slice&dice

Parallel to USB? That doesn't sound like an easy link.

After you sort out this minor issue, please provide us with some videos and feedback on how you are liking the LP3 ---- it ticks off a lot of boxes for an introductory level cutter, with features like a stand with media holder included; superior tracking roller mechanisms; quieter operation; and more.

Order from Grimco. 1/8" thick Polyethelyne -- (parking lot stencils)

Welcome from Maryland. Quick tip -- VinylMaster Cut (basic) does not contain a full graphics set (just some samples,click on the teddy bear). If you want a valuable and extensive ready-to-cut Library of vectors, then download and install (turn off your antivirus first) the SignBlazerElements program which includes a terrific assortment of artwork. (Draw menu -- Library)

Things like store hours on doors and windows are very easy to accomplish, and especially now that all these re-opening places want to show they have regular operating times again. Do a few examples and take & print photos, those are your 'calling cards' as you go around to local businesses. Hit the pavement, that's really how to get these types of projects. Another way is to make banners and A-Frames (with 2'x3' inserts) and place them roadside. USCutter sells banner blanks, and A-Frames I have been able to get work by telling the potential client --- I'll install the promotional signs at no cost upfront, and you don't owe me if they fail to generate any new customers. That's right, free, free, free. Free. With one stipulation --- each customer must be asked to reveal how they came to be in the store, and when the first person says "I saw your sign" they owe me for the job. I always get paid.

To be fair -- let's not set this challenge up with the obvious mini-cut advantage going to Skeeter's expensive servo machine! We'll cut those 2 lines of PLAIN TEXT ONLY in a size to be viewed from 30-feet away (or more). That is 99% of my work, and how I earn a living making signage. Been doing this since 2012, on-and-off, and yeah, I gave the MH to a buddy, he loves it, mostly making 18"x24" bandit signs for his landscaping business. He never has had a problem, the machine runs flawlessly. I don't have an argument with anyone pointing out the true limitations of the MH series, which are well-documented. My objection is the characterization that USCutter is selling a piece of Sh!t or somehow ripping-off buyers who buy the MH. Now, I would LOVE to hear back from the O-P Jsax and see if that issue was resolved by our input?!!

"Even the owners say it" -- USCutter sells thousands of these units. They do their job, and owners have them running and making money all over the world. Anyone who expects a lower-priced Door Buster unit to EQUAL more expensive machines is simply not being realistic. If you want to keep bashing the product as "POS" then go for it. What I meant about the 30-foot comment was that large banners or 4'x16' signs viewed at 30-feet away (as many are) do not require the intricate, small-detail cutting of a Graphtec or other high-end servo cutter. C'mon, Skeetz, what about the CONTEXT of my remarks? Be fair. I'll put a challenge to you --- let's make signs, each of us. You do it with the Graphtec (the 'Platinum Standard' of cutters) and I'll cut the same thing with a 'Bottom of the Barrel' Chinese knockoff. We will post the results, side by side, and see if anyone can identify which is which. (They won't be able to). I urge you to cease and desist bad-mouthing the product line-up of USCutter in their own Forums. It's really not cool. Can better machines be obtained at higher price points? Yep. DUH! Let's leave it at that.

"We advise people over and over, not to buy this (*POS*) cutter ..." -- Skeetz. And I am sure USCutter company, the sponsor of this Forum, is glad to have you call their entry-level cutting machine a Piece of Sh!t, and continually make it seem as though that cutter is a bad buy. Speaking from my own personal experience in opening a retail sign store in 2012, using the MH as a centerpiece of the operation, I found it to be fully capable of doing what customers needed, and an overall good value. There was not "a lot of tinkering and fine tuning" involved with getting it to work just fine, and that bad boy was churning out work every day, all day, for months and months, right out of the box (with SignBlazer as supplied by USCutter at the time). I would advise people to look at the MH level for exactly what it is ----- a valid option for budget-limited buyers, exactly as USCutter markets it. No more and no less. That's MY 2c.

Proper tracking must be pinpointed (no drift) by first running the entire length of vinyl you'll need through the machine using the manual (offline) positioning of the Y-axis movement. If that vinyl doesn't remain EXACTLY on the same measuring line from the beginning to the end, then you'll have these types of mis-aligned rectangles.

Where did you 'pick it up' from? A dumpster? For $287.95 you can grab a functioning (refurb 34") unit from the USCutter warehouse.

Your PC likely uses amd64 architecture, so open that folder and run the executable file. It'll install the appropriate driver in two seconds. Then, go ahead with the VM install. Enjoy your new hobby!

Oh my, that's just ------- terrible. Nichole, I have merely one question. What are you talking about?

You're welcome. I know that feeling -- when after troubleshooting all sorts of things, the cutter actually decides to start working! Yippeeee! Now, of course, you are doomed, because the orders keep on coming and your "hungry monster" machine needs to be kept fed!

Try using SignBlazer software. Reboot your computer. 'Generic' cutter driver in SBE would be RedSail or LiYu.

Make sure the blade holder is properly seated in the retainer arm. Don't slide that far-right pressure roller over so far, it needs to be positioned with the grit rollers beneath (the farthest-right position will miss the lower roller, the manufacturer should have put in a stop-screw on the back rail to prevent that, but they didn't, so the user has to pay attention to avoiding that spot).