thesnowgod

Need a cutter for custom painting/masks

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Hello all,

 

I've been reading through the forums and I thought I'd post.  

 

I do paintwork on cars, motorcycles, guitars, etc....

 

I'm looking for a cutter for occasional use but also looking for recommendations on vinyl to use with it.

 

The decals, letters and images I'd cut out will be used to spray around or to use as a spray mask.  I spray a color down, lay on the vinyl letter/design/logo/whatever, then I spray a different color, lift off the vinyl and then clearcoat over it.  Occasionally I leave the lettering in place and clear over top of it so a thin vinyl is preferred.

 

I rarely would need anything wider or longer than 24" at MOST and the vinyl doesn't need to be high quality as they won't be used for longer than a few hours, unlike decals placed on cars or signs and left in the sun for years at a time.

 

Would some seasoned veterans care to point me in the right direction?  Right now my alternatives are to have someone locally cut it for me(usually part time guys), or I order the decals I need online.  Most often they are decent quality but as I've mentioned, I simply peel them off as they were only needed as a mask or reverse mask.

 

I'd ask about software but I'm going to guess it's a no no in here as there will be logos and corporate sponsor type images needed and I'm sure they're copywrited, or perhaps not?

 

Let me know.

 

Thanks!

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Welcome aboard, from middle Georgia.

I just want to caution you that you are looking at a pretty slippery slope here... once you get a cutter, all of a sudden you find many more uses for it, and then you need or want another machine or software to compliment the cutter, then you need or want a larger stock of inventory, then you need or want... get the idea?

 

What type of operating system will you be using?  Some cutters do not play well with Macs.

I have a 25" SC cutter and use the Sure Cuts a Lot program that it came with for cutting.  I also use Adobe Illustrator for design work.  AI has a steep learning curve (for me) and I have a Mac.  I have been pretty happy with the set up I have, for what I mainly do.

I can't speak directly to your questions as I don't have much experience with other machines and only a couple types of vinyl.  I will hazard a guess though that Oracal 631 or 651 would be suitable for what you describe.

Cal

 

PS - the process you described is how I did the license plate in my avatar.

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I got started in vinyl work the same way. Bought it for airbrushing stencils and masks. I've since stopped airbrushing and focus on the vinyl. You can get spray mask made by oracal. Works pretty good, I wouldn't recommend the 651 as a mask on fresh paint. Just asking for trouble there. I use Inkscape mostly for designing and some photoshop.

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Thanks for the replies!  I'll research the types of vinyl mentioned.  I'm assuming the # has to do with the amount of adhesive?

 

I plan to use My Windows 7 based PC.

 

I am hoping to learn a lot, I simply don't want to go into this wrong and have instant buyers remorse.  I know literally NOTHING about cutters or the programs that run them.  Currently when I need something I go online and buy a decal someone else made or I find someone locally with some inclination to design and cut what I need with some sort of workable timeframe.

 

As it sits I was looking at a 24" wide or less cutter but don't want to buy junk.  I know the big names are good (Roland especially) but I'm trying to just get started and then maybe move up.  Reviews on US Cutter products tend to range from raves to hate, nothing in between.  :)

 

I wish there was a way to read more on the whole process.  I don't know what kind of cutter to get or programs to run it.   Most of my vinyl needs will be logo based (Honda, Yamaha, Mobil 1 oil, things of that nature), the other things I see online in vector files seem to be "clip art"-like and not of much use to me.

 

Is there a decent sub-$500 range unit to start out on or just save up and jump in with something more expensive?

 

I really appreciate the tip on the Oracle vinyls I'm going to research those now.

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Welcome from Idaho.

 

Your price range puts you in the SC or Laser Point 2 (LP2) range and I think they both turn out decent work from what I see on the forum. There IS a whole lot of learning that you will go through to really get on your feet so to speak but it's not rocket science. For some of your needs you may have some luck looking on Brands of the World. The site has a lot of vector art for the taking but be aware that while it is available it is probably still in a copyright protected state so depending on your intended use you will have to make those decisions privately. Also a lot of the ones I have seen on there are decent re-creations but may or may not be perfect. A few I have grabbed needed some touching up. With time and patient application of practice you can get to the point that you do your own artwork. I can't draw freehand to save my life but on screen is different. 

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One of the biggest things new people seem to have a hard time understanding is Vector images vs raster images. Do a little reading up on vectors and it will help greatly when you dive in. I'd also suggest downloading Inkscape and play around with it a little. Inkscape is a free vector program. It takes some getting use to, and some things are little cumbersome to do, but for the most part it can do all that the big name vector programs can do, and best of all, it's free.

 

As for the numbers relating to the Oracal vinyl, that is simply model numbers. 631 is Oracals indoor wall vinyl, designed to be removable. 651 is calendared outdoor vinyl designed to last 3 to 5 years, there is also 751, 951, and several other models with various properties.

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