stepper motor sc cutter small type?

[clifish 1]

how small is the smallest type that can be cut in either vinyl or heat transfer? half inch? .25 inch? with the stepper motor cutters such as the SC?

[jaybyrd 3,770]

Less than a quarter inch if your patient.

[clifish 1]

ok,  I was told nothing below .5 inch,   what are the patience that is needed?  is it tough to weed or you will be doing it multiple times till it comes out right?

[rpmrpm 32]

I cut vinyl and HTV .25" and less with my stepper MH (I would not recommend the current version 2 of). But the advise is sound for a economy cutter, under .5"  and long runs are going to show its weaknesses.

 

But that is not to say with lots of trial and error it can not be done. IE Patience. Get to know your cutter and how to adjust it for what your are doing. For smaller items or something with small detail I switch to a (pre-setup in a additional blade holder) 60deg http://www.cleancutblade.com/ (like having Michelin's on a Hyundai) and play with the cut speed, pressure and blade protrusion. I learned here to make a sample cut image (.25" circle in a box) and test run that over and over trying different setting and watching the results. People are often not willing to take the time to see what each adjustment does and learn from it, they just use some base online recommended setting and never explore the limits. And as such do not know how to adjust for poor results.

 

In that size if it cuts correctly "tough to weed" will be the same from a economy or high end cutter.

 

SO it is good you are asking the questions now. If you get a cutter, stick around and start reading, this forum is packed with info from some very experienced individuals (not me)

[jaybyrd 3,770]

It's a zen thing. You'll learn to become one with your machine

[Wildgoose 4,200]

As mentioned (I especially like the zen comment but am out of likes for the day) You will be better for having learned the finite ins and outs of setting up a cutter. This is something that those who jump right into a graphtec or other high end cutter may never fully understand (or appreciate). Higher end servo machines are enough better that you can actually get away with being a little off and never even notice but a budget cutter needs tuning. I ran a P-Cut (similar to the SC) for several years and although I would not go back it got the job done and I learned a LOT.  

 

Even those of us with high end cutters avoid tiny text if at all possible. It's not fun for anyone. If you plan to do a lot of tiny stuff then you may want to spend a little more money, If it's just one here and there it can be done and you may in fact have to cut several to get one that comes out. Really big and really small are the true test of a good cutter. 

[Wildgoose 4,200]

To make a second comment, an SC will set you back what...$300. If you have any business at all you can get ROI on that in a couple good jobs. There are other obvious costs involved but would be included in the cost of a servo cutter too so you are really just faced with the $300 investment. Once you pay that $300 back you will either be convinced you bought enough machine for your purposes or have a good idea that you need something better and you will have experience behind you to make a more informed decision. That really isn't all that much of an investment to get your feet wet. 

[signyouup 178]

The smaller you want to cut, the slower you have to go.

[clifish 1]

Thanks,  I can handle the slower speed, don't mind tuning/learning either. Luckily we have out sourced enough times to kind of know what we are getting in to.  I know with the SC my initial outlay with materials etc for the first job will only be about 500 clams.  I just spent $250 out sourcing a job that I will have to do 3 to 4 more times so my recovery will be quick.  Luckily it is an easy enough job and it is for a client that is also a good friend so he will put up with a slight learning curve, 2 ways I might go is sc or jump to titan 3.  Seeing that I don't think this will be a major part of my business it will probably be the SC.  now onto software included how is scalpro vs the razorcut that comes with the titan?

[xpaperman 719]

I have the SC and a Graphtec.... the SC really is a good little machine.  I use it more than the graphtec mainly cause it is smaller (24" vs 60" on the graphtec) and honestly... it's easier to load and go.  I still use the graphtec tho..... it still gets its fair share of work.  I am thinking about getting another cutter for a second location.  On the fence on what to get.... thinking about another SC because of price and quality (it is noisy tho) or maybe a titan just to take advantage of the servo motor.  If the Titan is as easy to use as the SC..... I would probably go with the titan.

[rpmrpm 32]

 now onto software included how is scalpro vs the razorcut that comes with the titan?

 No experience with Razorcut, Scalp is a low end basic cutter software. I my opinion,it is just fine for basic font and shape design. In the long run you would be better suited to learning a true design software, AI, Corel, Inkscape, etc. But SCALP has gotten me pretty far for just basic stuff. Maybe ask for a upgrade from 3 to the current version 4Pro that is a descent improvement if you go with the SC.

 

PS: after reading your last post with outsourced job cost, I would spend the $$ and invest in a Titan 3. Your return on investment will be quickly recovered.

