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Cre8tiveCutter
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« on: September 13, 2009, 10:18:58 AM » |
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I'm currently reseaching for a purchase in the VERY near future of a graphtec . I am torn between the roland 24 inch cutter and the graphtec. I have a pcut that I'm running the sh*t out of right now and disliking more and more everyday! I have wasted more tshirt vinyl than i care to count, had to deal with sbe locking up a dozen times a day and seriously need to upgrade to be able to do longer runs and smaller cuts! I have been extremly busy with tshirt orders and getting more and more everyday. people are ordering between 20 and 50 shirts and I'm getting backed up dealing with the pcut issues and wasting expensive tshirt vinyl because of it.
I am leaning towards a graphtec because of all the good things i have heard about it and because the graphtec forum is way shorter in the problems area than any other cutter listed here...lol. well besides the roland. I do have a 12 inch roland cutter that costs me 1200 and has never given me a bit of trouble its just too small to do anything with.
Any suggestions out here? Are there any issues with usb connection for the graphtec? Give me some input please!!!
Renee
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There is some consolation in the fact that, even though your dreams don't come true, neither do your nightmares!
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FireMalt
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« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2009, 10:30:44 AM » |
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I can't speak for the Roland, but I am simply in love with my Graphtec. Prior to buying it, I was curious if it really cut that much better than my refine or pcut... once I got it in & setup, I was floored! While it takes some getting used to lining up the vinyl, once you're there... the tracking is quite impressive. I've cut job after job of a a single color for close to 20ft. without having to adjust or worry about the track. The fact that always completes all the cuts, saves SO much time, that your production times are sped up tremendously. This alone, to me, was worth the purchase. I can cut text smaller than 1/2" and spend a 1/10th of the time weeding it, then it took me with my other cutters.
Yes, it's $1500ish versus a few hundred compares to the refine or pcut. Yes, they all do the same thing. But with the Graphtec, I can send the cutter a 20"x15' job, and leave the room, knowing that when I come back, it'll be done.
I can't say enough good things about the Graphtec (I'm sure it's obvious), and without a doubt, I'm so glad I made the purchase!
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GraphTec CE5000-60|Flexi Pro 8.1|16"x20" Mighty press| Pcut 24" cutter as a spare.
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fivestar
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« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2009, 10:35:21 AM » |
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Tim tell us how you really feel about your GraphTec.  I agree, the GraphTec cut sooooooo much better then the Refine or Laserpoint I have/had. It's like comparing a Porsche and a Chevette racing. Sure the Chevette will finish the race BUT the Prosche will finish it so much faster and easier. |
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*****Contact Me For Wholesale Printing*****
Roland SC-500 54" Printer/Cutter| GraphTec CE5000-60| 16x20 Mighty Press heat press|15x15 Mighty Press| Hix hat press| 2 Refine 24" cutters for spares.
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Speedoggy
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« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2009, 10:39:51 AM » |
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I too have a Graphtec Fc7000mk2-75 , I read everthing on Roland and Graphtec,, and choose Graphtec... no buyers remorse here, I do alot of long cuts 8'-12' never a problem .. Very sturdy, reliable,and QUIET machine and I use Flexistarter 8.5 for cutting software.  |
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Graphtec FC7000MK2-75 Flexistarter 8.5 Toshiba laptop Windows XP
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Cre8tiveCutter
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« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2009, 10:49:00 AM » |
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thanx guys for the response! Fire, you do love your graphtec! you told me exactly what I wanted to know. Do you guys use the software that came with it or something else? I will be of course buying it from uscutter and they do have a few software options as an add on to the purchase.
My pcut has made me some money, I got what I paid for with the pcut but its definetly time to upgrade to a better cutter. the pcut is great for small jobs but when I get orders for 50 shirts x 2 or 5 well its not so great. As cheap as the cutter was, It has done me well so I'm not complaining.
Renee
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There is some consolation in the fact that, even though your dreams don't come true, neither do your nightmares!
