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Rowdy

Need Advice on Starting up Small Use

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Hi, everyone, new member here, before I purchase from Us Cutter, I need advice on what to purchase to start,  mainly here is what I plan on performing, My own business vehicles I own, vinyl lettering, numbers for them, also local circle track and drag strip guy's, maybe shirts in the future, but right now vinyl basics. I would like a nice program to start. There's probably some point's I'm missing, will gladly listen to any advice.......

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Everything depends on what your budget is...You can purchase a value cutter clear up to professional machines and in between.  But best to stay away from the lower end MH cutters,   At least get a SC or higher vinyl cutter..  The best cutters are servo cutters. Smooth, quiet and accurate. 

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The USCUTTER folks have recently introduced an upgraded SC2 model that appears to be the perfect blend of price and quality.

If I were in the market for a cutter this holiday season, that baby-blue machine would be under MY tree!

And, it comes with a design/cut program that's easy enough to get up and running for a novice, while containing true professional features (Vinyl Master).

Regarding shirts ---  think of them as substrates to which you apply vinyl, nothing too difficult.

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Ok, now I understand about cutters, anything else I am missing, what type of software to get, computer recommendations?

Also, I saw this one guy, he called it stacking?? he couldn't make the shadows on letters/numbers so he cut two different colors,  hewent to a window or door to stack them, that part didn't look to good....

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"Layering"

Your cutter will be supplied with design/cut software VinylMaster.  Load it onto any Windows computer -- do you have one?  I use an older DELL Latitude D520  laptop (WinXP) that has a serial port built-in.

What else are you missing? Picking tool, rulers, knives, scissors, masking tape, squeegees, and of course Application tape in the appropriate width for the vinyl you'll use (USCUTTER starter packages just give you narrow size) and you'll appreciate having a proper dispenser/roller like THIS --

 

 

tape-dispenser-roller.jpg

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I've decided on the cutter Titan "2", what is recommended for a computer to go with software programs,  also what software extra should I purchase??  Corel Draw, Sign Tools 3, Inkscape, Gimp, Vector Clip Art and Scat designing . do I not need this but others....

 


 

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Your cutter will come with cutting software.  I personally am still back on XP.. no problems. Very stable.  Vinyl cutters don't need a fancy new system.. If you don't want to purchase a design software.. You can use FREE inkscape.org   or Free Signblazer. 

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" Gimp " ?

Before you do anything else, learn the difference between Raster and Vector graphics.

Cutters will NOT understand raster stuff (pixels). They depend on Vectors (nodes and paths).

Your cutter will be supplied with design/cut vector software VinylMaster (Basic) and you can upgrade at any time if you require more complex & comprehensive functionality. For the record, the vectorization engine in VinylMaster is superb (performing conversion of raster files to vector format).

To give you one example, here is an image (raster) that will convert beautifully into a vector for cutting.

0003383_turkey-39-farm-animal-silhouette

 

Here is a raster image that will NOT convert well --

 

71RYH+VRWGL._SY587_.jpg

 

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For design you will want a vector design program. Inkscape is free snd a good way to get familiar with the whole vector concept. Corel (in your list) is a good option. Your cutter will come with a lower level cutting program, most likely Vinyl Master Cut. You can upgrade that program to a more functional design and cut program for an additional fee. In the meantime you can design in Inkscape cause its free and then cut that in your VM Cut. Once you get better at it you can make a more informed decision. Vinyl Master Pro is a very good bang for the buck design and cut program. Probably the best bang for the buck. I personally design on a mac and so I use mac friendly programs (Adobe Illustrator and SignCut Pro1 for cutter interface) Adobe is probably the toughest design program to learn so I rarely recommend it to any hapless newbie unless they already happen to have a working knowledge of it. 

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What computer do you currently have?  I ask because I’m a Mac guy and there is only one cut program they offer for macs, and that is Sure Cuts A Lot (or scalp for short).  Any laptop or desktop windows based computer will run VM.  As for design, I can do quite a bit in scalp but I also use Inkscape (it really has come a long way since I left this part of the business 7 years ago)... any training you want is also on YouTube if you look.  Plus the people in here have been a great help to me!

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