Search the Community

I've always wanted to have a custom shirt shop and I would love some input from anyone that works specifically with vinyl. I'm literally starting from scratch. I need to get a solid vinyl cutter w/ software compatible with my Mac. Reliable and precise and I'm willing to invest as I know you get what you pay for. Also, the reason I was going to focus on vinyl heat transfers only is because I don't want to worry about ink fading. Any ideas, suggestions or comments are appreaciated. I was looking at purchasing the Titan 3 but then again, I've just begun doing research on heat presses and vinyl. Warranty, repair fees and maintentance are things I still have to look into as well. Glad to be a part of this forum, thanks again! Side Note: I'm a new dad and my son turned 1 year old this year and I'm the only one working since my wife recently lost her job. Being able to earn that extra income for my family is what is driving me to make this buisness a success.... - Rick

I am not new to vinyl cutters and I currently have 3. I have two Silhouette machines (made by Graphtec) and one 50" SC cutter. Lately, all I have been doing is print and cut sheets on a laser printer. Mainly I print multiple color designs via Adobe Illustrator on a 12" x 18" sheet with Silhouette Cameo registration marks. I then have to put the printed sheet onto the 12' x 24' sticky carrier sheet and then feed that into the Silhouette Cameo. I use the Silhouette Connect software as a plugin for AI and then it sends my AI file to the cutter and then if I cross my fingers and the stars align it reads the registration marks the first time and I am usually good from there. It is then a slow process of cutting but the quality is good. So I am considering a few options... - another Silhouette Cameo so I don't have to wait as long (~$250) - Titan 3 15" and ARMS via VinylMaster (included) (~$800) - Graphtec CE-6000 15" ($1,200) I am leaning more towards the Titan 3 new or refurbed. I haven't seen any examples online of it using the ARMS and I have read some people having bad results. Does anyone here have any experience with using ARMS on the Titan 3? If it requires buying new software like DragonCut ($300) then there is no real savings. I would be better off getting the Graphtec and being able to have the similar, if not an identical workflow, but hopefully no carrier sheet. Also, I mainly work on the Mac but I do have a Windows box available. I usually run 10 - 30 sheets per job so speed is a consideration. If someone was willing to show me theirs in the Chicago area or allow me to try a sample I will pay you for your time. thanks -david