Caseman315

Laserpoint 3 or Titan 2?

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I have done plenty of research on both and I do realize that they are pretty different machines, but I am looking for some honest opinions if the LP3 is good enough or if it would be less of a headache in the end to just get the titan 2? 

My main concern is will I get fairly the same outcome with small or large decals as far as cut quality?  

The LP3 is a great price right now, pretty much half the price of the titan 2. Is it worth it?

My last question-

I have seen threads about the titan 2 from back in 2016. Do these cutters get updated year after year? Or is that 2016 titan 2 the same titan 2 in 2019?  How often do these companies come out with updates or new cutters?

thank you for any advice you can give.

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 The Titan 2 has a servo motor which will be more accurate, smoother and quieter than a Stepper which is the Laser 3.  BUT  the Laser 3 has ARMS, if you plan to do a lot of contour cutting, That would be better over a manual setting Laser.  Laser pointer 3 has not been out that long,  I think it came out this Spring.  As far as I know, the Titans have not changed since they came out.   A servo cutter is better than a stepper cutter. 

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Thank you for your response!

How would someone find out if there was going to be an update or new model coming? I’d hate to purchase the titan 2 and in a few months they come out with an updated version.

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If you want a better model then buy the Titan 3, that is the updated model. . Titan 1 is a stepper.No Laser.  Titan 2 servo, manual laser.  Titan 3  Servo with ARMS.  Those are the models. Nothing to upgrade.  3 different models, each upgraded from the first.  

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USC sold the Copam without any changes for 8-10 years - was a great cutter back then.  personally I would always go for a servo plotter as very few people actually use the contour feature and many that do buy solvent printer cutter combos -but that is more like $14,000 - so totally different category.

a titan 2 will contour but you have to manually set the corners with the laser pointer built into the carriage - not auto like a titan3, graphtec or roland

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The ARMS system while sounding great is not something very many people utilize. I have a $3500 cutter and have only ever used mine two or three times just to see how it functioned. If you don't have a printer too then it's sort of a moot option. Some print on t-shirt transfer paper and contour cut those which is a potential. Printing on real vinyl requires an expensive printer.

My journey started out with a budget cutter called a P-Cut which was probably similar to the SC2 or maybe the Laser point you are looking at (minus the ARMS) It was a stepper motor machine and made for entry level home and hobby. The L3 is similar and a great choice if you want to get your toes wet and see what happens. The Titans are a budget minded commercial venture that are trying to hit the gap between the lower budget starter cutters and the high end name brand machines. They seems to do pretty good overall and those with the Servo motors are going to run smooth and quiet. Tracking is still considerably less accurate than the name brand cutters though. The max cutting length according to the specs on the L3 is 180 inches and 300 inches on the Titan 2. When you go to the most chosen options like the Graphtec, Summa or Roland they don't even give it in inches because it's like 50 meters or whatever the longest roll is. The cost is considerably more for a name brand cutter but so is the build quality and reliability. I did the toes wet thing and learned a LOT before I decided to spend more cash on a better unit. I am grateful for the experience that I would NOT have gained had I went the expensive route right off. Budget cutters are much more finicky and require "fine tuning" to get good cuts. This is painful to experience but great training. 

If budget is not a concern and you can swing a CE6000-60 you would likely never need to do anything else. They will last you for years. The Titan market is middle ground and is better than the bottom but is the cost worth the difference? Maybe. The T2 is built pretty tough and designed with a business or starer business in mind rather than just a weekend warrior. Just remember that servos are better but there are also grades of quality within the servo realm too. Servos are pretty much like a variable speed without limitations to minimum movements. I think the Copam that Dakota mentioned had commercial grade stepper motors that were a tighter steps and built to last a long time. 

Just avoid the very bottom MH. It's sort of the doorbuster black friday cutter and they sell a bunch of them but they are very problematic and frustrate a lot of people. 

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servo over stepper.

if you don't think you will ever need to contour cut, then don't worry about ARMS. I've owned my LaserPoint for 10+ years, never used it contour cut once .... why? because I don't have the means to print on vinyl, so I can't make spiffy looking pineapple decals that have been cut out in the shape of pineapples. Would I like the ability to do so? Absolutely, but I if I really needed to do that, and could afford it, I would just buy a really great printer/cutter machine :D

My LP (stepper) vs my Graphtec (servo) - hands down on the servo. It's quieter, and is way more accurate for smaller detailed decals.

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Yes, the LP3 will certainly handle whatever you can throw at it.

Keep in mind that the basic components of plotters/cutters have not changed much since the first ones made by Hewlett-Packard in the late 1950's

Also, there is no 34" (870m) model in the Titans.

 

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Yeah, cutters are not like other electronics where a new/upgrade model comes out every year. There have been guys on the forums using the same cutter for decades.

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Yes, my cutter is 11 years old and I am still using it on an XP laptop.  I have never had a problem with my cutter in 11 years. 

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