NukleoN

And a great choice it is! Good luck with everything, you know where to come for help.

Most vinyl you will see is calendered, and it has a 'memory' of sorts. This is your typical vinyl. 'Cast' vinyl has no memory, is more expensive but it also very weather-resistant and great for car stripes and anywhere you need a good fit on an irregular surface. You can't go wrong with Oracal 651 and it's great for outdoor applications, or say on the back of a vehicle window or other surface which is flat or not too irregular. If you don't need to contour-cut then you have a lot of options, but I only have experience with my LP24 (which I do contour cut with) but also use it for regular vinyl-cutting. I guess my question would be, why not get the cutter which you can contour-cut with later and still cuts regular vinyl like a rock-star? Good luck whatever you do!

I would have said the same thing as Paco. Glad it's working!

I am giving the same answer I do to everyone else with this software. SBE sucks!! (I know some of you love it). Try SignCut Productivity Pro or Flexi-Starter. I use SignCut but it does cost a little to use on a subscription basis. Flexi is 130 bucks and you own the license, and this might be a great option too if you can find a demo product to try out. Seriously, I don't know why people use SBE (probably coz it's free) but it's just too outdated and will never see an update due to the unfortunate circumstances with the author's untimely demise. I hate to talk badly of his software but I gotta be honest.

Hi Tony! Welcome to the site! I lived in NorCal for a bit and am now in SoCal, almost neighbors! Consider this though, and I've been saying this a lot lately for those reading my posts, get the LaserPoint 24 (LP24) if you want to do contour-cutting later on! The LP24 is basically a PCut with a laser. Contour-cutting is basically when you print a full color image on vinyl from your printer (lots of info here on the best printer for this), and then 'cut' around those images with your cutter to make something like a die-cut sticker. If you have any idea that you want to do this later, definitely consider the LP24. For printing decals, you want a printer with nice pigment ink, like Epson's Durabrite found in the Workforce series (WF). There are also excellent options for Continous Ink Systems (CIS) sold by vendors such as Cobra Ink, which invented the process and does turnkey installations on new Workforce printers, such as the WF30 or WF1100 (large format). You will also spend a LOT less on ink with a CIS printer from Cobra. Actually, I just bought a CIS WF1100 and might be selling my WF30 cheap here (uses standard Epson Durabrite cartridges). I would hate to see someone who didn't know about these options buy a cutter and be upset that they didn't buy one good for contour-cutting. Also, use Oracal 651, which is a calendered vinyl and suitable for outdoor app (like on a vehicle). It's tried and true, cuts and weeds well. You will get great results and enjoy your first cutting experience much more I think.

Verah Niiiiice!

I am another LP24 owner with a Keyspan. While US Cutter reports no issues with the USB connector, and they're probably right, I find that the Keyspan offers the secure screw-in connection of a serial port with the ease-of-use with USB. Love it! @Ash: Good idea on the clip-on light! I found a cheap head-worn light for like 8 bucks on Amazon. It'll make me feel all science-y when I do my contour-cutting hehe.

130.00 is very reasonable.

With my LP24 on the silver metallic vinyls I often contour-cut with, the laser 'dot' can blur a bit, so I use a mini flashlight to help me see my alignment of the laser point's dot on the vinyl. Trouble is, I need my hands to adjust the keys on my USB keypad to jog the laser to where I want it, all the while holding the flashlight and trying to hold the vinyl against the roller for an accurate alignment. Having the light mounted on a headband would make this much easier.

I've struggled with pricing too sometimes, especially on large quantities of difficult-to-weed decals. Since there are only 12 it will be a cinch, and 5 minutes to weed is something you can do whilst watching telly or what not. You can also make weeding easier if you use weed-lines, something I discovered after my difficult weed jobs heh. I think 60 bucks for 12 is reasonable, or maybe 50-60. Whatever you price your first jobs at will set a precedent for later, so there's that to think about as well.

You're welcome. The LP24 is manual in the sense that you have to align the laser by eye, but the Graphtec, although it senses registration marks, is very finicky about how you place letter-sized paper and I don't know how well it would automatically register specialty mirrored vinyl (which I use a lot). On the LP24 you can have your paper rotated 45 degrees and as long as you register 3 points, it works! So in a sense, the manual alignment has benefits, though probably not as good for huge amounts of contour-cutting on nice white paper with full contrast reg-marks. Once you get it down, it's awesome on the LP24. The one thing I want to get tho is a head-mounted light so I can align my laser without needing 3 hands hehe.

Welcome Mark! I have the Laserpoint 24" cutter from U.S. Cutter, and I like it a lot, mainly because it lets me do contour-cutting pretty easily. Basically, this is a way to print full-color on to self-adhesive vinyl, put it in your cutter and cut around the shapes. As an artist who knows Photoshop, you may want this feature later to make your own decals. If you don't need the contour-cutting feature, then you might also check out the Refines, but I think the LP24 is a darn good cutter as well. Like you, I am an artist primarily, and I prefer SignCut Productivity Pro as my cutting software. It's not free and it costs a little bit to run on a subscription, but the cost is reasonable. There's also the free software 'Signblazer' which I hate, but it's free and you might like it (or not). The downside of SignBlazer is that it operates much like software did in the early 90's, and is orphan-ware right now. People also rave about Flex-starter, but if you're going to spend money I think SignCut is a good option. To be fair, I've never used Flexi. I would seriously consider the Lp24 because of its great cutting but also the contour-cutting feature. It would be sad to buy a cutter only to realize you want this feature and wish you had bought something else. Of course, you can cut frisket allllll day long with the LP as well before you ever get into contour-cutting. There's probably no need to have this post in the Mac section either since these are general purpose questions, and I am pretty sure SignCut Prod Pro (and other software) is available on Mac.

