JHew84

CE5000 vs CE6000

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If your trying to save money,  have you looked at the Rebranded Graphtecs?  Which are the Vinyl Express QE series.  You said your not worried about speed or force.    The QE6000 24"  is cheaper than the CE5000-60...

 

PACKAGE 1 $1,395    24" cutter. 

  • VE Qe6000 vinyl cutter & stand
  • Vinyl Express LXi Apprentice Cloud software More info
  • Designers Productivity Suite More info
  • "Basic Vinyl Application" video View sample
  • Bonus supply kit (1 roll of vinyl*, R-Tape sample pack & 1 gold squeegee)
  • Lifetime Support, 2 Year Warranty, PSP 4

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I didn't expect anyone to own both concurrently, or to even have owned both over different periods of time. But it seems reasonable that someone here would know more about it than me and have done the research about which model is a better choice and why. I've been looking for a few days and haven't come up with much as far as the differences go. I'm also not very familiar with all the features (such as the brake being on the rollers and why that is better) of vinyl cutters so assistance there would have been nice as well.

 

I basically taught myself how to work on cars by actively doing it and reading up on it through web forums and books. Although there is A LOT more information readily available when it comes to cars, so when I couldn't find more details on the information I was after I thought I would just ask. Many car forum members will put together a comprehensive guide including intricate differences in certain models without even being asked. That doesn't seem to be the case on these forums. I am still in the learning stages with cutters so I figured someone here would be able to toss some advice/information my way. You clearly know something about these machines but for whatever reason would rather shoot out snarky replies than an honest answer. Before I even made that post I did a few quick searches for the advantages of having the brake on the rollers but didn't find anything, hence why I asked. I'm sure the information is out there but it's much easier to find when you already know what you're looking for. Sometimes I take my decade+ of experience working on cars for granted when people ask seemingly stupid questions. But I try to give them honest answers anyway because at one point I was there too.

 

I didn't come here to argue or be rude, I just wanted what I thought would be some simple answers to a question I was having trouble finding more detailed information on. But apparently that's not the kind of environment the plotter/cutter community likes to foster. Lesson learned, don't ask questions.

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If your trying to save money,  have you looked at the Rebranded Graphtecs?  Which are the Vinyl Express QE series.  You said your not worried about speed or force.    The QE6000 24"  is cheaper than the CE5000-60...

 

PACKAGE 1 $1,395    24" cutter. 

  • VE Qe6000 vinyl cutter & stand
  • Vinyl Express LXi Apprentice Cloud software More info
  • Designers Productivity Suite More info
  • "Basic Vinyl Application" video View sample
  • Bonus supply kit (1 roll of vinyl*, R-Tape sample pack & 1 gold squeegee)
  • Lifetime Support, 2 Year Warranty, PSP 4

 

I hadn't, thank you for pointing this out. Honestly the pricing I have been presented for the graphtecs is basically the same as the price on that unit. Otherwise I would be much more interested. As long as it has at least 300g of force I'll be happy. I don't anticipate needing more at this time and definitely can't afford the cutters with servo motors that have it.

 

I'm not even sure if I'll run it that high on a nicer machine. Part of why I run high pressure on my MH was because it helped smooth things out. That might not be the case with higher end cutters.

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I did tons of research before I bought my Graphtec.   Should I go a Roland.??...Read , and read on the Vinyl Express Q series compared to the FC7000,  weeks I read.   I had no knowledge of this forum then.  I bought a new  FC7000-MK2-75 (30") in April 2008,  never a problem and never a regret. 

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I did a lot of reading when I bought my MH series. That's why I bought it over going straight into a more professional unit. All of the advice said get a basic cutter, see if it's something you even want to do. So I did it, stuck with it for a year, and now I'm ready to step up to something that will provide my customers with even better decals. Sometimes reading isn't enough though, I learned so much more after I unboxed my cutter and started playing around with it, suddenly the things I was reading made more sense. I've been doing a lot of reading for this upgrade as well, I was just looking for some help filling in the blanks before pulling the trigger. The MH was an expense I could have afforded to be a complete wash, I can't do that with this purchase tho.

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I owned a Seiki 850H  30" cutter first  for 14 months.  I still own it.  Never use it,  but I have it.   I self taught myself on everything,  I was in business for over a year and a half, before I ever found this forum..

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I don't anticipate having to use the MH either. I have cut 2 decals over the past year where the 30" roll was useful. But I also could have oriented one of them differently and cut it on a 24" roll as well (wasting a lot of vinyl). The other was a massive stripe kit, which the MH will do just fine if I ever need to do it again. It's the small stuff that it struggles with which is 99% of my business lol.

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I created designs for the 30"  Big is where the money is.  I still do.  I don't just have people ask me for them.  I create the large decals for sale. I sell  Online only. . Which is why I also went with the FC Graphtec,  .  It was the only one that was 30"   If you have a 30". you might as well use it.   I carry over 25 colors in 30".x 50 yd vinyl. .

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I do most of my sales locally to car clubs/bands/business'/etc. I do some online sales, and I do cut larger graphics, but most people don't want stuff so large that I would need 30" rolls for. I bought a few early on because the cost per sq/in was cheaper, but found I was wasting more when someone only wanted a few in that color. I could offer some larger graphics online but I'm not setup to ship them at the moment, maybe something I could explore later on.

 

But the MH does bigger graphics just fine, I've never had a problem with it. So if the need arises I will have it on standby. But for my bread and butter business the precision of a servo motor and nicer machine will pay off.

