ihscout

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/12V-1-5W-White-Cab-Sign-Topper-Roof-Car-Taxi-Lamp-Light-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2a0e245e4bQQitemZ180625890891QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_4795wt_932 Perminant install. Its cheap, china junk but you might be able to contact them for a blank, or ask if the "TAXI" can be peeled off. http://www.autosox.com Good pricing, you could just "outsource" or give your pal the link. They also sell blanks.

http://www.hyatts.com/art/gerber-envision-375-15inch-plotter-T10412 Gerbers are designed for heavy commercial/industrial use. They can cut heavy materials all day long every day. Their prices are still insane. Ill never forget the first time I opened ours and found the blade holder drive chain had failed. (dont remeber the tech name for it) I was amazed at how simple the plotter was. Well, at least considering the cost of the unit. The parts are insanely expensive and repair service is even worse. The software rocks... Its expensive too. Youde have to be a pretty large production facility to warrant that investment.

Very nice! I love Composer, to bad that Gerber package your using runs $11k+.

The copam specs state it can handle media up to .8mm (31mils) thick. Its the only unit on my list that states a media thickness. This would be acceptable, but id like to know if the others can handle this as well. Any one know anything about the GCC expert 24? -Sam

Ok cool, the Gerbers had very little width adj. IIRC. Thank you.

Since the headstone shop I ran went under 2 years ago Ive had a couple lousy drive across town for $9.00 an hour "own tools own truck" kinda jobs. Im done, and ready to try my own thing. The shop had Gerber GS750s w/Omega 3.x... Im not able to afford this investment, or afford the maintenance on these, so ill need to take a hard step down. I had my mind made up on a Qe-60 (Graphtec?) package from sign wharehouse, but my wife got a little crazy for xmas. Im now considering a much cheaper unit. I have some big concerns w/them, maybe you guys can help me through them and pick the best bang for my $$. This machine will need to be able to cut sandblast masks in the 25-35 mil range. For now this will be a low level operation. The machines Im considering are the Pcut, the vinyl express "R-series" (redsail) 31", or copam (if i can afford it). 1st. What software should I shoot for? I was a pro in Composer, Ive looked over some of the lower end software and they appear to suck. Flexi looks ok,is VE LXi Apprentice the same thing? Uscutter has a some Corel options, will they even work with the china cutters? 2nd. Downforce. These machines are all boasting 500g of DF. I find that hard to belive, I imagine the cheap stepper motors wouldnt last long if it is true? 3rd. Unit size. Alot of the stencil Im familiar with comes in 15" 25" & 30". the machines I like come in conflicting sizes and dont mention a min cutting width.. Ive been searching around and I havent found too many stencils that come in 24" rolls. 4th. Will friction feed work reliably for stencil cutting? Any thoughts would be appreciated.