slider or by entering the data manually. This will ensure that after the design is cut out, a film of the specified length will be ejected from the back of the plotter. Now we can use the handy cutter. First, you need to release the locks on the sides by pointing them downward and press them gently to a quiet click. This will unfold the rail on which the cutter will slide. Then, holding the small handle, slide the cut-off along the aforementioned rail. It should make a smooth and even cut of the film.

After cutting off the film, move the cut-off to the extreme left or right, so that it is not on the rail. Then fold the rail by pointing the locks upward and pressing down until there is a slight click. This is extremely important. Otherwise, we will not be able to proceed with further cutting, as the material or mat fed into the plotter will bounce off the cutter rail. The procedure itself for both the feeder and the cutter may sound a tad complicated, but in practice the operation of the accessories is very simple and fast.

If you have experience in cutting film directly from a roll, you probably know how annoying it can be when the film is unevenly unrolled, the roll falls off the table, or the material is cut off with scissors. In turn, feeders or guillotines added to cutting equipment often take up valuable space, especially in smaller studios. Cameo 4 solves these problems so unobtrusively that it is easy to forget about the feeder and film cutter cleverly hidden in the device! So if your main focus is on cutting film, I think it's worth considering choosing this particular plotter.