new to all of this

[deth502]

soooo... i had some questions to ask before i got started here, but last night right after i registered here, i said screw it, and i just went and bought a 32" mh series cutter.

so now im still left with a lot of questions.

first, about the cutters. i plan on getting maybe 10 hrs a month on this machine tops, but just for comparison, say this machine was used in a shop 40 hrs a week. under that kind of use, how long would you expect a set of blades to last. a week? a month? 3 months? longer?

second is the programming. i see it comes with a program, which i will probably use for now. i was thinking of getting the flexi starter. $100 isint too outrageous to me, but then i see the full versions are in the thousands of dollars, it leads me to believe that this $100 version would be so watered down it would be near worthless. basically, what i want to do is take a picture, i can turn it into a line drawing in photoshop no problem, but then get it to whatever type of file i need to cut a decal with. is this feasible with the included program? or with the flexi starter?

now the BIG question. vinyl. what are the differences? i see things like intermediate cal, ect, i have no idea what they mean.

now, im sure many here who know what they are doing will see these as simple dumb noob question, and i wont argue they arent, but im just looking to get a few quick simple answers, not a "do a search" or "check the stickies" bs.

thank you!

[deth502]

oh, by the way, i think i forgot to mention, on the "big question" of vinyl, im not looking to learn everything, just what will be applicable to me with the machine i just bought.

[JoeBlow]

I don't know what cutting program comes with your cutter, if it's SignBlazer, just stick with that, if it's not SignBlazer then, you can find where to download a free copy here on the forum.  Photoshop is a raster program and not suitable for cutting.  You can do all your design and drawing in Photoshop, but you'll need to use a program like Inkscape, to trace your Photoshop graphics too be able to cut them.  Inkscape is also a free program, you'll find plenty of references to it here on the forum.

Here's an article that explains the difference between Calendered & Cast vinyl
http://www.signindustry.com/vinyl/articles/2005-07-01-Avery-CastVsCalendered.php3

I hope this is some help to you.

Joe

[deth502]

Included: SignBlazer Elements (Permanent Trial), and SignCut Productivity Pro (1-year license)

so this should be all i need then? cool! (other than the free inkscape program)

i skimmed the vinyl article, im going to go back and read it in more detail now, thanks!!

now can anyone comment on the blade life on these?

[ClawGFX]

Blade life is going to vary a bit depending on what material your cutting, Metallic and thicker materials of course will dull a blade faster.

Mine started out as a hobby, just getting a few orders here and there and I prob changed my blade out every 6-8 Months. Again it will vary depending on your amount but Ive heard mention for a full service machines (8 hours a day 5 days a week) you can look at a month or two between blades.. Again it will all vary based on use and materials type

[Speedoggy]

soooo... i had some questions to ask before i got started here, but last night right after i registered here, i said screw it, and i just went and bought a 32" mh series cutter.

so now im still left with a lot of questions.

first, about the cutters. i plan on getting maybe 10 hrs a month on this machine tops, but just for comparison, say this machine was used in a shop 40 hrs a week. under that kind of use, how long would you expect a set of blades to last. a week? a month? 3 months? longer?

second is the programming. i see it comes with a program, which i will probably use for now. i was thinking of getting the flexi starter. $100 isint too outrageous to me, but then i see the full versions are in the thousands of dollars, it leads me to believe that this $100 version would be so watered down it would be near worthless. basically, what i want to do is take a picture, i can turn it into a line drawing in photoshop no problem, but then get it to whatever type of file i need to cut a decal with. is this feasible with the included program? or with the flexi starter?

now the BIG question. vinyl. what are the differences? i see things like intermediate cal, ect, i have no idea what they mean.

now, im sure many here who know what they are doing will see these as simple dumb noob question, and i wont argue they arent, but im just looking to get a few quick simple answers, not a "do a search" or "check the stickies" bs.

thank you!