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fivestar
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« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2009, 11:00:57 AM » |
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Renee it comes with a plugin called Cutting Master, which intergrates with Illistrator or Corel Draw, so if you design with either of them, then you won't need any other software. Cutting Master is actually made by the same company that makes Flexi, it looks almost identical to Flexi's cut/plot screen.
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*****Contact Me For Wholesale Printing*****
Roland SC-500 54" Printer/Cutter| GraphTec CE5000-60| 16x20 Mighty Press heat press|15x15 Mighty Press| Hix hat press| 2 Refine 24" cutters for spares.
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CyberSultan
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« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2009, 11:22:20 AM » |
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I have been seriously looking into the Graphtec. Eventually I will be joining the club. The new FC8000 looks pretty nice...so I'm not sure whether to go that direction or get the CE5000. Does the CE5000 have different pressure settings available for the pinch rollers (to set different pressures depending on the material being fed)?
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« Last Edit: September 29, 2009, 09:39:09 AM by CyberSultan »
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FireMalt
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« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2009, 01:02:17 PM » |
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The pinch rollers (2 of them) on the CE5000 are controlled by one lever on the rear of the machine. As far as I know, they are self adjusting.
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GraphTec CE5000-60|Flexi Pro 8.1|16"x20" Mighty press| Pcut 24" cutter as a spare.
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tory
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« Reply #8 on: September 13, 2009, 01:51:35 PM » |
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I have Roland GX24 and never had a problem with it. I use Corel or Cut Studio for the software. I would not be amused if it didn't cut all the way or other problems you speak of. I can hit the button and walk out of the room without worrying about it. It has the contour cut feature but I haven't had the need to use it as yet.
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Cre8tiveCutter
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« Reply #9 on: September 14, 2009, 08:08:35 AM » |
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Tory, thanx for the input! I think I'm going to go with the graphtec. I think most of my problems are caused by the usb connection. ( the stopping in the middle of a job and computer freezing up) All the new computers do not have an serial port and there is no where to put it, believe me I have tried! Right now I figure I'm wasting a boatload of tshirt vinyl as well as a total of 3 hours per day out of a 9 hour day because of having to stop and restart the computer and the program and setting up the job AGAIN....<sigh> I'm hating it! I has served me well for starting out 6 months ago but its well past time for me upgrade!
Speedoggy- I need to be able to do long runs and not worry about the machine stopping, going off track ( the pcut does on longer runs) and cant even leave the machine because as soon as I do, something messes up! thanx for the input!
Renee
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There is some consolation in the fact that, even though your dreams don't come true, neither do your nightmares!
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tory
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« Reply #10 on: September 14, 2009, 08:25:03 AM » |
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I think most of my problems are caused by the usb connection. ( the stopping in the middle of a job and computer freezing up) All the new computers do not have an serial port and there is no where to put it, believe me I have tried! Right now I figure I'm wasting a boatload of tshirt vinyl as well as a total of 3 hours per day out of a 9 hour day because of having to stop and restart the computer and the program and setting up the job AGAIN....<sigh> I'm hating it! I has served me well for starting out 6 months ago but its well past time for me upgrade!
Renee
Nothing more frustrating than wasted time/vinyl which translates into wasted dollars. I'd be right there with ya, for sanity's sake, in looking for a solution. |
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Speedoggy
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« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2009, 08:53:35 AM » |
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Tory, thanx for the input! I think I'm going to go with the graphtec. I think most of my problems are caused by the usb connection. ( the stopping in the middle of a job and computer freezing up) All the new computers do not have an serial port and there is no where to put it, believe me I have tried! Right now I figure I'm wasting a boatload of tshirt vinyl as well as a total of 3 hours per day out of a 9 hour day because of having to stop and restart the computer and the program and setting up the job AGAIN....<sigh> I'm hating it! I has served me well for starting out 6 months ago but its well past time for me upgrade!
Speedoggy- I need to be able to do long runs and not worry about the machine stopping, going off track ( the pcut does on longer runs) and cant even leave the machine because as soon as I do, something messes up! thanx for the input!
Renee
tracking is great for long runs. They even guarantee it up to 50ft |
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Graphtec FC7000MK2-75 Flexistarter 8.5 Toshiba laptop Windows XP
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