Matt board cutting

[Robert Alexander]

Has anyone got any ideas for keeping smoke stains off of matt board?
I have tried some masking tape but it sometimes pulls off some of the matt board when I remove it after cutting.

[Rodne Gold]

Use the low tack paper based application tapes available from most sign and vinyl supply houses.

[Lee DeRaud]

Reduce the power and increase the extractor airflow.

Seriously, I've never seen any residue when cutting or engraving matte board unless I screw up and use about double the required power.

[Joe Pelonio]

Both answers correct, should cut clean, but transfer tape will protect. Careful when removing though, if you peel from the corners on some matte boards it too will pull up the surface layer on the edges. When applying vinyl lettering to matte board I always use two overlapping pieces of transfer tape and peel from the middle out.

[Abdul Baseer Hai]

In addition to all the above, do the following;

Reduce PPI to 400
If possible, mirror cut from the reverse side
Two passes, with reduced power are better than one.I have no problems cutting these boards.

abdul

[Robert Bosworth]

I agree with Lee above -- you need more airflow moving across and getting that smoke out of the way. Also this is probably a long shot but if you are using a ULS machine with a ULS vector table, check to make sure that you have removed the covers from the exhaust ducts under the table. This will draw your smoke down and out instead of up and back.

Robert Bosworth
www.usedlasers.com

[Jim Reed in MN]

Thanks for the info. I turned down the power and it worked great! Amazing how a little change can effect the outcome.