sarconastic

A note on the dish-washing thing. Sandblast etching is permanent if you do it good enough. it will not wash off or even wear completely off. I have washed the mugs I do Dozens of times and they are still holding up great. As a test I left one out on the deck through the entire summer and then brought it in and threw it int eh dishwasher. Still looks as good as the day i did it. BTW: you can not just pass the blaster over it until it turns a little hazy, that is not enough, you have to blast them until there is no remnant of the smooth portion of the glass left. Kevin

for a properly setup blade it should only be exposed 1/2 the thickness of a credit card. Kevin

From one laserpoint user to another, get the serial to usb adapter cable. you will not regret it. Most of the issues people have are with USB. WIth that cable you can stilluse your USB port on your computer but it adapts it to the Serial connection on the cutter. $35 well spent. Kevin

Take my word for it you do NOT want to call them unless your ready to buy. I was looking at DTG and Embroidery stuff about 6 months ago, so I made some informational contacts on the web. and before I knew I was getting dozens of calls from all of the country trying to sell me their latest and greatest model. Wild thing is after telling them for a couple months that I had decided to go with Screen printing for now, and I couldn't afford $12000 for a startup , their prices started dropping. Or they all of a sudden had refurbished units that didn't exist a month ago etc etc.Funny how that happens. Kevin

I have used the free stuff quite a bit when I started, but like mars, I made the investment in some good software and never looked back. I got FLexisign Pro. It does a nice job of vectoring as well. node reduction works great and the node editing is killer. Kevin

get some 631 wall vinyl for next time. a LOT easier to remove. save you tons of works. Great work too. Kevin

If you have to ask, you can't afford them LOL..Seriously they start at about $8k and the skys the limit. Kevin

they have a mold line yes but it's not too bad. Some of them I found in dollar tree like places have had really pronounced ones, but these are ok. I placed vinyl across them to sandblast and out of 100+ mugs I have only had 1 or 2 that I had a little bit of blow out on. but it wasn't serious enough to scrap it. Kevin

The math is whatever you can get for the shirts, and when you can get it. If someone walks into my place on Wednesday and says I need 50 shirts done by Friday in a rush. I obviously up-charge for the rush, and it costs more because it's done in vinyl. The customer pays it, we're both happy. So it's all a matter of what the customer needs. It's also a matter of what you need. You didn't include the cost of a setup for the transfers though did you? most of the suppliers I have used charge $35+ for an order that small. so now your up to $100+. Also Most of the runs that are like that aren't large graphics. They are mostly Chest Logos or simple designs. Also when you design something like this for a customer you use SMART sizing. You make your designs fit into the vinyl size that you have. Like if using 15" vinyl' incorporate the size s 3" and 7" that way you utilize all you vinyl material with very little waste. Vinyl shirt graphics can and are very profitable if done right. Kevin

I look at it this way, I may be giving them money but at the same time i am making money from it, and then someone in the public is spending money with me that they would probably otherwise spend at wally world. Balancing act of sorts. Plus if my suppliers charge $4 for a mug that is the same or less quality, i would be stupid to buy it now wouldn't I?

Just because we bought Chinese cutters doesn't mean we want to buy all the other crap they have to sell. BUY TRADE AND SELL AMERICAN! Kevin

I got mine to do that once a long time ago. I bought some blades and had to change my offset. They were .025 offset and I put in .250 offset. Makes a Huge Difference. like 1/4" lol Kevin

I do runs of 50 to 100 on shirts in vinyl all the time. But it depends on the design. Single color simple weed no problem. i can crank them out like crazy. Especially when you get the kids to dot he weeding for you. They are always wanting something, so we take it out in trade. Multiple color intricate design. I'm either screening them or making plastisol transfers for them. Depends on my time frame. If I make the transfers I can have the Son press them later.;-) Kevin

Here they are.

