Bigk_54 7 Posted June 25, 2018 Good day everyone! So looking for some help/advice on which was I should head these days. I use Vinyl Master Pro 4.0 with a US Cutter SC for about 2 years and its time to upgrade to something else. When I bought this it was originally to do 2 projects and has since blossomed from there. I don't do this as a profession more of a side gig and keeping myself busy but I keep doing more and more every summer with race cars, company vehicles, window stickers, etc. It started out as I was looking at the Titan 2 then it went to the Titan 3 ARMS unit and has now went to Graphtec 6000. Originally I said I only wanted to spend roughly a 1000$ but I don't really want to buy another cutter in a couple of years either again. I mainly cut Scotchcal 50, Oracal 651-951, occasionally some Avery 900. Car numbers up to 24" tall, words up to 24-30" long and one customer I cut some small letters (>.5") and occasionally some low grade reflective stuff. Also I started with the base Vinyl Master and believe I upgraded 2 times to the Pro version. I guess I would prefer to stay in that direction but I'm open to a different software package as well, just know I have a few bucks into the Pro version of VM. I anticipate everyone great replies and advice, thank you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arty-rc 719 Posted June 25, 2018 Graphtec all the way!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sue2 920 Posted June 25, 2018 If you are seriously looking at long-term...then Graphtec is your best choice. None of us like to learn the ins & outs of new equipment. We are all faster and more comfortable with equipment we have used for a while... so looking at another upgrade 2 years down the road isn't practical. Invest in your TIME .......spend the extra now and be done with it Sue2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted June 25, 2018 A friend of mine has a saying regarding tools: "The quality remains long after the price has been forgotten." A good cutter will cut better and last for decades especially if you are a hobbyist. I didn't think I really NEEDED a premium cutter when I made the step up. I found I actually did. Much more precise cuts and alignment of multi-color work, multiple copies are no issues. Weeding lines I can trust not to snip into the letters, etc.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted June 25, 2018 Speed, BigK, it's all about the servo speed. Time is money, and the decreased production time will be apparent. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 25, 2018 graphtec hands down 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigk_54 7 Posted June 25, 2018 Kind of the answers I expected to get but just thought I would get the advice of some other fellow vinyl workers! I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and input! I've looked at a 8600 for a hot minute at a shop and looked very well built. Is it a user friendly cutter? I picked up the SC in about thirty minutes and had a good idea what had to be done, I was a rookie then. Also software…. I believe I can use my vinyl master software, I didn't know any better when I bought my current cutter and I cant say I do now, I know how to use VM pretty good, is there a need to switch? Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Bigk_54 said: Kind of the answers I expected to get but just thought I would get the advice of some other fellow vinyl workers! I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and input! I've looked at a 8600 for a hot minute at a shop and looked very well built. Is it a user friendly cutter? I picked up the SC in about thirty minutes and had a good idea what had to be done, I was a rookie then. Also software…. I believe I can use my vinyl master software, I didn't know any better when I bought my current cutter and I cant say I do now, I know how to use VM pretty good, is there a need to switch? Thanks! you can continue using vinylmaster but also when you buy a new graphtec you get a free program graphtec pro studio - it is rebranded flexi pro (Without the RIP feature for wide format printing) - flexi pro is about $2500 by itself 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigk_54 7 Posted June 26, 2018 On 6/25/2018 at 3:44 PM, Dakotagrafx said: you can continue using vinylmaster but also when you buy a new graphtec you get a free program graphtec pro studio - it is rebranded flexi pro (Without the RIP feature for wide format printing) - flexi pro is about $2500 by itself Sounds like a winner there, I'll look into that! THANK YOU, YOUR ALWAYS SO HELPFUL!!!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted June 28, 2018 7 hours ago, Derril said: hey We have a new Graphtec CE6000 cutter that we received last Thursday. The first thing I cut was a few letters and right away I noticed that the curved parts of the letters were not curing the way they were supposed to and straight lines don't appear to be straight. This is using text from Adobe Illustrator CS6 and converted to outlines, so the source is perfect. We fixed,but beware.Test it. @Derril So what did you do to fix it? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 28, 2018 7 hours ago, Derril said: hey We have a new Graphtec CE6000 cutter that we received last Thursday. The first thing I cut was a few letters and right away I noticed that the curved parts of the letters were not curing the way they were supposed to and straight lines don't appear to be straight. This is using text from Adobe Illustrator CS6 and converted to outlines, so the source is perfect. We fixed,but beware.Test it. Welcome from the USA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cal 393 Posted June 29, 2018 Welcome aboard Derril. And what did you fix on the Graphtec? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigk_54 7 Posted July 5, 2018 Can someone help me out with the difference between the CB09 and CB15 blade holders? I see both are for sale for this cutter but don't see anything that differentiates the two Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 5, 2018 is for a bigger blade used for things like real thick sandblast resist, cb09 is the common one I have 4 of 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mabscotthandyman 1,410 Posted July 17, 2018 I love my Graphtec and vinylmaster pro4.0 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites