TaterNuts

If you are purchasing a US Cutter, this machine is capable of doing alot of things. Its main purpose is to Cut vinyl as you would like, basically just like you said, you type letters into the program and send it to the machine, and its cuts it out of vinyl... Of course you will have to weed (remove unwanted vinyl from around the letters) the vinyl then install application tape, the you could apply it to anything that you would like. The machine itself is no capable of printing, however it is capable of doing multi colors. You can get multi colors from layering the graphics. Browse the tips and tricks section to see what myself and others are doing with just these machines. you can also see my video of making multi colored graphics here The program that i believe that comes with these plotters for cutting is sign cut. you can also design images with inkscape (free program) Honestly speaking on my experience, getting into the vinyl cutting is a very trying experience. You will have issues. You just got to know that keep trying and you will achieve the results that you want... Reminds me of an old saying "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it." It is not super hard tho, just getting used to everything is the hardest part. You will have issues with aligning the vinyl, blade depth, downforce, etc. then there will be designing issues that you need to work around. It can be very nerve racking at first, but if you stick with it, you will find it a very enjoyable experience. Please, by no means am I trying to scare you into not getting into the vinyl cutting business, I just want to re-assure you that the problems that ALL of us have encountered quickly will become second nature based on experience and trial and error. You really came to the right place for getting started, myself and alot of other sesoned vinyl cutters are here to assist with any troubles that you may come across. About the vinyl printers, if you want to purchase something that can do multi colors, as in, several diffrent colors on a single piece of vinyl, I.E. photos, gradients, etc. and you want it to be durable, you are looking at investing a few thousand of dollars into a wide format machine. Then you also have to consider the cost of the inks, and make sure that you are using the correct inks for the desired application and so on. I personally do not have a vinyl printer and solely rely on my vinyl cutter. If you are just getting into the business and want to cut out shapes, images, decals, signs, banners, logos, lettering, etc... then this is the machine for you to start out with. Alot of people have made alot of money with there machines and are very happy with them. Good luck if you do decide on this machine as this is of the highest quality for the price. And please, dont hesitate to ask questions, there are alot of people here that enjoy helping others here on this forum.

I have experimented with an iron before using thermoflex, however, it doesnt last very long, one or two washes... The problem with using an ordinary household iron is that you have uneven pressure (no matter how hard you push) across the garment and uneven heating issues... The image will peel in some areas and not the others... I bought me a mighty press for $100 (like new condition) 15 x 15 size with a timer from a flea market... very good investment seeing the price of these machines on ebay or whatnot. With the thermoflex or probably hotmark the results will be very long lasting when using a heat press. I put some logos on some shirts of my own and the actual design has outlasted the shirt. You could always shop around in your area, check your flea markets or pawn shops... Although finding this item at one of these locations is a rarity, you will never know what you may find.

Honestly, I believe that they are the same head... I put them next to one another and all the screw holes appear to be the same, even the carriage appears to be identical. I took the cover off each of the heads to see if they were the same, it looks like they have alot in common... On my master, the part that holds the blade holder on the head got broken, i think a replacement thru desay was around 80 bucks, (i just glued mine with crazy glue, and its still holding up)... But i believe the same head at uscutterdirect.com is only like $25 bucks... I will order one and see if it works when it eventually breaks again. I think what makes this plotter quieter is on the master, the fan is on the bottom, and its open, so it echos against the vinyl roll, on the refine, it is built diffrently, definately alot quieter... Let us know your opinion when you get your refine up and running...

The holes in the side are punched vinyl... You can use Punched vinyl with the refine or copam, but it is not required since both machines are friction fed. Most older machines required punched vinyl, thr friction feed rollers work much better. Yes, that is a decent price for the FDC vinyl, but if you dont want to buy a full roll of it, you can usually purchase it in 10 yard rolls... I used to order my vinyl thru SSK, but they went out of business... You may look on ebay or a local sign shop to order it in rolls this small.

FDC vinyl is also a good product. Cheaper than Avery, but i believe better than oracal. Stay away from MacTac...

I do not live in an area that has a blueprint shop, I looked up alot of my local vendors under "sign Supply"... Not every shop is going to carry everything that you need. Most shops in my area carry just basic color vinyl, You should always ask questions and see if they can order you specialty films (holographic, chrome, reflective, etc.), if thats something that you are interested in. That way they get charged the shipping, and you dont... Based on my experience with vinyl, I would look to ordering like Billy said, FDC vinyl... It is a high qualtiy product that is very durable and priced very well. I've experienced with all types of vinyl, Oracal, MacTac, Avery, Etc. and find that FDC is probably the best way to go. The Calendared vinyl is cheaper then the cast, but calendarded vinyl works best on flat surfaces. The Cast vinyl Conforms to curves ALOT better, but costs a little more. FDC has a pretty big product line, and you should be able to find just about anything that you would need from there catalog... As far as the transfer tape (application tape), There are many types. I personally purchase the 48 inch log (cheaper that way) and have it slit to my specifications. I have a 24 inch roll, (banners, coroplast signs, etc) and then the rest is slit to 10, 6 and 8 inches. There are diffrent application tapes, I personally favor R-tape... I use there at-60 alot, it is a clear application tape. I use it mostly for layering multi color graphics, I also use there standard pre-mask, as it holds the vinyl very well when removing from the backing sheet. I do not recommend transfer rite, as its results are never consistent. (IE too much tack on one spot, well little or no tack on the other.) You should also look into weeding tools (tweezers, picks, small knife) as this will help in weeding the vinyl... I use a technique with a pushpin that works very well... You will have to find out what works best for you..

Thanks Billy, I had no idea there was that type of material...

Anyone?

Its called AVI Screen Classic, or AVI Screen, cant rember. Its freeware, i got it from download.com

Yes, it works on Pro too.

I just cut my first decal with WinPCSign and it worked fairly well... Im having a bit of an issue with the "advance after plot"... When I cut an Image with the Advance mark checked, It advances the vinyl as normal On the next cut, It rolls back the vinyl to the same starting point as the first to cut it out again? I have to reset the plotter between jobs so that it doesnt do that? Does anyone else use WinPCSign know of maybe a setting that I have missed. BTW. I love this plotter better than the old master plotter that I have used in the past... A+

When you scan an image in, always try to use a high resolution... The higher, the better... I usually scan between 600 and 1200 dpi. Then in flexi, goto bitmap, vectorize, then use the bezier tool... This should give you the results that you are looking for.

Here is a video how I do it... you should have similar functions with the software that you are using... I did this is three colors... Green as the background, black as the shadow, and red as the font.

Ive never used a Copam, So maybe my opinion is a little biased but, the copam does have an optical eye on it that measures the vinyl that you have loaded in your machine. I have also heard that it is alot quiter than the Refine cutter. I have also heard that the blade holder in the refine is metal, which is more durable then the plastic one that is included in the refine cutters. I have also heard that the media holder (rollers) are very unique on this machine and seems that people like them better then the ones of the refine. But as far as the Refine plotter goes, its a very solid machine. The stand is very durable, a finely crafted piece of equipment. If you are starting out, I would probably go with the refine... Save the extra money for the vinyl that you will be going thru experimenting with the machine. The optical eye is a fairly new feature and was only avaliable mostly on the higher end cutters. The majority of sign makers probably have just a standard plotter anyways and will probably be loading vinyl only in the standard widths. I have had no issues with the blade holder in my refine cutter, just as with all plotters, there are going to be parts that wear out. But i do believe that the one in the refine will wear out faster then the one on the copam, however, you can pick up one over at uscutterdirect.com The rollers on my refine work fine for me, on high speed cuts, i just have to be sure that i unroll enough material off for the job, so that when it is feeding thru, it doesnt jerk the roll off from the rollers. Would I buy a Copam? If I had the extra money for it I probably would, but the refine will get me by just fine...

Well, it all depends which software that you use... Most softwares have an alignment tool... you just draw your circle, then your square, and center them on both horizontal and verticle or however you spell it... I mainly use WinPCSign, which, from what it seems, is not a very popular program here in this cutting community... As soon as i figure how to capture images from my screen in video format, ill a video...

Ok, well maybe Ill check InkScape out... But I feel that a product that I am used to is probably the best for me.

Thanks Guys... I just got my new Kodak Digital Camera and I like to play... If there is anything else that I can help you guys with, Don't be shy... Just ask... I may not be able to get to it immediately, but I'll be more than happy to assist... I know getting started in the graphics business can be nerve racking... Many Many times I have envisioned something in my head, but didnt know the steps to get there... I've wasted countless rolls of vinyl trying new things. Like I said, Anything you guys are having trouble with, Just let me know and Ill try my best to help. -Jason

I have never heard of monocoat? Could you please explain what it is?

