Vinyl Express Q Series Gen3 Support Resources

Welcome to the Vinyl Express Q Series Gen3 vinyl cutter support resources page. Here you will find all the essential resources for setting up and using your new Q Series vinyl cutter. Below you will find the setup video, user manuals, setup manuals, links to other support resources, and contact information for SIGNWarehouse Product Support.

Gen3 Q Series Setup & Installation Video

Please begin your experience with your new Vinyl Express Q Series cutter by viewing the setup video. The video is presented in 25 segments that walk you through essential topics including stand assembly, ports, loading media, learning software installation, control panel features and menus, optimizing cutting quality, cutting thick media, optimizing tracking, contour-cutting, perf-cutting, and more. Just Click Here to get started!

Q Series Setup & User Manuals

The Q Series vinyl cutter User Manuals are ideal for those who prefer written documentation. The manuals are only available digitally, in PDF format. The manuals are included on the disc that comes with each Gen3 Q Series cutter. Both the Setup and User Manuals are available in English and Spanish. For those whose PCs don't have disc drives, they are also available here for your convenience. Please see links below.

LXI Driver Updater & Support Resources

DRIVERS: You may need to update your LXI 19 software with the new Q Series Gen3 driver. Instructions for installing the updater are found in segment 13 of the Q Series Gen3 Setup Video. Please Click here to download the updater. this is a zipped folder. Download it to your desktop and extract the files, as directed in the setup video. Download the LXI 19 Q Series Gen3 Driver Updater

LXI Video Tutorials

Click here to access our extensive video tutorial library for LXI software. LXI is offered in five levels from Apprentice to RIP Design and presents a complete range of vector design tools and support for combined raster and vector workflows. This flexibility supports production of vinyl decals, garment decoration and print & cut workflow.

Perf-Cutting Process Tutorials: Creating contour-cut decals that can be popped out of the vinyl is a popular application fully supported by LXI software and the Q Series vinyl cutters. Basic information on setting up a perf-cut can be found in segment 16 of the Q Series Gen3 setup video.

For more detailed information on how to create a file with both kiss cuts and perforated cuts, please refer to our SignCollege blog article. For a brief video demonstration of the process, click here to view a Q Series perf-cut demo. 

Q Series Windows Driver Package

The Q Series drivers are included in LXI 19 and Flexi 21 software. Under normal circumstances and supported applications, no Windows drivers are required for setup and installation. The Windows driver is essential in the event of a desired or required firmware update.
Click here to download and install the Windows driver package.

As noted above, LXI and Fexi are the only currently supported design applications for the third generation Q Series cutters. However, should someone want to plot directly from an unsupported design application such as CorelDRAW, the windows driver may prove useful. This process is not supported and may produce difficulties or errors not experienced by customers using supported software.

Firmware Updates

Problem: There is an error connected to the Cross-cut key that may affect some customers in rare instances.
When sending cutting data with tool exchange while Tool Sort and Auto Paneling is turned on, extra lines could be cut on the second sheet or incorrect condition numbers could be displayed.

Solution: The solution is to update your cutter's firmware to Q00_3_V101_R0001.x
Click here to download the firmware update and instructions for downloading the Windows driver and updating your firmware

Problems Resolved by Firmware update v1.02:
1) When "Continue" was selected in the menu after reloading media that had been loaded prior, the initial origin point was sometimes changed.
2) When using the Segment Area Registration Mark, a line segment that was not part of the data was drawn when crossing the first segment in some data

Problems Resolved by Firmware update v1.03:
1) The data was sometimes missing in the beginning of the path when sending crosscut command using TC35 command continuously.
2) "Error Realign Push Rollers" sometimes occurred even when the push rollers were correctly positioned.

How to update firmware

Firmware updates v1.02 and 1.03 are bundled in the same update. In order to update the firmware on your Q Series, the driver must first be fully installed on your PC. The driver is bundled with the firmware update to facilitate this. Once the driver is installed, and the device appears in your Windows Printers and Devices list as an installed printer, you are ready to proceed

  • Download and unzip the compressed folder, and open the Q Series Firmware update files folder. Navigate to the folder where you see the Q00-3-V103_R0001.x firmware file and the Send.exe application.
  • Connect the cutter to your PC via USB. Make sure it is powered down before proceeding
  • Hold down both the left and right arrows on the control panel, while powering the cutter on. This will put the cutter in the firmware update mode. The cutter's LCD panel will display the "Please send firmware" message" (FIG 1 below).
  • Double-click to launch the Send.exe application to launch the Data File Output Utility application.
  • In the "Look in:" window, navigate to the Firmware update files folder and select the Q00-3-V103_R0001.x file.
  • In the Files of type: window, click the drop-down arrow to select "All files".
  • In the Output window, click the drop-down arrow and select your installed Q Series vinyl cutter (FIG 2 below).
  • With the cutter in the firmware update mode, click 'Print" on the Data File Output Utility app. The LCD will register the reception of the new firmware. When the firmware update is received, the cutter will show the message "Update is complete. Restarting."
FIG 1: Make sure the cutter is in firmware update mode
FIG 2: Use the Print command to update firmware

Click Here to download the driver and firmware update. Please Contact us if you need assistance!

*The perf-cut demo was produced using a second-generation Q Series and LXI version 12 software, but the processes are still valid and applicable to LXI 19 and the Gen3 series cutters.