First of all  Flexistarter is not a watered down worthless program..  Yes  it does have less features,, It is a great cutting program.  And does have some design features,  But you are not paying  a huge price for it.  I have run an EBAY business for over 3 years and Flexistarter is all I use.  With FREE Inkscape software  and Flexistarter,  I don't need anything else.     Blades?  if depends on what your cutting,,   Using material like relective will dull them real fast.  It also depends  with your (first blade),  how bad you dinged it up try to get the blade at the right height,,for your first set up.    I cut alot everday,  and probabally only  change blades 1 time in three months just cutting a regular intermediate vinyl.

also you will find that Flexistarter can import alot more different file formats extentions than most cutting software.  

here is the list

http://www.signwarehouse.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=341&nav=0,96,44

[deth502]

well, i was going to wait till i got the machine and got started, but im getting kinda anxious about all of this, and i have to say, i blame ALL OF YOU for most of it!!!! 

so i didnt know if id need the 45deg or 60 deg blades, so i bought a set of both. from the comments here that should be around a 2 yr supply or better, which is great.

so what is the difference in these 2?

also got 4 rolls of the cheap vinyl and one roll of the good stuff (semi good) and some of the clearance transfer tape stuff. so i think i should be good to go for a while. enough to get me started and knowing what im doing somewhat i think.

afa the programs, thats some amazing work, speedoggy, i doubt ill be doing anything that intricate. i did download inkscape and played with it some, ive got a few things down that dont seem too hard, but im far from having it mastered yet. i see that you can directly import cad files into flexistarter, which is very cool, i do alot of machining, therefore i have alot of cad files. doing so though, has also made it nessicary to find out how to change a cad file to share it, so if i hadto, i could make it a jpeg to load onto inkscapre, so i think im going to pass on the flexi for now, until i can see what i can actually do.

[ClawGFX]

well, i was going to wait till i got the machine and got started, but im getting kinda anxious about all of this, and i have to say, i blame ALL OF YOU for most of it!!!!  

so i didnt know if id need the 45deg or 60 deg blades, so i bought a set of both. from the comments here that should be around a 2 yr supply or better, which is great.

so what is the difference in these 2?

also got 4 rolls of the cheap vinyl and one roll of the good stuff (semi good) and some of the clearance transfer tape stuff. so i think i should be good to go for a while. enough to get me started and knowing what im doing somewhat i think.

afa the programs, thats some amazing work, speedoggy, i doubt ill be doing anything that intricate. i did download inkscape and played with it some, ive got a few things down that dont seem too hard, but im far from having it mastered yet. i see that you can directly import cad files into flexistarter, which is very cool, i do alot of machining, therefore i have alot of cad files. doing so though, has also made it nessicary to find out how to change a cad file to share it, so if i hadto, i could make it a jpeg to load onto inkscapre, so i think im going to pass on the flexi for now, until i can see what i can actually do.

45 degree blades are going to be your standard for most vinyl and materials. 60 degree blades are better for more thicker materials

For vinyl cheapo is a good start but I would recommend Oracal as do most on the board. One thing with using different vinyls is the thickness and how it cuts and weeds. When you get used to working on the cheapo vinyl and move up to Oracal or another brand you may find yourself have to re-tweak the blade depth and pressure to work with the new vinyl.. Its a good learning experience doing so but it can get aggravating if your switching back and forth from vinyl brand to vinyl. Some folks have suggested just getting an extra blade holder so all you your blade depth is already set you just swap the holder out.

[YadirellT]

45 blades are good for most cuts.  However if you're looking to make smaller decals, or texts, 60 degree blades would work better. 

I agree with Claw that if you can practice with the economy vinyl.  But for real work that you want to keep, or are doing business with, to use the Oracal.  Cheap vinyl are usually more problems than their worth.

[deth502]

i got some of this:

http://www.uscutter.com/BGS-24quot-By-10-Yard-Vinyl_p_157.html

in red white blue and black. i did read the article from joeblow about the differences in vinyl, i got this stuff to try it out and get started, i have a feeling theres a good chance ill be throwing alot of it away, so i wanted to go as cheap as i could.

and i got a roll of this cast stuff for when i find something i can do good:

http://www.uscutter.com/ORACAL-751-High-Performance-Cast-Vinyl-24quot-x-10-Yard-Roll_p_107.html

in black.

now...

this stuff seems to be built up pretty good in the description, but its still not a cast, what do you guys think of this?:

http://www.uscutter.com/ORACAL-651-Intermediate-Cal-Vinyl-24quot-x-10-Yard-Roll_p_105.html

its still pretty cheap, which is what makes me wary.(for later. i think i will probably pick up another blade holder when i need another vinyl order too.)

[YadirellT]

Oh, the BGS is definitely a pain to work with.  Weeding can be frustrating with those.  Oracal 651 is very good too if you go with that.  It's the intermediate vinyl, and will work well in indoor conditions and some outdoor if it doesn't have to weather too much.

751 and 951 are the good vinyl that you'll want for outdoor signs, and applications on cars and the likes.  You can basically rely on anything that's from Oracal.