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From what I'm seeing, there is an extra 1000 added onto the higher-numbered model.

 

:rolleyes:

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Just to ad my 2 cents on the 5000 vs. 6000 if you decide to get out of this the 6000 being the newer model will have a higher resale value just like a newer model car. Doesn't mean they are any different but the consumer sees the newer designation at better. Same applies if you ever decide to trade up and use it towards a different machine, the 6000 will have more perceived worth come trade in time. I have a qe60+ which is a rebranded 5000 and it does more than I'll ever need except it didn't come with A.R.M.S. installed so next time I buy I'm going Graphtec. That and the fact that the Graphtec label has more perceived value on resale than a vinyl express label.

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I hadn't contacted anybody directly but I put the question out there once for the pros on here and the consensus was it would have to be done in house. I will dig a little deeper after the New Year when money starts flowing again. We finally tanked out at the store (which happens every year) and only did $400 in sales this week. Thinking about going outside with a can a selling pencils until the tax refunds start rolling.

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On a machine a couple years ago they said it had to be sent in to change the mb and add the arms sensor

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Jaybird said,"Thinking about going outside with a can a selling pencils until the tax refunds start rolling."

 

Yeah...maybe you could customize them with vinyl? :)

 

post-43059-0-49562500-1387747188_thumb.j
 

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The Graphtec professional class of CE6000 cutting plotters update the extremely successful CE5000 series with improved features. The CE6000 series is also cleaner, “greener” with an electronic design and manufacturing process that minimizes the environmental impact of the hardware equipment throughout its entire life cycle...

Is that another way of saying it incorporates even more plastic in lue of metal than it's predecessor?

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I don't mind spending the extra money and getting the newer model, I just want to have peace of mind that I'm not just buying a newer name plate on the case.

I bought my 5000 used so not sure about a new one but I did buy my 6000 new and I do perfure it over the 5000

For me the biggest reason is setting up the vinyl for tracking I run a lot of 10 to 15 feet pieces and the 6000 tracks much better

hope thats some insight in to what you want

 

MM64 B)

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I bought my 5000 used so not sure about a new one but I did buy my 6000 new and I do perfure it over the 5000

For me the biggest reason is setting up the vinyl for tracking I run a lot of 10 to 15 feet pieces and the 6000 tracks much better

hope thats some insight in to what you want

 

MM64 B)

Better tracking is easily worth a little more out of pocket. 

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I have used both. My mom has a 5000-60 that I used to use when I was just helping her out and now I have the 6000-60 and there are pro's and con's to both. The tracking is a lot better on the 6000 and with how the interface is set up it is a lot easier to navigate and personally I find it more convient to pause if something goes wrong on the cut than on the 5000. The brake on mine is a little touchy and will kick the roll off everytime if I don't prefeed the whole piece, which is a bit annoying and I never ran into using her 5000 since it doesn't have the break. The 6000 is a little less forgiving about blade settings too and will chip the blade far faster if you don't have the settings just right than the 5000 I've noticed so keep that in mind if you are planning to do intricate cuts.

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Just a follow up, I ended up getting the CE6000-60. I looked over everyone's suggestions here, found a few more opinions in various places and watched a bunch of videos of each machine operating. In the end I decided they did update enough things on the 6000 that I deem important to justify the difference in value.

 

I bought my 5000 used so not sure about a new one but I did buy my 6000 new and I do perfure it over the 5000

For me the biggest reason is setting up the vinyl for tracking I run a lot of 10 to 15 feet pieces and the 6000 tracks much better

hope thats some insight in to what you want

 

MM64 B)

 

Better tracking is definitely a big deal. This is exactly the kind of insight I was looking for! I don't run a lot of longer pieces but I have run into tracking issues even on large quantity cuts of smaller decals. I think the longest thing I've cut to date was 8' long, a set of stripes for a mustang. I'll probably be doing more of that at some point as well.

 

Thank you!

 

I have used both. My mom has a 5000-60 that I used to use when I was just helping her out and now I have the 6000-60 and there are pro's and con's to both. The tracking is a lot better on the 6000 and with how the interface is set up it is a lot easier to navigate and personally I find it more convient to pause if something goes wrong on the cut than on the 5000. The brake on mine is a little touchy and will kick the roll off everytime if I don't prefeed the whole piece, which is a bit annoying and I never ran into using her 5000 since it doesn't have the break. The 6000 is a little less forgiving about blade settings too and will chip the blade far faster if you don't have the settings just right than the 5000 I've noticed so keep that in mind if you are planning to do intricate cuts.

 

This played into my decision a lot. I do a lot of adjustments on the machine itself and like you said the 6000 seems to be more convenient for that. I also finally found an explanation for what the media brake is for. I basically do the same thing manually on my MH series, which isn't very inconvenient so I'm not even sure how much I'll use that feature. But it is there.

 

 

I also picked up an FC7000-130 for a song and dance that was listed locally. It was damaged in shipping, seems to work fine but some of the pieces are tweaked a little bit and it for sure needs a new cutting strip and blade. Also one of the pinch rollers was damaged. It may be an option down the road but I'm not sure it's worth putting the money into right now (hence why I pulled the trigger on the CE6000). After I got it home I found more information on repairing the pinch rollers and while the part is affordable the repair isn't something to take lightly. Time will tell if I part it out or put the money into restoring it.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I really appreciate it. Looking forward to getting the graphtec and using it on some upcoming jobs!

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