[clifish 1]

We are very proficient in illustrator, quark and in design already, could we just export the designs to scalp and just use that to cut?  we would then not be limited to the simplicity of scalp? or does it not work that way?

[jaybyrd 3,770]

Yes you can do that.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

We are very proficient in illustrator, quark and in design already, could we just export the designs to scalp and just use that to cut?  we would then not be limited to the simplicity of scalp? or does it not work that way?

Absolutely. AI is the program of choice. You can use SCALP or a few others as cutting utilities and be rocking'. 

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

Absolutely. AI is the program of choice. You can use SCALP or a few others as cutting utilities and be rocking'. 

AI is not the program of choice AI is the program of choice for some Wild you make it sound like everyone uses it. lol  I do not I prefer CDraw its slightly cheaper and I'm more fluent in it than AI and I have CS3 I believe and I loaded it once and went back to CDraw. Scalpro is alright I have used it for cut in print but lets be fair I didn't have a larger ARMS cutter I was using a Silhouette which was great for what it did and MH series which I spent days and weeks perfecting got jobs to pay for its self and just decided to upgrade last month to the Graphtec CE6000-60 and never looked back. I just saw a review on the titan3 and it sounds great (silent) and it did a great job.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

Ha ha! I meant between AI, Quark and In Design (OP's stated proficiencies) that AI was the program of choice. But for the record just because something is more expensive or complicated does not disqualify it as being the best. I am WELL aware that AI is a MOTHER BEAR to learn but once conquered it is a phenomenal program and if you already have it and know it why would you turn then to some other program?

 

There are only 3 things that I find lacking. #1 I wish it had the shadow options available in Flexi such as a true block shadow and a cast shadow. These results can be achieved but they take quite a few steps in AI. #2 I really really hate the algorithm that messes with very small detailed designs pixel alignment in AI. If you are working on something and shrink it way down super tiny it will shift parts around in some sort of effort to align things to the pixel grid. This also can be worked around by leaving it larger and shrinking it at the time of cut with the cutting program but this should be something you can turn off within the program. #3 New version(s) are Cloud based and not available to just purchase outright but I think a lot of new programs are doing that as well. 

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

Ha ha! I meant between AI, Quark and In Design (OP's stated proficiencies) that AI was the program of choice. But for the record just because something is more expensive or complicated does not disqualify it as being the best. I am WELL aware that AI is a MOTHER BEAR to learn but once conquered it is a phenomenal program and if you already have it and know it why would you turn then to some other program?

 

There are only 3 things that I find lacking. #1 I wish it had the shadow options available in Flexi such as a true block shadow and a cast shadow. These results can be achieved but they take quite a few steps in AI. #2 I really really hate the algorithm that messes with very small detailed designs pixel alignment in AI. If you are working on something and shrink it way down super tiny it will shift parts around in some sort of effort to align things to the pixel grid. This also can be worked around by leaving it larger and shrinking it at the time of cut with the cutting program but this should be something you can turn off within the program. #3 New version(s) are Cloud based and not available to just purchase outright but I think a lot of new programs are doing that as well. 

I hear ya there about if you already know it why turn them to another program, and I was having some fun relax the beer is on me enjoy.

 

[clifish 1]

Relax the beer is on me.......If you can make it to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in the next 7 days.......I know Hurricane in 2 days but hey, we booked it months ago and the bar will still be open.  I agree about AI needing extra steps, but we come frm the commercial print arena so that is where our proficiencies come from.  I am actually looking forward to working with a software that is easier to scale things and select color layers, not sure what sign software that will be though.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

 I agree about AI needing extra steps, but we come frm the commercial print arena so that is where our proficiencies come from.  I am actually looking forward to working with a software that is easier to scale things and select color layers, not sure what sign software that will be though.

For vinyl you will be working in very simple color layers so it's dumbed down enough that I doubt you will have any issues using AI. The biggest thing I see is getting your head wrapped around layered work. Much simpler than print work as in no gradients, no clipping masks, no strokes and usually only a very few colors. The colors don't matter much in the design either because you can draw it in black but cut it in something else. 

 

There are some things that you will have to get used to like making sure all your objects that touch are welded together because overlapping objects of the same color look right but if they are separate then each will get cut and you end up with a chopped design. I don't know if that makes sense at this point but it will the first time you cut. I suggest previewing in outline mode so you can see all the lines and curves the way the cutter will see them. You should be able to cut by color with SCALP so you will be able to select blue and it will cut all/only the blue. I use a cutting utility called SignCut Pro and it is a little better IMO but SCALP will get the job done and you will have it with your cutter anyway. SCALP will design too but I found it lacking and very clunky.