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EAvila

Need to decide on a 24" machine...

Which one to get?  

4 members have voted

  1. 1. Which one to get?

    • Refine 25"
      1
    • Creation PCUT 24"
      0
    • Copam CP-2500 24"
      3
    • Other?
      0


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I'm looking to order ASAP, but apparently no one likes to answer phones... have called Sales, Tech Support a dozen times with no success, even sent email, and that's not a good sign in my opinion...

Regardless, I need to decide on one of the above machines:

Refine- seems like cheapest option, but have read compalints here.

Copam- seems like best machine, but no native USB?

Creation- seems like newest option, native USB, but is it inferior to Copam?

The cost is not the biggest factor, but I want to make sure I get the best machine I can; don't want to regret my purchase as soon as I order it. Is the USB issue important? Is the PCUT inferior to the Copam?

Any info would be appreciated! THX!

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I have 2 cutters. One is the refine. My brother has the CReation Pcut. Neither of us has ever had any problems.

Most of the complaints on here are from people who are having trouble in setting it up. A few bad parts from time to time but you get that in everything.

The tech support with US cutter is the BEST I have ever seen,anywhere. Most people who sell cutters,you are lucky to get any support at all once they get your money.

It could be that you called during a busy period,or while most of them were at lunch. Or it could be that they were helping others and with tech Support it's first come,first served. Be thankful they didn't put you on hold and make you lsiten to elevator music for 30 minutes (think ebay).

Anyway, my advice is,go with the Creation.It will do almost anything. If you have money to burn,go with the Copam. It might last longer but I doubt it. I work the hell out of my machines and never a problem.

If you know enough about computers,and how to read and follow instructions,you shouldn't have any problems with any of them.

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I have the Copam 2500 and love it. It was easy to set up, I am using the LPT1 cable though. It cuts like a dream and is built rock solid. I dont have any other cutter to compare it to but I wanted a best bang for your buck cutter and from all my research, this fit the bill. Also, the service and help is second to none here, good stuff!

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I went ahead and ordered the COPAM 2500; not that the others wouldn't have done the

job, but most people said go for the copam if you can afford to.

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Got the Copam today, and here's my observations as a total newB:

1) Stand - definitely sturdy and well made

2) Cutter -  I have no experience with other ones, but it looks well made; certainly not "cheap"

3) Assembly - Everything was smooth, except this cutter had some new roller design for your vinyl roll holder (whatever it's called), so at first I was confused as to how this thing was supposed to work, but I figured it out. :huh:

4) Setup - As a competely newcomer to the vinyl cutting world, this was by far the most dificult thing to do; figuring out how to balance blade height, speed, and downforce... and I couldn't find much info out there, so I went with this:

a) Adjust blade to stick out only as much as necessary to cut through vinyl, and half of backing material... this can be tested with the blade in hand, but it's really not much.

;D Put it in the cutter, and ran test. Seemed ok. Settings were default of IIRC speed=60, downforce=90, and .25 for whatever the other paramater is.

c) Changed speed to be a little slower, like 30, and ran test- seemed ok, but when I went and ran the built-in COPAM test image, it was cutting through the backing, so I put speed back to 60, and ran it again, and things look fine.

Since I'm cutting out smaller logos, smaller ones are about 1"x1", should I be using a slower speed?

5) Conection to PC - used parallel port to avoid USB to Serial driver, and installed software.

6) Software - IMHO, and contrary to what everyone else has said, SignBlazer Elements is the most backward, non-standard UI interface I have ever seen, especially in the last 15 years or so. Asside from features, which I have not yet begun to explore, and I'm sure the software does what it needs to, it does not adhere to ANY OS development UI standards. So while it may do everything you need, it is certainly not intuitive to use, and you cannot rely on the experience of it running like all your other software. Just my initial impression, as a software developer for almost 20 years.

Other than that, I've got it up and running, made my first batch of logo decals, and I'm very excited about the potential. Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase (the software is my biggest gripe), and I'm looking forward to playing with it a lot more.

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Happy to hear that you got everything up and running. As for SignBlazer...just keep at it,you'll figure it out.

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