Guide · Cutting
Nest it or cut it as laid out? What it actually saves
Published 29 October 2026
Nesting pays when it drops a whole sheet, or leaves an offcut you'll use, and when that's worth more than the time to nest the job and sort the letters after. 43 router-cut letters at 300 mm took 2 sheets of 3 mm ACM as laid out and 1 sheet nested, by hand or in SOS Vector. All in, that's $214.60 as laid out, $139.64 by hand and $125.79 in SOS Vector. Take one line off the sign and every method is one sheet, so nesting only costs you time.
Every figure comes from nesting the real letter outlines at a 10 mm gap, and every part was checked for clearance afterwards.
- AUD, ex GST
- Example sheet prices and times, change them in the quick estimate
Job 1 · 43 letters, 300 mm, 3 mm ACM
As laid out · 2 sheets
Hand nest · 1 sheet
SOS Vector · 1 sheet
43 letters, 300 mm
2 sheets → 1
As laid out vs nested, by hand or in SOS Vector.
That job, all in
$214.60 → $125.79
Material plus nesting and sorting time at $95/hr, as laid out vs SOS Vector.
30 letters, same sign
+$12.66
One sheet every way. Nesting it only adds time: $12.66 in SOS Vector, $21.37 by hand.
Car park arrows
31 vs 15 a sheet
SOS Vector vs step and repeat on the box. 50 arrows: 2 sheets vs 4.
The short answer
Five things the numbers say
- It's a step, not a slope. You buy whole sheets. A nest that saves half a square metre but doesn't drop a sheet saves nothing, unless that offcut goes on the rack and gets used.
- On a one-sheet job, nesting costs you money. 30 letters: $107.98 all in as laid out, $120.64 in SOS Vector, $129.35 by hand. Nested letters come off scrambled, and finding and laying them out again is time you don't get back.
- When it drops a sheet, it pays even with the time in. 43 letters: $214.60 as laid out, $139.64 by hand, $125.79 in SOS Vector. The hand nest gets the sheet; SOS Vector gets it in 2 min instead of 10.8 min.
- True shape earns its keep on odd shapes and runs. Block arrows went 31 a sheet in SOS Vector, 20 by hand, 15 on the box: 2 sheets instead of 3 or 4.
- A grain lock didn't cost a sheet on any of these jobs. It costs the 90° trick when the sheet is full: 55 letters a sheet by hand becomes 48.
Job 1 · Router letters
43 letters at 300 mm in 3 mm ACM
KESTREL SMASH REPAIRS / PANEL & PAINT / INSURANCE WORK in Anton, 300 mm cap height. 6 mm bit, 10 mm between parts, 5 mm off the sheet edge, 2440 × 1220 sheets at an example $105.60 ex GST. Kestrel Smash Repairs is made up.
Hand nest here means what a careful person does on screen: rows by height, letters slid together to the gap, flipped 180° to lock in, and laid on their side in the strip left at the bottom. For a run of the same part, two locked together and stepped and repeated.
As laid out
2 sheets · $214.60 all in · 2440 × 903 left on sheet 2
Hand nest
1 sheet · $139.64 all in · three tight rows
SOS Vector true shape nest
1 sheet · $125.79 all in · 36 of 43 letters turned
- Part, square to the sheet or turned 180°
- Part turned to any other angle
- Biggest clean offcut, worth keeping
- Biggest clean piece, under keep size
| Case | Sheets | Material used | Yield | Biggest clean offcut | Sheets at $105.60 | Nesting | Sorting | Labour at $95/hr | Material + labour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAs laid out | 2 | 3.75 m² | 37.6% | 2440 × 903 | $211.20 | none | 2.2 min | $3.40 | $214.60 |
| BHand nest | 1 | 2.98 m² | 47.4% | 2440 × 257under keep size, binned | $105.60 | 10.8 min | 10.8 min | $34.04 | $139.64 |
| SSOS Vector true shape nest | 1 | 2.07 m² | 68.1% | 743 × 1220 | $105.60 | 2 min | 10.8 min | $20.19 | $125.79 |
Times are only what changes between the cases; setting up the machine is the same for all of them. Example times, change them to yours in the quick estimate: hand nest 15 s a part, SOS Vector 2 min a job, sorting 3 s a letter as laid out and 15 s a letter nested, at $95/hr. Material used is whole sheets less the biggest clean offcut, if it's at least 300 × 600. Yield is the parts' own area over material used.
