Horsin' Around

New to vinyl. Need a cutter.

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Hello!

New "old guy" here. Have been putting stripes on cars forever with tape, paper and razor blades. The eyes and fingers aren't what they used to be so I want to try making vinyl stencils.

Looking for a cutter with these features:

24 " width material capability.

Ability to do long tapered cuts. 8' segment probably longest rarely over 12" width.

Heavy duty, solid on its own base. Not a hobby desktop. Don't want any material "wandering".

Somewhat basic software with text and scanned outline capabilities, and lots of youtube support!

Under 1,000.00 would be nice.

Thank you.

 

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Stay away from the MH cutters.  Buy the best that you can afford.  Take some time and read the section that your in.   Look over the buyer quide.    Most of us old timers would say get a Graphtec and be done with it, but it would take more than $1000.   A servo cutter also is more accurate than a stepper motor.

https://www.uscutter.com/index/page/static/subpage/buying_guides_new

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Also remember there's nothing wrong with a used cutter.  I bought a used Summa D-60 in 2008 for way less than the $1000 you've got set aside for a cutter.  I've been very happy with it so far.  They are probably one of the best tracking cutters on the market.   I had to replace the power supply and the cutting strip over the years., but that's it.  I run Kleen Kut bladesand it jut keeps cutting. 

List price on a new  Summa D-60 is $2290.00

Here's one if you're handy and can replace the X axis belt and live near Roanoke, Virginia.  It's  on eBay with a starting bid of $100.00  come with a computer as well.  The media flanges that come with the cutter that are laying on top are one accessory that also aid in tracking of the vinyl.   https://www.ebay.com/itm/184220275643?ViewItem=&item=184220275643

Found the belt for $91.84  https://www.digiprint-supplies.com/en/summacut-assy-y-belt-d60-399-631-pbesusu6014.html?category=

As MZ Skeeter said Graphtec are excellent also.  Another one to look into is Roland.

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"vinyl stencils"?  Those go onto a surface, you paint over them, and then you pull off the vinyl. Is that what you intend to do? Or are you just making the vinyl designs/stripes and sticking onto the car to remain there?

For instance -- pinstripe-example-1.jpg?itok=Or-_jtUD

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get the best cutter you can afford. generally, you get what you paid for, applies to the cutters here. as the price goes up, the quality of the parts and machine does as well.

a servo motor will be better than a stepper. a better machine will tend to have less drift (which might make a difference when doing long runs). whatever machine you decide to get, i just recommend that you get yourself Clean Cut Blades, 45 and 60 degrees.

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Well, you can certainly eliminate the MH from consideration, it won't track accurately for those long stripes.

I think you will be very, very happy with the Titan2 (servo) --  and it's on Sale now for $850.  Bingo.

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Thanks for the links and info. Considering preowned, but will most likely end up with the Titan2 as suggested.

Like Arnold said, I'll be back. I am sure to get "in the weeds" in no time and need some help!

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"Considering preowned"   -- Ok, then just order the Titan2 from USCUTTER as a refurb.

 https://www.uscutter.com/Refurbished-28-inch-TITAN-2-Vinyl-Cutter

Yep, not new, returned to stock (return) or demo model, asking price is $895.

Fifty dollars more than brand new.  I kid you not.

So, if you want to save a few bucks and get that refurbished machine, I would call tomorrow and speak to a manager at USCUTTER, patiently explain to him that you really, really can't imagine paying a HIGHER price for a unit that is pre-owned/damaged & repaired or used demo, and that you would, however, be interested in a $200 discount from NEW price (now $850) on a refurb, making it $650.

Let us know what they say! Should be fascinating to see how that conversation goes!

 

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Well, the refurb Titan2 on the way from Seattle to Florida so it will be a while. Out the door price was 700.00 with shipping. Tried to squeeze out an upgrade on the Vinylmaster Cut too, but got shot down on that. Don't know if I even need it.

So thanks to all for the suggestions, and extra nod to slice&dice for the link and discount idea.

As soon as I screw up some vinyl, I'll be back for help!

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Excellent. I love it when a plan comes together.

Hopefully you ordered vinyl/tools/apptape as well?

And for the record, the machine you are sent will probably look brand new (first thing to check is the cutting strip make sure it is not gouged).

Y-W.

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24 minutes ago, Horsin' Around said:

Well, the refurb Titan2 on the way from Seattle to Florida so it will be a while. Out the door price was 700.00 with shipping. Tried to squeeze out an upgrade on the Vinylmaster Cut too, but got shot down on that. Don't know if I even need it.

So thanks to all for the suggestions, and extra nod to slice&dice for the link and discount idea.

As soon as I screw up some vinyl, I'll be back for help!

there is a link on the forum from vinylmaster for a 50 percent off upgrade should you decide to go that route 

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33 minutes ago, Horsin' Around said:

Well, the refurb Titan2 on the way from Seattle to Florida so it will be a while. Out the door price was 700.00 with shipping. Tried to squeeze out an upgrade on the Vinylmaster Cut too, but got shot down on that. Don't know if I even need it.

So thanks to all for the suggestions, and extra nod to slice&dice for the link and discount idea.

As soon as I screw up some vinyl, I'll be back for help!

The cut version will run your cutter for general applications. There are probably some extra features that you'll have to live without and you'll stumble into those as you learn. The cut version is the budget limited version without a lot of bells and whistles so I suggest downloading a more robust design program to play with while you wait. Inkscape is free and a pretty solid vector program with all sorts of tutorials. You will likely want to be proficient in the design side of life as well as the rest. 

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+1 on Inkscape. Bit of a learning curve but not bad, and extremely powerful design program.

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WOW! This is going to be fun.

Only got into making some text in Inkscape so far, but it seems way more powerful and faster than Photoshop for that. Granted my Photoshop 6 is like 20 years old.

Thank you for the suggestion.

 

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5 hours ago, darcshadow said:

+1 on Inkscape. Bit of a learning curve but not bad, and extremely powerful design program.

Two words that people who learn vector design software will eventually get familiar with  -- "Node Editing"

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Fun now, just wait!

We will be around to help with that pulling your hair out thing.

You'll see...

 

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51 minutes ago, Horsin' Around said:

WOW! This is going to be fun.

Only got into making some text in Inkscape so far, but it seems way more powerful and faster than Photoshop for that. Granted my Photoshop 6 is like 20 years old.

Thank you for the suggestion.

 

Do you happen to have the whole Adobe suite or just Photo Shop? If you have the whole suite there is Adobe Illustrator with it that is even better than Inkscape although possibly a steeper learning curve. I am partial to Illustrator personally but recognize it's a PIA to learn and expensive if you don't already have it. Photo Shop 6 was about the same vintage as Illustrator 8 or 9 and I honestly don't know whether that was even bundled as a complete package back then. Illustrator Version 8 is the version that I down-save most of my cut files into because most cutting software accept the older format before they started getting into multiple art boards and stuff better. If you don't have it already I would probably not point you that way. The new stuff is all cloud based >:(. I use an older version CS5 that I actually own so I don't have to pay rent. It's getting dated and has a few glitches since the latest updates to my mac but still getting me by fine. 

Good luck with your new source for fun, it's addicting! I started this out as a hobby and have totally enjoyed it. It has morphed into a side business we run from home to make extra cash. 

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12 hours ago, slice&dice said:

Two words that people who learn vector design software will eventually get familiar with  -- "Node Editing"

Third word....."REVERSE" image....(for heat press stuff).

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