ac3-decal-designs

So my SC2 was delivered today. Such a difference in the VE cutter and the SC2 cutter. I think the oddest thing I have seen so far is I swear that this cutter was an off white, almost eggshell color when I took it out of the box and now its a light baby blue. Other than that the VinylMaster Cuts software is easy to use, the machine is easy to operate and it cuts great. I am extremely pleased with the cutter and the decision to dump the VE. I have to pay the shipping to send the VE cutter back to SW, which is an expense I'll happily pay to get rid of it. As a test I just cut out some words and it cut wonderful, in straight lines, no tracking issues. For a more detailed test I cut out some back the blue flags for an FWC officer down the street to hand out. Each flag was cut very well after a couple tries to get the speed and pressure right. I am 100% positive that this cutter is going to make me some money. The cutter is grounded to the stand and the stand itself sits on concrete.

One I had a few moons ago was a real old Roland that was gifted to me. When that one died at that time i was only doing small decals and shirts/hats/coozies etc... So when it died i bought a Cricut just to habe something while i saved for a new cutter. It did the job fine, just a LOT slower. Im a very small business..a lot of ecom and working out of my home office. I had the money saved up for the new machine and had done a lotnof resesrch about the cutter so I bought the VE based on a few things, up to 500gr, tracking to 8ft, price point, included software, etc.. It was a mistake I made not doing enough side by side research. Signwarehouse has a great marketing group, they really make it seem like the VE cutter is better than the 2nd coming of Jesus.

Its making random cuts, installation of this this was an absolute nightmare (3 hrs-ish). It feels cheap, trying to get somone on the phone is next to impossible, tech support makes you leave voicemail. Just the shipping was an adventure by itself. In a nutshell, it was a big mistake buying one. I ordered the SC2. Im not offended by the question, its a very valid question. I do have experience in vinyl cutting and using cutters, just never owned a big one like this. I know it works, I was able to cut a 10x15 sign with no trouble once i got it installed and running, but this larger sign got destroyed twice (20+ yards dead) and thats not something im willing to risk again.

Maybe I should have rephrased that question. I know it'll do what I want, however, Is the cutter a quality machine. I know its not going to outperform a top of the line, but I don't want to buy another garbage plotter like the VE E31.

Ok, so I bought a Vinyl Express R Series plotter and so far I've had nothing but complaints from it while burning up 25 yards of vinyl trying to make one damn sign. I'm sending it back but still need a cutter. I'm working on a budget of about $500 for a new plotter and this one seems to fit the bill. US Cutter SC2 34". Is it worth the cost?

That is where I plan to be at, ordering bulk. Right now I am at a point where I don't have any large rolls so I need to order the large rolls as I need them and then get to the point where I can order the 50yrd rolls unless I absolutely have too I can certainly see where the shipping costs would be beneficial when ordering several rolls.

All of this is really good information. I'm not trying to stir anything up or hold allegiance to one company over another, I truly don't care who I buy from as long as it's a good deal from buy to service. That's the only real thing I care about, being able to take care of my customers and make the most profit possible.

Oh sorry, the $71 and $72 points are including shipping. SW is 9.99 USC is 11.99. Still both are < $1 which is so minimal in the grand scheme. I don't mind paying more if the customer service is worth it.

So looking at both places, the cost stands at US Cutter being more expensive, but only by less than $1. Its $71.78 for a 24"x10yrd white Oracle 951 at SW andnita $72 and change at US Cutter. That being said, it comes down to customer service, shipping speed, ease of ordering, and if issues arise, how well they take care of the customer.

From what I've seen SignWarehouse actually has better prices than US Cutter does...not by much, but about $6-7 for Oracle 951 24"x10yrd rolls. I've heard discouraging things about the customer service of SignWarehouse. I have not had to deal with either USC or SW so I cant say one way or the other.

Im not opposed to anyone, just getting info about different people.

So for decals I didnt need giant rolls so id usually just buy a bundle from Amazon and call it a day. Now that I am getting into vehicle lettering I will need the bigger rolls. So who do you go through to order vinyl? SignWarehouse seems a bit pricey. I can Google, yes, but Google doesn't tell me personal experiences. Ive yet to see a website that says "We are a pain to deal with".

So I have spent a long time doing a lot of research about how to price out vehicle lettering on a baseline and then creating a spreadsheet to figure out my math. Most of the information I have gotten is several years old and given the economy, cost of materials, labor costs, etc... I don't know if it is still accurate. I use Oracle 651 and RTape ApliTape 4075 since I live in Florida and it does well in humidity. I already have the cost of the materials, so that is a non-issue. The question is how much would I charge the client for said items. I've read that some people do it on a per letter basis, some do it per sq in, some do it per sq ft, and some do it with a dartboard and the current mood before coffee. I have been doing smaller decals, but just upgraded my cutter to do vehicle lettering which is where the question comes from. Any information would be quite helpful. If it matters I am in the Kissimmee, Fl location.