- As laid out loses on the line breaks, not the spacing. The artwork's tightest pair (KE) is already 10.2 mm apart, so the bit fits everywhere. The loss is that each line of the sign starts a new row, and a word that won't fit drops to the next one: REPAIRS gets a row to itself and INSURANCE WORK needs a second sheet.
- The hand nest gets the sheet back. Three tight rows: $105.60 of ACM instead of $211.20. It costs 10.8 min at the screen, and the letters come off scrambled.
- SOS Vector gets the same one sheet in 2 min, with a bigger offcut: 743 × 1220 against the hand nest's 2440 × 257 strip. It turned 36 of the 43 letters to fit them. Fine on white ACM, wrong on anything brushed.
- Sorting is most of the labour once you nest. 43 letters at 15 s is 10.8 min, against 2.2 min to lift and stack them in order off a laid-out sheet.
Job 1 again, one line shorter
30 letters: nesting costs you money
Same sign without INSURANCE WORK: KESTREL SMASH REPAIRS / PANEL & PAINT. Same letters, bit, gap and sheet.
As laid out
1 sheet · $107.98 all in
Hand nest
1 sheet · $129.35 all in · two rows
SOS Vector true shape nest
1 sheet · $120.64 all in
| Case | Sheets | Material used | Yield | Biggest clean offcut | Sheets at $105.60 | Nesting | Sorting | Labour at $95/hr | Material + labour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAs laid out | 1 | 2.16 m² | 44.0% | 1403 × 586 | $105.60 | none | 1.5 min | $2.38 | $107.98 |
| BHand nest | 1 | 1.56 m² | 60.8% | 2440 × 580 | $105.60 | 7.5 min | 7.5 min | $23.75 | $129.35 |
| SSOS Vector true shape nest | 1 | 1.41 m² | 67.4% | 1286 × 1220 | $105.60 | 2 min | 7.5 min | $15.04 | $120.64 |
Times are only what changes between the cases; setting up the machine is the same for all of them. Example times, change them to yours in the quick estimate: hand nest 15 s a part, SOS Vector 2 min a job, sorting 3 s a letter as laid out and 15 s a letter nested, at $95/hr. Material used is whole sheets less the biggest clean offcut, if it's at least 300 × 600. Yield is the parts' own area over material used.
- One sheet every way, so the nest buys you no material. As laid out it's $107.98 all in. Nest it and it's $120.64 in SOS Vector or $129.35 by hand: $12.66 to $21.37 spent on nesting and sorting.
- The only thing it buys is offcut. SOS Vector leaves 1286 × 1220 against 1403 × 586 as laid out: 0.75 m² more, about $26.49 of ACM, and only if it gets used.
- Cut it as laid out. The letters come off in order and the sheet is your spacing and fixing template.
Job 4 · Production run
50 car park arrows: where true shape earns its keep
450 × 300 block arrows, 120 mm shaft, 180 mm head, 3 mm ACM, same router and gap.
