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Thank you, sir. Really appreciate your input here. I’ll look into the scanner you mentioned. And yes, couldn’t agree more… restoring them is as much fun and rewarding as playing them (if not more). I’ve given a lot of $$ to Pinball Pimp. I do like his stencils but they end up costing me a fortune and I’ve messed things up more than once which always requires me to order another set have you heard of a machine called a GCC Puma III??

Photoshop won't do you any good for creating stencils. You need a vector program. Inkscape is a great and free program that will do what you need. It will take some playing with it to get the hang of it though. Working with vector graphics can be a bit tricky when you first start. I am unfamiliar with Signmaster, but I know inkscape can import and export all the major vector file formats. I'm assuming at a minimum signmaster can import EPS files. So if you don't like the design aspect of signmaster, so long as it functions as a cutting software you're good to go. The Vevor, looks like, and I believe it is essentially the same as a MH cutter which is pretty much the bottom of the barrel for cutters. That being said you can do pretty decent work with one once you get all the quirks worked and out everything dialed in. However, for larger decals like you would need for a pinball machine you would be doing yourself a favor spending a bit more and getting a more higher end cutter. The Titan sold on USCutters is a pretty reasonably priced and decent quality machine. And my hat off to you for restoring pinball machines. I have 3 now that I've done some simple repairs to and cleaned. Working on them is almost as much fun as playing them.

Hi Folks I have been restoring pinball machines for several years now. To date, I’ve been purchasing cabinet stencils from a guy in the US. It’s convenient however adds up quickly, particularly as the US / Ozzie dollar sucks I have tried to make my own using a 2nd hand Silhouette Cameo but it’s difficult to use without a cutting mat which constrains the cuts to 12x12. Not ideal when you’re trying to create a stencil for an entire cabinet (normally 450-500mm wide) I am therefore looking into plotters/cutters. Vevor have one that is $400 AUD - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/334540309747 It comes with Signmaster however I’ve heard mixed reviews. I need a decent software package that will allow me to import a file from Photoshop (or Illustrator). Typically the process for making a cabinet stencil is to take a decent square on picture of the cabinet. Import that into Photoshop, then scale to the size of the cabinet. Then, I need to create vectors for cutting. My friend uses Flexi-Sign and speaks highly of it. I’d like to keep the spend to under $800 AUD if possible. Would really appreciate recommendations and advice here. Thank you.

Hey Josh, let's see what we can do. Quick questions --- when you bought the machine, did you have the seller demonstrate that it works? What program was running with the Puma? Why did you buy a unit without any compatible cutting software? SignBlazer (free to use abandonware) has the driver for Puma II which you can try. https://www.mediafire.com/file/fjk69hgu2cpnr16/signblazer_setup.exe/file

Awesome job restoring the pin machines! We have several, or more like a small collection of them (about 8 or 10 of them). It's great when they all work well, and not so great when they don't. Either way, it's fun playing them, and almost fun repairing them ... almost.

The GCC Puma is by far the superior cutter. What software is bundled with it? SignMaster is Vevor's version of VinylMaster. Same thing. If you are designing using Illustrator, then, yes, just Import the resulting .eps into SM and cut. Just a suggestion, but since you're already doing paintwork on wood, maybe try decorating a few Cornhole boards, and sell those!

I know this post is a year old but it is the only thing that came up when I googled the same problem. I found the original suction cups. Get them at William B. Rudow, Inc Suckers.com Part number: 1514-1709-4 Brand: Muller Martini Get them from Graphtec UK for £27.58 for 2 and who knows how much shipping because they don't ship to the US so you have to find an expensive work around, or get them from suckers.com for $1.50 each. The only downside is their website does not have a cart so you have to email or call your order. I ordered 20 for $30 https://www.suckers.com/suction-cups/round/1514-1709-4/?back=suctionCups