The way i measure the curve, and you could have a customer do this at home is to take a piece of string and lay it across the windshield from side to side. Measure down on each side an equal distance so the string is straight across the windshield, then tapes the ends of the string in place. Then measure the distance down from the top of the windshield in the center to the string. Then measure the side to side width of the glass at roughly the bottom of where the graphic will be. Example would be Measure down 12" from the corners and tape string. Measure down at the center, say it's 8.5" subtract this from your 12" side measurement and you get 3.5" Measure your width, say it's 51". Then in your software created a box that is the width of your windshield (51") by the height you want the graphic to be. Next go to whatever your software's version of Distortion or Warp may be and distort the center of the box down 3.5". Save this as a template and you now have something to design your graphics for that vehicle on. You can import that template into your program later to design over the top of it. The numbers i gave are rather dramatic, most will be within 1-2" of drop int eh center, but you get the idea. Just make sure you leave enough around the top and sides for trimming. Kevin

I get mugs just like those from my local walmart for $2 each. Cheaper than I can have them shipped from my supplier. They have two different sizes in stock at my store. Kevin

When your running a business that produces thousands of products, and you already are running Graphtecs, what could possibly fathom you to purchase a VALUE cutter for this endeavor. I bought one because It was what i could afford, and it's been great, but if my lively hood was dependent on the machine, (which I know now mine would be fine) I would have shelled out the extra money for Commercial production unit. you can't condemn an entire company for the sake of one bad machine. Ken makes a great point by the way. If your materials for one run outweigh the cost of the equipment your running it on, your RESEARCH probably needs some updating. Kevin

I'm with UF, My LP has made me the price I paid for it dozens of times over. They are a good machine if you know how to work them. 90% of troubles with them were user error. There of course have been machines that had MB problems etc. But really where can you find the features in a cutter this size at this price point that produces work as fast as it does. I would buy another one and recommend to my friends. I cut just about everything you can imagine with my cutter too. Graphics Vinyl, Apparel vinyl, Stencils, Gaskets, (way cheaper than buying them for my 79 Elky), Fabric for my wifes applique stuff, Craft paper cutouts for my daughters projects. This machine will pretty much handle anything. Kevin

I use my machine to cut all kinds of paper stock. I actually picked up a 'Cricut" (ducking) platen that has the adhesive on it they are like 2 for $10, depending on size. then I made a couple trays that set on my cutter to hold it level, but you don't have to. USC actually sells the tables for the LP24 and the Pcut I believe. Then you have to raise your blade holder in the head a little to accommodate the platen and the material. I have done stencils, Gaskets for my cars and Dirt Bikes, Scrapbook lettering etc. It works really well, Keep in mind, the blade wears really fast when cutting that stuff. Kevin

I have been gone from the forum for a while.. Too dang busy to even stop and read it. but I see there are still the one or two people who think they should be able to get into a complicated business that requires a HUGE learning curve to to be proficient. Yes you can be cutting in a few minutes if you take the time to read the manuals, but you will be learning for years to come to be able to efficiently make items that are of a quality level that you can sell with confidence. I started out with SBE, and it is absolutely the Easiest program to use for cutting. The problem most have is that it does not have a standard "Winblows" interface. If you ignore the lack of a cookie cutter interface and figure out what the actual program will do then you will get some where. SBE made me enough money in a few months to upgrade. I picked up a copy of FlexiSign pro 8 from someone who thought it was "Too Complicated to use" for less that 1/4 the new price. If I had, had the money I would have owned his 48" Graphtec too. When I first started Flexi, I was clueless. Things that came easy in SBE were a nightmare for me until i learned the terminology and the interface. I still go back to SBE occasionally for a couple of things that it does automatically that I would have to design in Flexi. And Yes I have used Illy, PS, inkscape, signcut,and CD and all have their points, but I have gone to a piece of software that was designed for the sign cutting world. As was SBE. That's why they work so well. Kevin

Retro stuff is coming back, but that aside, ovals are popular for "toss out" decals for a couple reasons. They are easy for a customer to slap on their window to advertise for you and they don't have any sharp corners, which increase their longevity as far a peeling/snagging goes. I makes tons of ovals every year and I don't push them. people want them.

Price is going to be relative to where your at in the Country, but i would be around $350-400 depending on the vinyl used, if that is a lighted sign maybe a little more than that. Not counting installation. (addition) That would be PER sign BTW. Kevin

I need the font Styrofoam Feelings, it has been free fro years, it is one of the larabie fonts. but apparently someone has gone around and reloaded a blank font in it's place, and now wants to charge for it. I need it in TTF, i have it in otf and it doesn't work right in Flexi. Thanks for your help. Kevin

I am going to check that out. I took the same font file and loaded it on another computer and it worked just fine. Wierd. Kevin

I have installed this font a dozen times. for some reason everyone I download is a blank font file. The title is there, and the font sizes, but no info for the font. It's weird to say the least. I have installed dozens upon dozens of fonts but this is the first one I have ever had that will not load. Kevin