Step and repeat on the box
4 sheets · $426.36 all in · 15 a sheet
Hand nest: locked pair, repeated
3 sheets · $340.55 all in · 20 a sheet
SOS Vector true shape nest
2 sheets · $218.33 all in · 31 on the first sheet
SOS Vector true shape nest, rotation 180
2 sheets · $218.33 all in · 32 on the first sheet
| Case | Sheets | Material used | Yield | Biggest clean offcut | Sheets at $105.60 | Nesting | Sorting | Labour at $95/hr | Material + labour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AStep and repeat on the box | 4 | 10.05 m² | 29.5% | 1520 × 1220 | $422.40 | none | 2.5 min | $3.96 | $426.36 |
| BHand nest: locked pair, repeated | 3 | 7.64 m² | 38.9% | 1057 × 1220 | $316.80 | 12.5 min | 2.5 min | $23.75 | $340.55 |
| SSOS Vector true shape nest | 2 | 4.74 m² | 62.6% | 993 × 1220 | $211.20 | 2 min | 2.5 min | $7.13 | $218.33 |
| DSOS Vector true shape nest, rotation 180 | 2 | 4.73 m² | 62.8% | 1005 × 1220 | $211.20 | 2 min | 2.5 min | $7.13 | $218.33 |
Times are only what changes between the cases; setting up the machine is the same for all of them. Example times, change them to yours in the quick estimate: hand nest 15 s a part, SOS Vector 2 min a job, 3 s a part to lift and stack (identical parts don't need putting in order), at $95/hr. Material used is whole sheets less the biggest clean offcut, if it's at least 300 × 600. Yield is the parts' own area over material used.
- On the box: 15 a sheet. That's stepping and repeating the artwork, and it's what a rectangle-only nest gives you.
- By hand: 20 a sheet. Lock two arrows head to tail, step and repeat the pair. 3 sheets instead of 4.
- SOS Vector: 31 on the first sheet and 19 on the second. $105.60 less material than the hand nest, $211.20 less than the box, and $218.33 all in against $426.36.
- Locked to rotation 180 (row D), it got 32 on the first sheet, 1 more than free. With fewer angles to try, it found a tighter pattern in the same time. Same 2 sheets.
Grain and linish
Nesting brushed and directional material
Grain usually runs along the sheet length, so lettering with horizontal grain wants its baselines along the length. As laid out already does that. The question is what you give up in the nest when parts can't turn.
| Material | Turned 180° | Turned 90° | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brushed aluminium, No.4 stainless | Usually fine | No | The lines stay parallel. Check a test pair under the light it'll live in: some satin finishes read a touch different end for end. |
| Brushed ACM | Usually fine | No | Same as brushed metal. |
| Metallic, mica or pearl ACM | No, 0° only | No | The arrow on the film is there for a reason: these finishes shift shade when turned. Every piece the same way up. |
| Timber veneer | Fine | No | The grain still runs the right way; the figure reads upside down, which nobody sees on a letter. |
| Directional films: brushed, carbon, some metallics | Usually fine | No | Treat like brushed metal and follow the maker's arrow. |
| Reflective sheeting | Check the grade | Check | Glass bead engineer grade isn't directional. Some prismatic grades are rotation sensitive and carry an orientation mark: treat those as 0° only. |
In SOS Vector that's the rotation setting in Sign › True Shape Nest…: 180 for brushed metal, ACM and veneer, none for metallic finishes, free or 90 when there's no grain.
Job 2: the 43 letters in brushed ACM, grain locked
Same sign as job 1 in 3 mm brushed silver ACM at an example $123.60, grain along the 2440 length.
