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Copam arriving tomorrow...

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My 24" Copam is arriving tomorrow and after reading ALL of the issues most people have with Mac & Cutters; I am convinced I'll have hair pulling frustrations setting up! I am new to vinyl cutting and from what I've read the software and cutters have endless issues and technical support is a nightmare. What have I gotten myself into? USB to serial adaptor... Either Intel Macs need one or they don't! Why the big mystery?! And WTF is a dongle?! :\

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My 24" Copam is arriving tomorrow and after reading ALL of the issues most people have with Mac & Cutters; I am convinced I'll have hair pulling frustrations setting up! I am new to vinyl cutting and from what I've read the software and cutters have endless issues and technical support is a nightmare. What have I gotten myself into? USB to serial adaptor... Either Intel Macs need one or they don't! Why the big mystery?! And WTF is a dongle?! :\

Sounds like your frustrated already. The copams are a great, easy to use piece of equipment. The software and conflicting hardware might be a challenge. But I would say if your able, and have a the ability to install windows 7 on your rig. I would do it. Or buy a 299 laptop and run it from there. Installing windows on your mac is fairly normal process. You will need to create a separate partition in your harddrive and load it into that partition. There are plenty of sights dedicated to helping you do this. But rest assured, the copam will be the least of your problems!

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Thanks! That makes me feel better now that I know I have a Plan B.. BUT I already have Windows on my Mac & despise having to use it. I LOVE Mac (no offense to PC users). I would just like to use the Copam from Mac as it reads in the description that is is capable of doing. Either way it's a GREAT comfort knowing that at least the Copam is great and will work well. :)

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Got my cutter... Spent 1 hour building the stand since the thread on the bolts that came with it did not match the slanted, partly covers holes! Hated the cutter before I took it out of the box due to the stand.

Once I built the stand I turned it on and pressed measure paper and it completely unrolled 5 yards of vinyl which I then had to patiently roll back.

Now to connect it to my Mac. Oh the joys that await me! :\

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So my first few test cuts cut right through the vinyl. Offset is supposedly .25 but the blade was barely out and it was still cutting through. I lowered the offset to .15, the speed to 10 and 20g for force and it's finally cutting properly. By the way connection via USB was flawless using SignCut :)

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It is supposed to cut right thru the vinyl :huh: If it is cutting thru the backing paper , you have the blade out WAY too far .. If you have to use that small amount for pressure , you have the blade out WAY too far . Take the blade holder out & adjust it so that it only leaves an indentation in the backing paper while pressing down hard cutting some vinyl by hand . You will save youself much frustration by reading theu the old threads .

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Yeah I meant the backing paper.... It's cutting perfectly now. I must say I am VERY pleased with my cutter. Does anyone know any way of making weeding any easier through SignCut? It already makes a box around the image but is that as good as it gets?

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Just thought I'd share my 1st vinyl cut ever! (And by first I mean the first one that came out ok after the 20 ruined test prints)

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:)

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SignCut has the BEST weeding options . You can put them anywhere vertically or horizontally & as many places as you want .

nice decals . I did not have any experience with vinyl when i started & made a bunch of mistakes also . Lots to learn & lots of experience to get . Having the blade out too far is very common .... I bet you will find out ( several times ) you need to reduce the amount of blade sticking out ... I did

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What version Mac are you running? I'm in the same position (LOVE Macs, have a Copam, but have FlexiStarter for mac). Connection from the Mac to the Copam is near impossible with what I have set up right now. Suggestions?:huh:

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Im running 10.6.6... the only thing I can think of that is helpful is to use SignCut instead of Flexi. Or if not I've read that buying a keyspan helps.

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