SC Series, Print & Cut feature

[JennieDidit 0]

I'm looking to buy the SC series cutter as my 2nd cutting plotter.  Currently I'm using a Silhouette Portrait that I bought last year to do some personal wedding stuff, then I decided to start making t-shirts (heat press).  I also offer decals in my Etsy shop, but what I would like is to be able to offer larger graphics on my shirts, and larger decals/stickers.

 

Some of my shirts have some very fine detail work on them, and the silhouette handles them fairly well with the heat press vinyl, but often it gets messy with the thicker decal vinyl (so I have to go in and dumb down the design a bit to get it to cut good).

 

I notice the SC series offers Print & cut (which is what the Silhouette does) but I need to make sure the SC can handle the intricate designs I need it too, before I buy it and find out otherwise.

 

These are the 2 designs I'm most concerned about, as my Sugar Skull & Tribal Head designs are my most popular.  Like I said the heat press vinyl is thinner and more pliable so it cuts very well (on the Silhouette) but the thicker/stiffer decal vinyl gets lost in the detail (once the design goes below 8").  I think the blade on the silhouette just isn't strong enough to handle the heavier vinyl & the detail work at the same time.

 

 

 

The question about Print & Cut .. if I'm switching over to a different cutter, I probably won't use the Silhouette anymore, except for paper goods .. so I need to make sure the SC series works in a similar way.

 

Another question is about the stand.  I hear some people say definitely get it, others say "meh" .. what are the pro's and con's of not getting a stand vs getting one.

 

Thanks!

J

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

I would give sales a call and let them know what you are doing and expecting from the machine - not sure if the sillouette is the same way but the sc is a manual contour cut machine - meaning you have to point it to each registration mark before contouring - unlike the graphtec. roland and gcc cutters that automatically find the registration marks.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

keep in ind that usc also has this disclaimer on the description of the sc   " USCutter however does not support the use of the laser registration and it is not covered in the warranty" so it is use at your own risk

[JennieDidit 0]

Thanks.  I think perhaps I'm over thinking the print/cut feature.  I use it with my Silhouette (which has an optical eye) on paper products (to make stickers and greeting cards) but something tells me you aren't able to load a mat into one of these cutters like the Silhouette.  So, without that feature the print/cut would be useless to me, so I would just be doing shirt graphics with this cutter, and leave the print/cut for the Silhouette.  I don't do printed heat transfers, I do vinyl cut out only.

 

I guess my biggest concern is detail cutting, but everything I've read says this cutter can cut whatever is thrown at it.

 

I wish their online chat feature would work .. I've tried a hundred times and can't get anyone.  Hard for me to make a call (at work) about my other work (that I hope to leave this job for once it takes off LOL).

[OWJones 1,981]

something tells me you aren't able to load a mat into one of these cutters like the Silhouette.

 

You would be mistaken on that.  Lots of people use cutting mats as a backing sheet for "sticky flock" rhinestone template material in larger format cutters.  I use a rubber template material that comes with a paper liner, but I've tried it on a cutting mat a couple of times and it does speed up the weeding process...

 

I often times will use a large sheet (11x17 or 13x19) of white paper glued to the back of a letter sized t-shirt transfer so I can contour cut without the transfer falling out of the machine.