Hand nest, grain locked
1 sheet · $157.64 all in · nothing needed turning
SOS Vector true shape nest, rotation 180
1 sheet · $143.79 all in · rotation 180
SOS Vector true shape nest, rotation none
1 sheet · $143.79 all in · rotation none
| Case | Sheets | Material used | Yield | Biggest clean offcut | Sheets at $123.60 | Nesting | Sorting | Labour at $95/hr | Material + labour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAs laid out | 2 | 3.75 m² | 37.6% | 2440 × 903 | $247.20 | none | 2.2 min | $3.40 | $250.60 |
| BHand nest, grain locked | 1 | 2.98 m² | 47.4% | 2440 × 257under keep size, binned | $123.60 | 10.8 min | 10.8 min | $34.04 | $157.64 |
| SSOS Vector true shape nest, rotation 180 | 1 | 2.30 m² | 61.3% | 555 × 1220 | $123.60 | 2 min | 10.8 min | $20.19 | $143.79 |
| S0SOS Vector true shape nest, rotation none | 1 | 2.36 m² | 59.7% | 505 × 1220 | $123.60 | 2 min | 10.8 min | $20.19 | $143.79 |
| BHand nest, no lock | 1 | 2.98 m² | 47.4% | 2440 × 257under keep size, binned | $123.60 | 10.8 min | 10.8 min | $34.04 | $157.64 |
| SSOS Vector true shape nest, no lock | 1 | 2.07 m² | 68.1% | 743 × 1220 | $123.60 | 2 min | 10.8 min | $20.19 | $143.79 |
Times are only what changes between the cases; setting up the machine is the same for all of them. Example times, change them to yours in the quick estimate: hand nest 15 s a part, SOS Vector 2 min a job, sorting 3 s a letter as laid out and 15 s a letter nested, at $95/hr. Material used is whole sheets less the biggest clean offcut, if it's at least 300 × 600. Yield is the parts' own area over material used.
Grey rows: the same nests with no lock, for comparison.
- The lock cost no sheets here. Nested, it's still one sheet of brushed ACM ($123.60); as laid out it's 2 ($247.20).
- The hand nest didn't need to turn anything, so locking it changed nothing.
- SOS Vector gives up laying letters on their side. At rotation 180 it leaves 555 × 1220; at none, 505 × 1220; free, 743 × 1220.
What the lock costs when the sheet is full
How far through the job 1 sign (repeated, in sign order) the hand nest gets before it needs a second sheet.
- The hand nest loses the strip. With the grain free it laid 7 letters on their side in the leftover strip under the third row. Lock the grain and that strip is dead: 55 letters a sheet becomes 48, 13% fewer.
- Tall narrow characters lose their best trick. An I at 300 mm is 58 mm wide, so on its side it fits any strip a part gap wider than that, along an edge or under a row. Grain locked, it needs the full 300.
Nest your own job
Quick estimate in your browser
Type the sign and pick the material, and this page works out a rough nest each way, with the time it takes. It's quicker and rougher than SOS Vector's own nest, so expect small differences from the jobs above.
For the real nest, open the job in SOS Vector: Sign › True Shape Nest…, in beta. Set the gap, the margin, sheet or roll, and the rotation (none, 180, 90 or free) for the grain. SOS Vector opens from inside Sign OS.
Try Sign OS freeSet it up on the left, then nest it. It works it out here in your browser: as laid out, by hand and as an auto nest, with the time each takes.
What the totals don't show
The trade-offs
Savings come in steps
You buy sheets. A nest only pays if it drops one, or the offcut goes on the rack and gets used or charged out. A strip that sits there for a year is a bin with extra steps.
Set a keep size per material and stick to it. We used 300 × 600.
As laid out is a template
Cut as laid out, letters come off in order and the skeleton is your spacing and fixing template. Nested, they come off scrambled: sort, label and lay out again before you mark the wall.
If you nest, number them while they're still on the bed, or print a placement sheet from the nest.
Hold-down gets worse as you nest tighter
Small parts lose vacuum as the sheet around them is cut away, and a tight nest cuts it away sooner. Cut counters and small parts first, the big ones last, and tab or onion-skin anything small enough to move.
Time at the screen
SOS Vector is about 2 minutes to set the gap, margin and rotation and let it run. By hand it's 15 s a letter: 10.8 min for 43. Worth it when it drops a sheet of stainless; not when it saves a strip of white ACM you'll never use.
The cut doesn't get shorter
Same letters, same perimeter, so the cut path is the same whichever way you nest. Rapids between parts change by a couple of metres (6.9 to 8.3 m on job 1). That's seconds.
When the hand nest is enough
On one-height lettering a careful hand nest gets the same sheet count as SOS Vector; SOS Vector gets it in 2 minutes instead of 10.8 min and leaves more offcut. On the arrows SOS Vector saved a whole sheet over the hand nest.
One-height caps suit rows. Odd shapes and long runs suit software.