This is how you know your cutter settings are spot-on hehe. Nice.

Well done! Dry or wet application?

Heya StLouisTech, I considered a Refine, Copam and LP24 when looking for a cutter, and I went with the LP24 for the contour-cutting feature. I do a ton of contour-cutting now, and I am very happy with it! I've easily made 2-3 times the cost of this thing and it's an amazing cutter for the price. I use SignCut Productivity Pro for all my cutting and there's a nice tutorial here for contour-cutting with that software and the LP24. If you have *any* inkling that you want to do contour-cutting with a budget cutter, you can't go wrong with the Laserpoint.

Hi, Signblazer is usable, and many like it. It's obsolete in the sense that it will never be updated, but that doesn't mean it's unusable. Will you like it? Try it and see. I personally do not like it, and prefer to use SignCut Productivity Pro which I am willing to pay a little bit for than use SignBlazer. For design work, I do it all in Photoshop, Illustrator and Inkscape (Inkscape is free!). Basically, you just need to find software which you like to work with, and this is true for any software. I am fairly picky about how things work, and SignBlazer just reminded me of 1992 again so I ran screaming. Good luck!

I tried SignBlazer and I hate it. I use an LP24 with SignCut Productivity Pro. SignCut rocks and it's inexpensive. Basically, you pay a bit for a few months subscription. I never tried Flexi but Flexi is pretty darned expensive and comes with a lot of bells and whistles I simply don't need. I do all my design in Photoshop, Illustrator and Inkscape (Inkscape of course is free). Check out SignCut Prod Pro! While some here like SignBlazer or manage to get around in it, the software is nothing like you'd expect from anything in this decade and I pretty much hated it instantly, and for me the opposite was true with SignCut. Good luck, and let us know what you settle on. By the way, here is a tutorial I wrote for contour-cutting on the Lp24 with SignCut Productivity Pro based on Paco (CRD's) original. All I did really was clean up the formatting a bit (the original was non-native English) and add a few tips I discovered on my own. All credit goes to him for teaching me this technique. I originally had this tutorial on a site I was banned from but brought it over here too so I could link to it in good conscience.

Thanks! I'm encouraged hearing how long these tanks last, and glad to see the ink prices are reasonable too.

Do the Graphtecs play nicely with Windows 7 64? I would imagine so. I wouldn't buy something if it didn't run in Windows 7 64...I need this OS for my high-end 3D work and 8GB of RAM. I'm sure the Graphtec is fine if my LP24 works with it. Vista, that's a different animal entirely. I think most Vista users have switched to 7 by now.

If you want to contour cut on a budget cutter, absolutely! I bought mine with the express intent to do contour cutting. It took a few tries (and help) to get it working, but I'm glad I got it. I might even get a Graphtec later on, or if for some reason my LP24 breaks down. If you have any idea that you want to contour cut and you are on a budget, go with the LP24, otherwise I'd recommend a Graphtec which has no-fuss contour cutting and automated registration. With the LP you have to manually align your laser with your registration marks. The better your alignment of course, the more precise your cuts.

Some very clever ideas. Some of those elevator graphics might really fool people (like the one which looks like the elevator has no floor).

Use Photoshop or Illustrator/Corel for design work and be happy. You can also try Inkscape, which is free! http://inkscape.org/. My 'Idiot's Guide' to using SignBlazer is one word: don't.

I just ordered the WF1100 from Richard at Cobra Ink as well (pigment ink), and am looking forward to it. All the rave reviews on this forum helped shape my decision. I plan to do shirts later too. The WF1100 with CIS is solid and from the reviews, you can't go wrong.

I took measures to deal with static to avoid aggravation as well, especially when my LCD got reset by static *shudder*. Following advice on this forum, I unscrewed the bottom screws of my LP24 just a bit, put some copper wire around them, screwed them back in for a snug fit, and then wound the other end of the wire to the screw in my outlet. Seems to have helped a ton. I have no static issues now, and my cutter is on carpet. Also, be sure to ground yourself before touching your cutter or vinyl. Just touch something metal before handling your cutter and vinyl and what not. I leave my vinyl on the roll, but it's touching the metal on the cutter which is grounded. I suppose a dryer sheet might help but I don't understand how it works personally...but I've heard of people doing this and it's probably a good suggestion if you want fresh-smelling vinyl too hehe. I also switched from the USB connection to a Keyspan and have been happy with my cutter since I did all these things. Good luck!

If you ever want to do contour cutting, consider the LaserPoint 24 (LP24) cutter with the laser sight, or even a Graphtec which can detect reg marks on its own. I use my LP24 for contour-cutting all the time. You can do contour cutting on a Refine but it's going to be a lot trickier. I imagine you will want to do contour cutting for your shirt designs. I plan to get into shirts as well and this was just one reason I wanted contour-cutting capability. (Heh, alliteration). Your methodical approach is revealing lots of information.