Ive never cut anything over 24 inches... If you were to ever cut out 48 inch letters, those would be some really big letters!!! , I bought a 36 inch plotter a couple of years ago thinking that a bigger machine would be better for me, but still, i only use 24 inch vinyl in it. I find the 24 inch machine alot easier to move around then my 36 inch. I've done a couple of 6 foot tall signs and I just do it in panels and line it up... Here are some things to consider... Vinyl normally only has a shelf life for about a year? When you purchase that huge roll of vinyl, are you going to be able to use it in a year? or are you going to make enough profit of the very few jobs you get to cover the cost of that roll? Is there going to be a demand for this? Do you have a supplier that Stocks vinyl that large? Can they special order it? If you purcahse the 50 inch machine, are you taking up too much space for later expansion? Digital Vinyl Printer, Heat Press, Another smaller vinyl cutter??? Ease of installation of a 50 inch decal? I can cut ANY size, i just have to do it in panels... I would line up my first panel, and then my second and third and so on... There have been times where i have been installing a 24 inch decal to a Panel van and I make one mistake causing the vinyl to stick to itself rendering it useless... I would then just need to recut that panel... If you have the same mistake with a 50 inch decal, you will find yourself recutting the enitre job. It is in my opinion that a 24 inch plotter will make you plenty of money, and with that money, if you have the customers that want the HUGE decals, then by all means, invest in that big ol plotter. I personally would not buy a cutter as large as that unless I have had enough requests for vinyl that big. (and i dont) I can make letters ANY size you want, I just need to do it in panels, (BTW, much easier to install...)

What kind of images did you want to scan in? Photographs? Building plans? Simple drawings? What kind of material would you like to plot on? Paper using the Pen attachement, or vinyl cut outs? What kind of Software are you using for you plotter? You would have to convert it to bezeir aka vectorize, resize if necessary, then hit the cut plot button and it would send it to your machine. if you would like the lines filled, you must click the fill plot option under the adnaced tab in production manager. It gets tricky using new software and there is no manual anywhere for any machine that will tell you exactly what to do... Trial and error, dont give up, Ill be more than happy to assit, Just let me know...

Ok, I made a video! This will SHOW you what I'm talking about. Lemme know if this helps!

I dont know what software you are using, but they should all be basically the same What I do is i use one, sometimes 2 boxes, and i put a cirlce in mine... You will use these to line up the vinyl once cut I always start with the front color, in which our case is now red, and send it to the cutter. then take the red out and load the black, and send that to the cutter... Weed them both out (remove excess vinyl), leaving the circles on one copy, and the sqaures on the other copy... Place your transfer tape on the top layer (red), clear tape is best for layering, and pull decal off the backing paper... I take the old backing paper and place it under the letter part, and leave the boxes or circles exposed, now you can place the top layer onto the black layer and line up the circles in the boxes. once you have them lined up perfectly, set the tape onto the back layer. now hold the tape and the backing paper of the background color (black) and flip the top layer over to remove the backing paper that you put on the red top layer. now press the top layer to the bottom layer, should be perfectly centered. cut the registration squares/circles off the bottom and the decal is ready to apply hope that this works, showing you would be easier, maybe i could make a video? [attachment deleted by admin]

You can cut with the Demo, however, it pauses the plotter every once inawhile, and you have to click on the nag screen to continue cutting. I like the designing elements that are included with WinPCSign Software... Shadows, arc, Import just about any image... It has WYSIWYG cutting... Allows you to weld, It supports digital printing, also has standard and metric measurements. you can set the panel for the size of the vinyl you are using and actually layout everything just as you want it to cut down the roll. Ive attached a Screen Shot to show you what Im talking about. Ive been using this software for years, however, I am still learning new things with it. I can offer some support for anyone who has it or gets it. [attachment deleted by admin]

I understand that it is basically just a cut program, but There really isnt any designing unless you already have corel draw or adobe, two programs which i have never used... (i did download a trial of adobe once, but never used it for more than converting an AI image to JPG, BMP or EPS format). I really dont like the fact that when you import an image, it preforms and automatic vectorazation, the image must be of high quality, and anyone that has been in this business, knows that sometimes a high quality design is hard to get from some customers. Dont get me wrong, maybe I am overlooking alot, i need to get more of a feel for the software before I can actually make a final determination... So far, I probably wont be using it for much, since i have WinPCSign.

Got my copy of it today..., Im in Toledo Ohio. I am really not impressed with the software tho...